New SKID ROW Singer Met His Bandmates For First Time In Person Four Days Before Playing Their First Show

New SKID ROW vocalist Erik Grönwall says that he met his bandmates in person for the first time four days before they played their first show together.

The Grönwall-fronted version of SKID ROW made its live debut Saturday night (March 26) at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS‘ “Sin City Nights” residency.

SKID ROW‘s nine-song set included its new single, “The Gang’s All Here”, which was made available on Friday, March 25. The song is the title track of the band’s upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

On Sunday (March 27), Erik took to his social media to share a photo of the new SKID ROW lineup, and he included the following message: “First show done! Met these lovely gents for the first time this Tuesday. Rehearsed in Vegas Wednesday and Thursday. And did the first show yesterday. First time on stage in two years and here I am with my favorite band @officialskidrow.

“Fuck me. Feels like I’ve been hit by @miketyson . Time to rest and then off to the studio tomorrow to track some more vocals for the new album. Can someone get me in touch with Steven Spielberg to discuss the script for SKID ROW the movie?”

SKID ROW‘s setlist for the first concert was as follows:

01. Slave To The Grind

02. Big Guns

03. 18 And Life

04. Piece Of Me

05. Livin’ On A Chain Gang

06. Monkey Business

07. I Remember You

08. The Gang’s All Here

09. Youth Gone Wild

Fan-filmed video is available below.

Grönwall joined SKID ROW as the replacement for ZP Theart who recently left the group after a six-year stint.

SKID ROW recorded “The Gang’s All Here” in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo said in a statement: “We are beyond excited to release this record. It has been a long time in the making and a lot of hard work has been put into it by the band and our producer Nick Raskulinecz. The addition of Erik has lifted the songs to new heights. Add all this to the fact that we start our world tour in Las Vegas with the SCORPIONS residency this Saturday at Zappos Theater makes it easy to say that SKID ROW is going to have a great year.”

Grönwall sang on H.E.A.T.‘s last four studio albums — “Address The Nation” (2012), “Tearing Down The Walls” (2014), “Into The Great Unknown” (2017) and “H.E.A.T II” (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

Grönwall was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. A short time later, he wrote on his social media: “I am extremely privileged and grateful to live at a day and age where a disease like this is curable. There’s been so much progress made in this field. My body is reacting well to the treatment but it’s a long treatment and it’s going to be the toughest challenge of my life so far, for me and my family.”

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of SKID ROW‘s “18 And Life” via all streaming platforms. At the time, he said about his version of the track: “This song was basically the starting point of my professional career as an artist. I performed this song during my ‘Swedish Idol’ audition back in 2009. 12 years later it’s time to give this bad boy a try again. Here’s my version of the SKID ROW song ’18 And Life’.”

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC‘s live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s and Tim Rice‘s musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

Theart, a former member of DRAGONFORCE, joined SKID ROW in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER).

Sebastian 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 drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by Theart, the South African-born, British-based singer who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

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