During an appearance earlier today (Wednesday, July 15) on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan discussed the band’s touring plans for the coming months. He said: “Next year, we have a world tour that’s scheduled. Hopefully it happens. We’re just seeing if this pandemic [subsides]. We’re not gonna put any of our fans in danger, we’re not gonna put ourselves in danger. But the plan for next year is a 30th-anniversary ‘Slave To The Grind’ tour. Like I said, a world tour is planned. We’ll do the album in its entirety, and then we’re gonna do a bunch of stuff to coincide with it. We’re pretty psyched, and the shows are booked. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that everything is gonna come to pass… It’ll be cool, to go out there and do ‘Slave To The Grind’ top to the bottom. That’ll be fun.”
According to Bolan, SKID ROW didn’t celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s self-titled debut album last year because “the timing didn’t really work out. We had so much other stuff planned, and then all of a sudden, boom, it was here,” he explained. “Maybe down the road [we’ll celebrate it]. Maybe [for the] 40th [anniversary]. [Laughs]”
Rachel also addressed the common perception that he is the lone holdout for a reunion of SKID ROW‘s classic lineup, including singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso. “Well, it’s not just me, obviously,” he said. “I love the fact that they think I wield that kind of power. [Laughs] We’re happy with what we’re doing, man. And just talking about it gets so old. It’s, like, all right, I get it. However, this is SKID ROW. So enjoy us or forget about us. That’s where we’re at. We’re putting together a new record, we’re writing new songs, and Zee [current SKID ROW singer ZP Theart] is the man, and Rob Hammersmith is our drummer, and he kicks ass. So, I don’t know what to tell people. At this point, it just gets so old where you can probably hear my eyes rolling. And that’s the way it is… We’re going out. This is SKID ROW. We’re gonna play a SKID ROW record and celebrate the anniversary of it.”
Last fall, Bach completed a U.S. tour during which he celebrated the 30th anniversary of SKID ROW‘s self-titled debut album.
In June 2019, Bach issued an “open invitation” to the other members of SKID ROW‘s classic lineup to “get onstage and jam” during the vocalist’s recent tour. A few days later, during an interview with Finland’s Kaaos TV, guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo confirmed that he would not accept Bach‘s latest overture. “I’m working with my band,” he said. “This is SKID ROW, and this is what I do.”
Affuso — who left SKID ROW in 1998 and claims to be “the only former member that keeps in contact with all former SKID ROW bandmates and is still good friends with them all” — subsequently joined Bach last September at Sony Hall in New York City to play the band’s classic song “Makin’ A Mess”.
Asked by Rolling Stone if he thinks his former bandmates are offended that he put his invitation out there publicly, Bach said: “No. I think it’s an ego thing. They don’t like when I get attention, and they don’t get attention. It’s always been like that. I can already see them getting mad, because I’m selling out shows, and they’re not part of the show, and blah, blah, blah.”
Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY.
In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of Bolan and guitarists Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger.
SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.
In February 2019, Sabo told “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that SKID ROW came “pretty close” to reuniting with Bach after Harnell‘s exit from the band. But then he clarified: “I said ‘pretty close,’ and that’s actually not true. Because we didn’t get beyond text messaging each other, to be quite honest. The same old stuff just seemed to exist where there was this confrontational sort of demeanor going back and forth between myself and Sebastian.
“I’m so proud of what we were able to create throughout the entire history of this band, and that will never change,” he continued. “But some things just don’t work anymore and people go their separate ways and you can’t get that back together. And I’m fine with that.
“I play music to be happy,” Sabo added. “I don’t play music for a paycheck. It’s great to get paid to do what you love. But I’ve never done it for the money. It’s always been about my love of music, and that’s what it still is. At my old crusty age, it’s still because I love the guitar and I love creating. And I love the response. I love being able to connect in some way with an audience. That’s why I started playing music — because I didn’t know how to communicate, so it came out through music, through songs.
“Playing with [ZP] in the band has brought a real joyousness back to our lives. You can see it — it’s not faked or phony. You can see it when we play. And that’s what I live for — I live for those moments of just absolute joy.
“A reunion [with Sebastian] would have been great for a lot of other people who have wanted to see that happen,” Snake said. “But for us, it would not have been pleasurable, to be quite honest.”
Photo by: Chuck Arland
