Skid Row

Skid Row was one of the last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. Skid Row was formed in Toms River, New Jersey, in 1986 by bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo. The pair added guitarist Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and lead vocalist Sebastian Bach, who replaced original lead vocalist Matt Fallon, to the line-up by early 1987. The band began playing shows in clubs throughout the eastern United States. With the assistance of friend Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo secured a record deal for Skid Row with Atlantic Records in 1988, then entered the studio with Michael Wagener (of Ozzy Osbourne, White Lion and Extreme fame) to record their first album.

Skid Row, released in January 1989, was an instant success. The record went 5x platinum and produced the hit singles "18 and Life", "I Remember You", and "Youth Gone Wild". Despite this success there was a lot of bitterness, because in return for the helping hands of Jon Bon Jovi they had to enter a publishing deal with his newly established Underground Music Company in which they waived their rights to publishing royalties. All money was paid to Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. [1] After a big public dispute Richie Sambora gave his share of the money back to Skid Row.

In what is referred to as "The Bottle Incident" by fans of the band, Bach was hit with a bottle thrown onstage from the crowd at a concert in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Skid Row was opening for Aerosmith on December 27, 1989. Bach threw the bottle back, hitting a girl (not the shooter), so he jumped on the crowd to beat the person who can be seen on a tour video released by Skid Row called Oh Say Can You Scream in 1990.
Shortly thereafter Bach put on, during a concert, a t-shirt proclaiming the anti-gay slogan "AIDS Kills Fags Dead". The shirt was thrown onstage by a fan, and Bach, without looking at it, put it on. After the concert Bach apologized, stating "My grandmother had recently died of cancer, I guess I would be pissed too if I saw someone wearing a 'Cancer Kills Grandmothers Dead' shirt". In later years Bach apologized seriously for wearing the shirt, and made a substantial donation to an AIDS charity.

Skid Row returned to the studio with Wagener in 1990, to record their second studio album. Slave to the Grind, released in June 1991, debuted at Number 1 in the American charts. Slave to the Grind became a major success, and Skid Row once again went out on a worldwide tour which lasted over a year, including a leg supporting Guns N' Roses in 1991 and an appearance at the Castle Donington festival in 1992. Slave to the Grind was a departure for the band; where Skid Row was an album that followed the typical hair band formula, Slave to the Grind had a heavier sound, even verging on thrash with the song "Mudkicker".

Before a third album could be recorded, Skid Row took an extended hiatus in 1993, following the Slave to the Grind tour.

For sometime, Skid Row parted ways with Wagener, possibly due to their music taking a different direction for the follow-up to Slave to the Grind. In 1994, the band returned to the studio with Bob Rock (of Metallica, Mötley Crüe and The Offspring fame), to record their third studio album. Subhuman Race, released in March 1995, charted in the top 40. Although it did not achieve the success of Skid Row and Slave to the Grind, it generated a few hits, but at that point, their videos were rarely played on MTV, partly because grunge was rising and metal was dying.

Eventually, Bach was fired by the band in late 1996, just after turning down a show with KISS. He was replaced in Skid Row by Sean McCabe. Shortly after, drummer Rob Affuso was fired by the band. He now plays with SoulSystem. Although the group never officially disbanded, the remaining members went on to play briefly in a band called Ozone Monday in mid 1998, which also featured lead vocalist Sean McCabe.

Skid Row re-formed in 1999 with new lead vocalist Johnny Solinger, formerly of Solinger, and drummer Charlie Mills. Mills soon left the band and was replaced with then-new drummer Phil Varone, formerly of Saigon Kick. After re-forming, they opened for KISS on their farewell tour, and have also played with other 1980s metal bands such as Poison. They have been on tour every summer. In 2002 they were part of the Rock Never Stops Tour.

Skid Row released their fourth full-length studio album,

Thickskin, in 2003, which was their first album to feature Solinger and Varone. This would also be their first proper studio album in 8 years. After the release of the album, Varone left the band and was replaced by current drummer Dave Gara.

The fifth (and most recent) Skid Row album, Revolutions Per Minute, was released on October 24, 2006 through SPV Records. Michael Wagener temporarily reunited with Skid Row and became their producer for this album.

In 2007, the band recorded Jingle Bells for a Monster Ballads Christmas album. At the end of January 2008 Skid Row did a few shows in Miami, Florida with Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil, Ratt and Slaughter.

On February 20, 2008, the band played a private, invitation-only party for the Nordic Games Program group at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Keri Kelli was playing guitar instead of Dave Sabo.

Current members

Rachel Bolan - Bass
Dave "The Snake" Sabo - lead & rhythm guitars
Scotti Hill - rhythm guitars
Johnny Solinger - Lead vocals
Dave Gara - Drums

Former Members

Matt Fallon - lead vocals
Steve Brotherton - lead & rhythm guitars
Kurtis Jackson - lead & rhythm guitars
Rob Affuso - drums
Sebastian Bach - lead vocals
Shawn McCabe (Shawn Mars) - lead vocals
Charlie Mills - drums
Phil Varone - drums
Tim DiDuro - drums
Keri Kelli - lead & rhythm guitars

Discography

Skid Row 1989
Slave to the Grind 1991
Subhuman Race 1995
Thickskin 2003
Revolutions per Minute 2006

Official Website: http://www.skidrow.com

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18 n' Life



I Remember You



Wasted Time



In The Darkened Room


Forever


Piece of Me