Skid row

Skid Row was one of the last "hairy" teams that visited the star tops before the rock scene was covered by a wave of grunge . The idea of ​​creating the project belonged to bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarist Dave Sabo, nicknamed "Snake." Dave was a friend of John Bon Jovi and in the early 80s he managed to play with him in a couple of teams before the latter organized the Bon Jovi group. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, Rachel Bolan and Dave "Snake" Sabo found companions in the person of guitarist Scotty Hill and drummer Rob Effuzo. There was only one problem - to find a vocalist, but the right person could not be found. For a short time, the frontman of the group was Matt Fallon, but after the guys saw Sebastian Björk , nicknamed “Bach,” the ex-anthraksovets was immediately put out of the door. However, a young, handsome and talented Canadian was already bound by a contract, and his manager demanded exorbitant compensation. Skid Row did not have that kind of money, and John Bon Jovi, who had rescued his old comrade, ruined the situation. Bon Jovi not only “bought out” Björk, but also helped the group with the recording of the first record.

Skid Row 's debut album, released in 1989 , is located on the sixth position in the Billboard charts. Thanks to the hit singles "18 and Life" and "I Remember You", the disc quickly gained platinum status, and the song "Youth Gone Wild" became the anthem of the American youth of that time. The group gained access to large venues and successfully conducted a world tour. However, the team remained in the spotlight, not only because of their music, but also scandals, most of which provoked the frontman of the group. Two incidents caused particular noise: when a vocalist was launched from the crowd with a glass bottle, smashing his head, he jumped off the stage, causing the fan to suffer, and when Bon Jovi demanded the return of the money invested in the group.

A big breakthrough of Skid Row was made during their performance at the World Festival in Moscow, on the same stage with such bands as Mötley Crüe , Bon Jovi , Cinderella , Scorpions , Ozzy Osbourne , Gorky Park . They performed in front of the Russian audience of 75 thousand, which was a lot of fun, but the show in Japan was even more nuclear.

After 17 months of endless trips, the group felt that the petrol for the burn was over. They played 300 concerts, and now they wanted to return to normal life for a while. They decided to make a home video for their fans who were looking forward to the release of the second album. The video “Oh Say Can You Scream” was released in 1990 and included a lot of funny scenes from touring and stage performances. For most of the second half of 1990, the band recorded the second disc, which was eager to hear a crowd of fans.

Skid Row digested all the squabbles and in 1991 produced the second album, which sounded much heavier than its predecessor. Despite the lack of so-called “radio hits,” Slave to the Grind climbed to the very top of the Billboard 200 and peredazok platinum line. The CD features songs by Rachel Bolan and Dave "Snake" Sabo, but this time, Sebastian "Bach" Bjørk also performed. The album included chipper material, such as Monkey Business, The Threat, and three touching ballads: Quicksand Jesus, In The Darkened Room, Wasted Time, which told about trust, inlaid with beautiful guitar parts from Scotty Hill. Taking off so high, the musicians were puzzled by the lack of new ideas.

In order to somehow fill the resulting pause, in 1992 they released a mini-album B-Side Ourselves with covers from the Ramones , Judas Priest , Jimi Hendrix , Rush and Kiss bands. In addition, the team members engaged in various side projects, and the main group paid little attention. At this time, the group began to lose their fans because of the rising wave of grunge popularity, when Nirvana began to storm the world scenes in 1992. Skid Row subsided, waiting for this new trend to dry up, and even thought about the dissolution of the team. Ironically, Nirvana performed the Skid Row a couple of times in the 80s.

In 1993, two more videos were made. The first one - “Roadkill” was similar to the first home video, and the second one - “No Frills” rather was a classic of the genre, with video clips for songs like “Slave to the Grind” and “Wasted Time”.

Finally, in 1995, Skid Row released their third album, which despite the dominance of the “alternatives” hit the national Top 40. Some songs from the Subhuman Race became hits, but the record was not widely accepted. The disc was produced by the notorious Bob Rock , who worked with Metallica , and the sound of the songs was quite different from previous works. Some people believe that this is the heaviest Skid Row album, because it contains such things as “Bonehead”, “Subhuman Race”, “Frozen”, and also has only one ballad “Breakin 'Down”, which became the soundtrack for the movie “ Prophecy ". Also in the same year, a live version of this album was released under the name “Subhuman Beings on Tour”. Meanwhile, the tension in the team grew, and as a result, the vocalist slammed the door. Skid Row did not follow the formal dissolution at that time, and the remaining four tried to steer with the new singer Sean McCabe called “Ozone Monday”. However, this alliance did not take place, and the group acquired a more or less working form when Johnny Solinger appeared in the team. With his arrival, the team returned to normal touring schedule, and in 2003 released a new album. In 2006, the band released the next full-length album entitled Revolutions per Minute with the same lineup.

Current Composition

• Rachel Bolan - bass guitar, backing vocals (1986 - present time)
• Dave Sabo - rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals (1986 - present time)
• Scotty Hill - rhythm guitar, lead guitar backing vocals (1987 - present time)
• Rob Hammersmith - drums (2010 - present time)
• Zippi Tert - vocals (2017 - present)

Former members

• Matt Fallon - vocals (1986 - 1987)
• John Ratkowski, Jr. - percussion (1986 - 1987)
• Jim Yuhas - the rhythm guitar (1986 - 1987)
• Rob Effuso - Percussion (1987 - 1998)
• Sebastian Bach - vocals (1987–1996)
• Charlie Mills - Percussion (1999 - 2000)
• Phil Veron - Percussion (2000 - 2004)
• Timothy Diduro - drums (2004)
• Dave Gara - Percussion (2004 - 2010)
• Johnny Solinger - vocals (1999 - 2015)
• Tony Harnell - vocals (2015)

• Skid Row ( 1989 )
• Slave to the Grind ( 1991 )
• B-Side Ourselves ( 1992 )
• Subhuman Race ( 1995 )
• 40 Seasons - The Best of Skid Row ( 1998 )
• Thickskin ( 2003 )
• Revolutions per Minute ( 2006 )
• United World Rebellion - Chapter 1 ( 2013 )
• United World Rebellion - Chapter 2 ( 2014 )

• Official site
• Skid Row on Encyclopaedia Metallum
• Russian site about the group