In a new interview with the Appetite For Distortion podcast Skid Row guitarist Scotti Hill spoke about the band’s search for a new singer, following the exit of their latest frontman, Erik Grönwall, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, and as a result, his being immunocompromised, made touring difficult.
Scotti said (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “We are looking at some people. We’ve got a nice list of people that we’re gonna sit down with. And we’re continuing to look. But it’s not like Smashing Pumpkins and we’re just inviting the whole world in to throw their tapes on our desk. That’s a little over the top.
Lots of people have reached out. I understand why. But I’m not the guy to get in touch with. I love Skid Row. Skid Row is my family, it’s my life, but when I’m not with Skid Row, I’m in here [at my home] doing stuff. So I kind of keep my fingers out of that whole thing. But a lot of people are getting in touch with us and some of them are really good. Some of them are not really good. But with YouTube and Instagram and such, you can go out and find people quite easily. It wasn’t like the old days where you had to put an ad in every music paper in the country and word of mouth and all that stuff, pre-Internet. It’s much easier now…
…It doesn’t even have to be a guy. Look at Lzzy [Hale of Halestrom who played four shows with Skid Row in late May and early June as a guest vocalist]. I mean, she came and rocked it. It could be a woman.”
Hill also once again addressed some fans’ incessant calls for a reunion with Sebastian Bach, who was the singer during the band’s most commercially successful period. He replied, “Well, they’re never gonna stop asking [about a reunion]. But for me, and I think I can speak for the other guys, it’s just a simple quality-of-life issue. People are, like, ‘Just put your differences aside and do it.’ Well, I don’t wanna do it. There are no differences. I don’t wanna do it. I don’t wanna be in the room with somebody that I don’t like.”
“We did great things in the past, but this is about way more than a band or music,” Hill explained. “‘Do it for the fans.’ No, no. I’m not going to put my good life and well-being and peace, I’m not gonna sacrifice that for the fans. That’s not what I do. And anybody that calls himself a fan wouldn’t ask the band to put themselves through something they don’t wanna do. But people just want what they want…They want that band back with that guy. They still want Bon Scott back in AC/DC. I mean, come on.”
When asked about whether there is a specific “personality trait” that makes a Skid Row reunion with Bach impossible, Hill said, “I don’t wanna have food poisoning every day of the week. That’s all. It’s toxic. There’s no specific thing. I mean, there’s a lot of specific things…And we’ve always been really tight-lipped about that. And maybe someday we’ll just start talking about it. There’s a lot to talk about. Let’s put the focus somewhere else.”
“If you don’t like Skid Row without that singer, you don’t have to listen,” he added. “And on the flipside of that, if you love that singer, if you love both of us, then go see him. We’re talking about Sebastian Bach. Go see him. I’ll tell you what. You know what I’ll give him, is the guy puts it out there, man. He puts it out there. He is 100 percent rock and roll all the time, and he puts it out there. So if you go see him, you’re gonna get a rock show. But I don’t need that in my life. I’m not gonna put myself through whatever. I just don’t want it.”
8 Responses
Ol’ Scottie just opened up a huge can of worms! Now the band will not only be asked about a Bach reunion during interview, but they’ll be asked for specific details and what happened that they’ve been so tight lipped about.
Well, I doubt any of the three will answer. They haven’t yet, and it has been decades, without a specific peep. So interviewers can ask all they want, they are likely to get a vague or nebulous reply.
However, this interview did accomplish one thing, it took the heat off of both Bolan and Sabo, as the heavies.
One huge reunion tour, cash grab. Retire. Why? Because, if you are really being honest about Skid Row, aside from a reunion, nobody cares. They had their day. Playing for a living in bars and state fairs is better than punching a clock, sure. But along the way, as Real said above, the questions keep coming. And guess what? Those questions are not going to be about a new album with their 14th vocalist.
Excellent points Dana. I have to give these guys kudos. All these years and all of the money that’s been thrown their way and they’ve always stood their ground. Even more impressive is they haven’t aired their dirty laundry publicly about whatever Bach “did.” They’ve made it known they don’t care to reunite with him when asked and that’s it. But on the other hand, they haven’t been able to match those albums with Bach since he left and they primarily play mainly the Bach era songs live. They’ve also been thru a handful of different singers for various reasons which makes me wonder if the band aren’t the easiest people to work with either.
Well,
I guess will never know, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. I just find it odd, that it seems to be three against one, I would love to know Rob Affuso’s thoughts. He has recently worked with Bach, and I am unsure about his relationship with the other former band members. I don’t know why I have the feeling, he hasn’t had much contact with any of them? Perhaps, I read it somewhere over the years?
I appreciate Scotti’s candidness about reuniting with Bach. Just cuz the members of Skid Row are constantly answering questions about a reunion and Bach talks about a reunion any chance he gets, doesn’t mean the fans are clamoring for a reunion. While the idea of a fat reunion payday sounds romantic, personally, I think think it’s fairy tale. Bach is out there performing Skid Row songs and Skid Row is out there performing Skid Row songs. Things seem pretty much covered….and Scotti’s comments appear to confirm a reunion with Bach will never happen.
I don’t think it’s a can of worms either. The specifics are implied. Everything in the world happens or doesn’t happen for a reason(s). As he said someone may crack one day. That said, plenty of bands are sucking it up for the money but for whatever reason, Snake, Scotti, and Rach ain’t doing it. Gotta hand it to Scotti though, he didn’t talk trash and finished up by giving Bas props. I feel like he gave his opinion without talking sh-t because obviously it is toxic to their side of the ledger.