Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band’s debut album, “Skid Row”, by performing the LP in its entirety at select shows in 2024.
So far the following dates have been announced: April 27 in Curitiba, Brazil; April 30 in Montevideo, Uruguay; and May 4 in Mexico City.
Says Bach: “2024 marks the 35th Anniversary of the 1st record ‘Skid Row” and on SELECT dates in 2024 we will be playing the record in its entirety! We will not be doing this at every show.”
Back in the summer/fall of 2019, Bach celebrated the 30th anniversary of SKID ROW’s debut with a U.S. tour where he performed the record in its entirety plus other songs from his catalog.
Released in the winter of 1989, SKID ROW’s self-titled record is one of heavy rock’s most successful debut albums, landing in Billboard’s Top 10 and going on to sell millions of copies around the world. The record transformed the band from local New Jersey quintet into a global phenomenon whose rebellious attitude and jaw-dropping talent set the bar and tone for rock music in the late ’80s and early ’90s. SKID ROW’s singles “18 And Life”, “Youth Gone Wild” and “I Remember You” are among the decade’s most recognizable rock anthems that still receive heavy airplay on radio stations across the country. The group again achieved commercial success with its second record, “Slave To The Grind” (1991) certified multi-platinum, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
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 bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave “Snake” 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 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. Theart was fired from SKID ROW in February 2022 and was replaced by Erik Grönwall, who was previously a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T.
In 2021, Bach completed a U.S. tour during which he celebrated the 30th anniversary of “Slave To The Grind”.
Two and a half years ago, Bach told Florida’s 98.7 The Gater radio station that “there’s no reason” for the classic SKID ROW not to reunite. “When those guys [in SKID ROW] try to say [about me], ‘He’s difficult to work with,’ let me just say this one more time. We have not been in the same room together since the year 1996,” he said. “Shut the eff up about you thinking you know what I’m like. You don’t know anything about what I’m like. And the ‘Gilmore Girls’ think I’m okay to work with; Broadway thinks I’m okay to work with; the ‘Trailer Park Boys’ think I’m okay; GUNS N’ ROSES think I’m pretty cool. We’re not getting any younger.”
Sebastian went on to say that a SKID ROW reunion “should” happen “for the fans. And we are absolutely running out of bands — bands that can play in sheds,” he said. “The fact that we are all still alive and we are all in our 50s — some closer to 60 than others — but that, to me, is selfish that we’re not together.
“I can play with anyone. I do play with everyone [laughs] — except for them.”
