BACH to REPLY in 3, 2, 1 ... RACHEL BOLAN Confirms their Debut Album Was '98 Percent' Written Before BACH joined

[MetalSludgeCEO]

This will surely irritate Bach...

-------------------------------------------

RACHEL BOLAN Confirms SKID ROW's Debut Album Was '98 Percent' Written Before SEBASTIAN BACH Joined The Band


In a recent interview with the "Radio Forrest" podcast, SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan was asked if it's true that the band's debut album, 1989's "Skid Row", was "completely written and done" before singer Sebastian Bach came into the group and laid down his vocals on it. Rachel responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, pretty much — all except for a couple things here and there, but I would say about 98 percent were written and done, for sure."

He added: "That's the way it just worked out. Snake [SKID ROW guitarist Dave Sabo] and I, when we first met, we just started writing songs. We each had our own band, and we didn't commit to a band. And we each did our own gigs and whatever, but we'd get together and write songs. And then once we saw, like, 'Wow. These songs are really cool. Let's put something together and just start playing them for people.' And that's how SKID ROW was born. It was kind of like a two- or three-step process. And so Snake and I just ended up the main songwriters. It's not to say that we didn't want anyone else's contributions, 'cause that's not the case."

Bolan continued: "You know as soon as you start playing an idea for the guys whether they like it or not, whether it's a good idea or not. 'Cause sometimes I think that I have the next 'Stairway To Heaven' and I'll bring it to rehearsal and everyone's, like, 'Eh.' And you're just, like, 'Oh, that hurts.' But it is what it is. All five of you have to have to get off on it for it to become a SKID ROW song."

Bach joined SKID ROW in 1988 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer Matt Fallon, who sang on demo versions of songs that were eventually re-recorded for SKID ROW's multi-platinum 1989 eponymous LP.

Back in June 2021, Bach weighed in on a Twitter discussion between SKID ROW fans in response to the announcement that the band's then-lineup would perform its second album, "Slave To The Grind", in its entirety at a California concert the folliwing month. When one fan wrote that Sebastian "made SKID ROW the band they were," another fan chimed in: "It's hard to say a guy made a band who they were when he didn't write anything on their biggest selling album. You get another good vocalist and you probably have the same result". This prompted Sebastian to write: "Hey stupid you do realize that the songwriting credits are on the album right? Can you read?" When the same Twitter user said that "Fans need to move past ERAs", Bach responded: "Fans have moved past ERAS they started back in 1996 jackass. You can either listen to #AngelDown #KickingandScreaming and #GiveEmHell," referencing his last three solo albums, "or you can listen to 'Rise Of The Damnation Army United World Rebellion Chapter 2'," which was the 2014 post-Bach EP released by SKID ROW. "The choice of songwriters is up to you".

Apparently undeterred, the fan who made the original comment about the alleged lack of Sebastian's songwriting contributions went on to say: "[Bach] wrote NONE of the songs on their biggest selling album which is the comment he is responding to,. I have been corrected on 'Slave To The Grind', I guess he can legitimately sing those 3 songs live". To this, Sebastian replied: "READ THE CREDITS YOU F****** IDIOT I wrote the song 'Makin A Mess' and every single high note on the first SKID ROW Record when I was 19 years old. You think anybody wrote the screams in '18 And Life' other than me? Why don't you go listen to the guy before me sing it on YouTube and go shove that video up your ass".

He continued: "Hey you dumb fuck I co-wrote five songs on 'Slave To The Grind' if you could learn to read you would know this. I co-wrote five songs on 'Subhuman Race' so shove that up your ass too. Go listen to my solo records & the records they make without me and have a gr8 time".

Sebastian added: "Read the credits if you want fact. The fact is u r a lifetime loser and you always will be. You have no clue what you're talking about & can't read liner notes. The albums they wrote without me are the ones that I do not sing on. My solo albums were written without them. Enjoy".

Sebastian's comments came six years after he slammed his former bandmates in SKID ROW for claiming to have written all the songs on the group's early records without him. During an appearance on the "Snider Comments" podcast with host Dee Snider of TWISTED SISTER, Bach said: "The biggest lie that those guys always tell is, 'We wrote all the songs on all the records.' If you listen to my albums and the SKID ROW albums, and then you listen to the SKID ROW albums without me, and then listen to my solo albums, that'll give you all that you need to know about who wrote what. When they say, 'We wrote the song '18 And Life', you [just] sang it.' Okay, let's examine that statement. You can go listen to the original version of that song online, and then you can listen to me doing it, and there's something called a melody line. Okay? Where it goes, [singing] 'Lived nine to five and he worked his fingers to the bone.' Every time my voice goes into the register where you turn it up and go, 'Holy shit! Did you fucking hear that?' Those are the notes that I wrote, okay? Nobody does that in the version before that I didn't fucking… 'Can I sing this note in this part?' 'Yeah, do that, Sebastian. Yeah, do that.'"

He continued: "So I'm nineteen years old, taking these fucking songs and turning them into JUDAS PRIEST songs, as far as… I'm rewriting the melody lines, never thinking anybody was gonna like it, never thinking anybody was gonna buy it. I'm thinking I'm gonna be the next MALICE, not the next BON JOVI. The last thing anybody ever thinks is that somebody is gonna like this shit. That was, like, the last-case scenario. So I'm not in court, saying, 'I wrote this note! I fucking…' I'm not gonna be in litigation when I'm nineteen. You know?! So, [them saying] 'We wrote all the songs' is such a fucking pile of shit."

Asked by Snider if he thinks it's okay for some other singer to come and imitate his vocal and writing style and represent himself as the frontman of SKID ROW, Bach responded: "No. I think they should change the name of the band and leave… Like, VAN HALEN, okay, had Sammy [Hagar]… Well, they had Gary [Cherone]…. [Laughs] I forgot about that. But anyways, I would say, save the name of the band… I'm not saying that for me; I'm saying that for all of rock and roll."

Sebastian also talked about the fact that he believes he is by far the most recognizable member of the classic SKID ROW lineup. He said: "The elephant in the room here is, like, when you [referring to Dee] and me walk down the street, Dee Snider and Sebastian Bach, we are the human beings that other human beings hang out the car window and go, 'Youth gone wild, motherfucker!' 'We're not gonna take it!' There's no other people… There's no other guy… Not one guy in SKID ROW walks down the street and can't walk down the fucking street. I can't walk down the street without people going, 'Fuck! What the fuck!' There's no [other] guy in the band that will ever have that; they never will. The public decides. It's like the show 'American Idol'. 'We're gonna pick an 'American idol'.' No, you're not. America is gonnna pick the fucking idol. America is the people that decide who the band is. You know what I'm saying?!"

Asked in a 2013 interview with Metal Covenant if Bach "actually wrote anything significant on [SKID ROW's early] albums," Sabo responded: "To be totally honest, yeah. I mean, he contributed to things here and there. There is no doubt; you can't deny it. But to the extent that what Rachel and I would put into a song, no. I mean, Rachel and I spent three months on 'Quicksand Jesus'. So to sit there and say that he didn't contribute anything, then I'd be lying. But to sit there and say that he contributed equally as we did, that would be a lie."

In a 2010 interview, Bolan stated about SKID ROW's split with Sebastian: "There was so much tension and so much infighting that it was hard to write songs. Snake and I formed the band, we wrote the songs, and then other people played and sang it. People wanted to break away from what had been working, and that impeded the songwriting."

Regarding the decision to reform SKID ROW in 1999 without Bach, Bolan said: "The blood was so bad after [1995's] 'Subhuman Race' and there was just so much stuff in the press, we knew it wasn't going to work [with Sebastian]. We decided we'd rather go on being happy with what we were doing than get right back into all the tension and dissension. We loved the music, we loved playing, and we knew we could do this and have fun again. So we decided right there to continue without him."



>> https://blabbermouth.net/news/rachel-bo ... d-the-band

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$ludge

[Bono Nettencourt]

I knew this back when - guy I went to college with knew their original singer. When they blew up he told us that Bach had joined right before the record came out.

[Wild Obsession]

Still doesn't change the fact that Bach's vocals and charisma was the "it factor" that brought them to the next level. Skid Row with Matt Fallon would have been a one album band and then forgotten.

[DangerZone]

Bach’s not wrong.
And Sabo & Bolan seem to be saying Bach added some stuff but they did the heavy lifting/initial song ideas.

nothing to really see on this thread

[GreatWhiteSnake]

"I WROTE THOSE HIGH SCREAMS!!!" Really?? Cool story bro...

[Ozzy Stradlin]

Everybody knows that.

The song credits say as much.

But, Bach still made the band special. They didn’t get rid of Fallon for nothing.

[Metal Judge]

Fuck! I got a headache just reading that! Could you imagine having that asshole in your band??!!! Wow!!

[Indy_Rob]

"I WROTE THOSE HIGH SCREAMS!!!" Really?? Cool story bro...

Is that even considered "songwriting?" Like, he changed the way it was sung (up or down) but does that equate to writing?

[BDG135]

Is this for all the non-nerdy fans who didn't read the liner notes?

[GreatWhiteSnake]

"I WROTE THOSE HIGH SCREAMS!!!" Really?? Cool story bro...

Is that even considered "songwriting?" Like, he changed the way it was sung (up or down) but does that equate to writing?

Not in my book but I guess it gets filed under "vocal melody"...

[DonJuanDeMarco]

You think anybody wrote the screams in '18 And Life' other than me?[/u][/b]

He’s right. He made the album what it was. Without him it may have been no bigger than something like John Corabi/The Scream.

But he did not write the songs.

Do you know how many session musicians wrote guitar riffs but got no writing credit? How many drummers come up with drum beats and get no writing credit?

The basic chord progression and lyrics/melody are what make a song. Everything else is part of the arrangement. It’s 100% important but it’s not technically “writing”.

[Hellbound]

That credit for "Makin' a Mess" is for one line.

Source: Snake's 20 questions with Sludge.

People are way too hung up about writing credits. The song just needs to be good.

[cowpins]

"You think anybody wrote the screams in '18 And Life' other than me? Why don't you go listen to the guy before me sing it on YouTube and go shove that video up your ass"."

Um....he's literately saying to listen to a song that was written BEFORE him.

[SexxAtraxxion]

Bach's solo debut (Angel Down) ≫ Skid Row albums without Bach

Bach is a much better songwriter than Bolan and Snake. He moved on and built a successful solo career.

[cowpins]

Um...playing his solo material, right?

[Fat_Elvis]

It was a perfect marriage. Bach needed the songs and Rachel & Snake needed Bach.

Without Sebastian in the band, nobody is talking about Skid Row in 2024. Bolan & Sabo benefitted financially because of the writing and that affords them the freedom to keep playing without Bach. The window to reunite was probably 20 years ago for the biggest cash grab. Now it's probably negligible. Whether or not Sebastian wrote any percent of the songs doesn't have anything to do with his impact on their success. Nobody was hanging posters of any of those other guys on their walls. Bach was the face and voice. And now he's the thorn in their side forever.

I would love to see a reunion. But I also admire their decision to do what makes them happy.

[El Vampiro Blanco]

"I WROTE THOSE HIGH SCREAMS!!!" Really?? Cool story bro...

Is that even considered "songwriting?" Like, he changed the way it was sung (up or down) but does that equate to writing?

Not in my book but I guess it gets filed under "vocal melody"...

Nah...
Cronos from Venom could growl the songs, but it is still the same vocal melody.
It doesn't matter whether you do it with a death metal growl or with high screams.

[Psychobolia.com]

Skid Row would be nowhere without Bach. Even if the debut was 105.5% written before he joined!

Bach solo albums are so much better than any post-STTGrind album.

[El Vampiro Blanco]

Skid Row would be nowhere without Bach. Even if the debut was 105.5% written before he joined!

Bach solo albums are so much better than any post-STTGrind album.

But that's not the point, is it.
The point is he is claiming to have co-written the songs because he put screams on them.

[cowpins]

Skid Row would be nowhere without Bach. Even if the debut was 105.5% written before he joined!

Bach solo albums are so much better than any post-STTGrind album.

But that's not the point, is it.
The point is he is claiming to have co-written the songs because he put screams on them.

"You're still getting it all wrong, man. Not screams, melody lines! I mean, listen to the song, you know, the they way they wrote it. Hear that one verse where the other dudes melody line is a la la la la la la? Well, mine is 'la la la LA LA LA LA LA LA LA'. That's a co-write, man!"

[Bono Nettencourt]

Skid Row would be nowhere without Bach. Even if the debut was 105.5% written before he joined!

Bach solo albums are so much better than any post-STTGrind album.

But that's not the point, is it.
The point is he is claiming to have co-written the songs because he put screams on them.

"You're still getting it all wrong, man. Not screams, melody lines! I mean, listen to the song, you know, the they way they wrote it. Hear that one verse where the other dudes melody line is a la la la la la la? Well, mine is 'la la la LA LA LA LA LA LA LA'. That's a co-write, man!"

https://youtu.be/a-1_9-z9rbY?si=zqzA-umhco8A_Mqg

[Tommy2Tone84]

I know Bach is hated on here and I doubt I could be his lifelong friend but I disagree that Skid Row, as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian. Similar to Motley Crue and Guns N Roses, The Skids tried to thread this needle between glam, hard rock, heavy metal and punk. They were mostly successful at it in the beginning but I’m convinced they couldn’t have done it without Sebastian. He was the perfect singer and frontman for that band. As much as I liked ZP and as much as I like Erik, Sebastian and the band had a chemistry that they never quite got back after the original breakup.

Bach also had more significant cowrites on Slave To The Grind and Subhuman Race. With the exception of the new one with Erik, I really don’t think much of the post Subhuman Race albums. RPM is just garbage and it’s all Rachel’s garbage. Sebastian fans are correct that his solo albums are better than SR’s output without him.

Rachel is also an idiot that he thought I Remember You wasn’t a good song or “too soft” at the time. He and Dave could have probably retired in 1990 or 91 from the royalties of that song alone.

[Wednesday 13 Fan]

I know Bach is hated on here and I doubt I could be his lifelong friend but I disagree that Skid Row, as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian. Similar to Motley Crue and Guns N Roses, The Skids tried to thread this needle between glam, hard rock, heavy metal and punk. They were mostly successful at it in the beginning but I’m convinced they couldn’t have done it without Sebastian. He was the perfect singer and frontman for that band. As much as I liked ZP and as much as I like Erik, Sebastian and the band had a chemistry that they never quite got back after the original breakup.

Bach also had more significant cowrites on Slave To The Grind and Subhuman Race. With the exception of the new one with Erik, I really don’t think much of the post Subhuman Race albums. RPM is just garbage and it’s all Rachel’s garbage. Sebastian fans are correct that his solo albums are better than SR’s output without him.

Rachel is also an idiot that he thought I Remember You wasn’t a good song or “too soft” at the time. He and Dave could have probably retired in 1990 or 91 from the royalties of that song alone.

Absolutely no one is arguing that Skid Row would have been as good or make the same impact without Sebastian.

And I fucking hate I Remember You.

It's perfectly okay if someone doesn't like a popular song. It doesn't mean Rachel is an idiot because he doesn't agree with you.

[Ozzy Stradlin]

Bach's solo debut (Angel Down) ≫ Skid Row albums without Bach

Bach is a much better songwriter than Bolan and Snake. He moved on and built a successful solo career.

I agree with you about Angel Down, but Bach didn’t write those songs by himself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Down?wprov=sfti1

(I think the credit on “Stuck Inside” is missing a credit for Mike Chlasciak).

Calling him a better writer than Bolan & Snake is debatable.

[Tommy2Tone84]

I know Bach is hated on here and I doubt I could be his lifelong friend but I disagree that Skid Row, as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian. Similar to Motley Crue and Guns N Roses, The Skids tried to thread this needle between glam, hard rock, heavy metal and punk. They were mostly successful at it in the beginning but I’m convinced they couldn’t have done it without Sebastian. He was the perfect singer and frontman for that band. As much as I liked ZP and as much as I like Erik, Sebastian and the band had a chemistry that they never quite got back after the original breakup.

Bach also had more significant cowrites on Slave To The Grind and Subhuman Race. With the exception of the new one with Erik, I really don’t think much of the post Subhuman Race albums. RPM is just garbage and it’s all Rachel’s garbage. Sebastian fans are correct that his solo albums are better than SR’s output without him.

Rachel is also an idiot that he thought I Remember You wasn’t a good song or “too soft” at the time. He and Dave could have probably retired in 1990 or 91 from the royalties of that song alone.

Absolutely no one is arguing that Skid Row would have been as good or make the same impact without Sebastian.

And I fucking hate I Remember You.

It's perfectly okay if someone doesn't like a popular song. It doesn't mean Rachel is an idiot because he doesn't agree with you.

Read the responses more carefully. Someone did make that argument above.

Good for you but you didn’t write the song. If Rachel (or Dave for that matter) thought it was such a piece of sh*t, then maybe they should’ve left it on the cutting room floor. Given some of the absolute garbage that Rachel has written over the last 30+ years beginning with crap like Creepshow, Get The F*ck Out (it’s lyrics have aged worse than Youth Gone Wild), Beggar’s Day, Bonehead, along with all the low rent crap he wrote when Johnny was in the band, I Remember You comes off sounding like Sweet Child of Mine.

It’s a lot like when Jon Bon Jovi claims he didn’t like Living On Prayer. There are only two reasons he could’ve had for not liking it: Desmond wrote most of it or he knew it was going to break him as a vocalist on tour.

Similarly, I remember Chip and Donnie always claiming they were never into their glam image and that was all ATCO’s idea. My response to that is STFU.


Same with Jani “Cherry Pie Guy” Lane. If he wasn’t into the song, then he should’ve told “Donnie” at the record label to take his record “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” like it is or they can dissolve their agreement right then and there. Like 98% of this genre, Jani had no f*cking spine. He exploited and benefited from cheesy sex themes like Down Boys when it benefitted him. But Cherry Pie was a line too far for Jani? You don’t hear Axl and Slash sh*t talking their ballads or even their crappy songs. You don’t hear James Hetfield going “Nothing Else Matters is the biggest piece of s*t ever”. You don’t hear Ozzy dissing on Mama I’m Coming Home or even low rent crap like No Bone Movies. You don’t hear Jerry Cantrell sh*t talking his songs. Do you hear Mike Monroe dissing Don’t You Ever Leave Me or Man With No Eyes, do you?

Yet, spineless hair metal hacks like Rachel and Jani seem or seemed to take pleasure in looking like posers. I say this as a big fan of the both of them, Rachel especially. But if he honestly wasn’t proud of the song then he shouldn’t have let it seen the light of day in the first place.

Sebastian might be a giant pain in the a**. But atleast he comes off mostly authentic when it comes to Skid Row’s history. Rachel, again he was and still is one of my idols, seemed to bury his head in the sand when grunge came sweeping through.

Oh and that “punk” version of IRY sucks rhino balls.

[greengoblinrulz]

Good thing Vince Neil wasnt a pussy also & claims he wrote all the screams & melodies for Motley or Dickinson w/Maiden....etc

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Bach's solo debut (Angel Down) ≫ Skid Row albums without Bach

Bach is a much better songwriter than Bolan and Snake. He moved on and built a successful solo career.

""""""""""""""""Bach is a much better songwriter than Bolan and Snake. He moved on and built a successful solo career."""""""""""""""""""

This might be 1 of the BIGGEST reach one-liners posted on here in 25 years!

$tEvil

[MetalSludgeCEO]

I know Bach is hated on here and I doubt I could be his lifelong friend but I disagree that Skid Row, as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian. Similar to Motley Crue and Guns N Roses, The Skids tried to thread this needle between glam, hard rock, heavy metal and punk. They were mostly successful at it in the beginning but I’m convinced they couldn’t have done it without Sebastian. He was the perfect singer and frontman for that band. As much as I liked ZP and as much as I like Erik, Sebastian and the band had a chemistry that they never quite got back after the original breakup.

Bach also had more significant cowrites on Slave To The Grind and Subhuman Race. With the exception of the new one with Erik, I really don’t think much of the post Subhuman Race albums. RPM is just garbage and it’s all Rachel’s garbage. Sebastian fans are correct that his solo albums are better than SR’s output without him.

Rachel is also an idiot that he thought I Remember You wasn’t a good song or “too soft” at the time. He and Dave could have probably retired in 1990 or 91 from the royalties of that song alone.

"""""""""""""""""" as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian""""""""""""""""

Or, Jon Bon Jovi.

Or, Doc McGee.

Just to be clear... those 2 names had WAY more of an impact than the guy you listed above.

Anymore questions... ?

Or, have all of you air-headed Bach loyalists NOT realized yet, that Jon in their corner, was essentially playing Blackjack with an Ace out of the box.

Note... GN'R had NO Jon, and NO Doc in their corner. Neither did Poison, nor did Warrant, L.A. Guns, or Winger.

Those bands went and played clubs on their first tours, and built it from the lowest levels.

Of course, so did Skid Row (before the arrival of Bach), but out of the gate. their first tour was opening for Bon Jovi for a year straight.

Does anyone really believe, that being in that position did not sell their record? Or help in a huge way?

I understand though... I really do... being a "Fan" only gives you so much perspective.

Fans don't understand the true different in being signed by the President of the label, or some A&R guy who is 24 years old getting the "green light" to give a band a deal.

Most don't understand the difference in getting a $250-400k budget to make their record, or getting $30-60k to do the same.

Most fans don't understand why one band gets added to 50-75+ radio stations on week 1 with their single, and why some others only get added to 5-10 stations.

Most fans don't understand how or why, 1 band gets to open the arena show, and their other favorite band plays the local 300 seat club.

Most of the fans don't understand that having your manager be say, the same guy who manages Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and Scorpions is usually a HUGE help compared to having your manager represent Sleez Beez or Britny Fox, and how that dynamic is a difference that can only be described as a massive factor to help the final outcome.

Most fans don't realize that the guy with the nice hair. or the coolest jacket isn't always the guy who built the band. wrote the songs, or is the OG in the photo that helped build that house from the ground up, and the person who is hosting the open house was hired for that, but never lifted a hammer or saw.

My head hurts from some of the stupidity that exists in the world, and on this board too... but it's all good... life is great... it really is.

$tEvil

[FreddyFender]

A lot of good looking guys with good voices hanging around LA could have been air-dropped into that band and the result would have been exactly the same: the songs were there, the right people were backing the band, they just needed the right guy to come in and sing the tunes.

Bach is a great singer, but he was just as much a Rent-A-Singer singing someone else's songs as ZP Threat.

Which is why they has never been, and never will be, a Skid Row "reunion" - Because Bach was never really part of the core band. They weren't friends, he wasn't there when they got their deal, he wasn't there when the songs were written.

[Tommy2Tone84]

I know Bach is hated on here and I doubt I could be his lifelong friend but I disagree that Skid Row, as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian. Similar to Motley Crue and Guns N Roses, The Skids tried to thread this needle between glam, hard rock, heavy metal and punk. They were mostly successful at it in the beginning but I’m convinced they couldn’t have done it without Sebastian. He was the perfect singer and frontman for that band. As much as I liked ZP and as much as I like Erik, Sebastian and the band had a chemistry that they never quite got back after the original breakup.

Bach also had more significant cowrites on Slave To The Grind and Subhuman Race. With the exception of the new one with Erik, I really don’t think much of the post Subhuman Race albums. RPM is just garbage and it’s all Rachel’s garbage. Sebastian fans are correct that his solo albums are better than SR’s output without him.

Rachel is also an idiot that he thought I Remember You wasn’t a good song or “too soft” at the time. He and Dave could have probably retired in 1990 or 91 from the royalties of that song alone.

"""""""""""""""""" as good as Dave and Rachel’s songs were, would have been as good or made the impact without Sebastian""""""""""""""""

Or, Jon Bon Jovi.

Or, Doc McGee.

Just to be clear... those 2 names had WAY more of an impact than the guy you listed above.

Anymore questions... ?

Or, have all of you air-headed Bach loyalists NOT realized yet, that Jon in their corner, was essentially playing Blackjack with an Ace out of the box.

Note... GN'R had NO Jon, and NO Doc in their corner. Neither did Poison, nor did Warrant, L.A. Guns, or Winger.

Those bands went and played clubs on their first tours, and built it from the lowest levels.

Of course, so did Skid Row (before the arrival of Bach), but out of the gate. their first tour was opening for Bon Jovi for a year straight.

Does anyone really believe, that being in that position did not sell their record? Or help in a huge way?

I understand though... I really do... being a "Fan" only gives you so much perspective.

Fans don't understand the true different in being signed by the President of the label, or some A&R guy who is 24 years old getting the "green light" to give a band a deal.

Most don't understand the difference in getting a $250-400k budget to make their record, or getting $30-60k to do the same.

Most fans don't understand why one band gets added to 50-75+ radio stations on week 1 with their single, and why some others only get added to 5-10 stations.

Most fans don't understand how or why, 1 band gets to open the arena show, and their other favorite band plays the local 300 seat club.

Most of the fans don't understand that having your manager be say, the same guy who manages Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and Scorpions is usually a HUGE help compared to having your manager represent Sleez Beez or Britny Fox, and how that dynamic is a difference that can only be described as a massive factor to help the final outcome.

Most fans don't realize that the guy with the nice hair. or the coolest jacket isn't always the guy who built the band. wrote the songs, or is the OG in the photo that helped build that house from the ground up, and the person who is hosting the open house was hired for that, but never lifted a hammer or saw.

My head hurts from some of the stupidity that exists in the world, and on this board too... but it's all good... life is great... it really is.

$tEvil

Steve. Matt joined Skid Row in 1986 and was in the band until late 1987 or sometime in 1988. They demoed the majority of the first album with Matt in Jon’s studio. They opened a couple of east Coast dates for Bon Jovi with Matt fronting the band. They didn’t take off. Matt isn’t a terrible singer but he had a limited range and didn’t have the personality and attitude that guys like Axl and Sebastian had. You’re talking minor leagues vs the majors. So your theory doesn’t hold up. I know it kills you to give Bach credit. But without him, I don’t see the band going anywhere. I don’t care who they have on their sidelines or in their back pocket due to childhood friendships.

Keel, Black N Blue and House of Lords all had Gene Simmons on their sides. Why didn’t any of them go anywhere? Keel, IIRC, even had Danny Goldmountain on their team. Why didn’t they take off? Keel opened a leg or two of Jovi’s Slippery tour. What happened?


BNB opened for KISS IN ARENAS and released plenty of albums and had videos on MTV. I remember them! I love me some JSJ. I wish he was still in Warrant. Miss Mystery is a hit single, only it wasn’t. Why? Because they weren’t childhood friends with Jon Bon Jovi?

House of Lords were essentially Angel and Giuffria. They got signed to Simmons Records because of that history. That’s not a leg up?
Why weren’t they the next Zeppelin or Whitesnake?

Dokken….Don was close, personal friends with the Scorpions. We all know the history and story there. Still….Dokken was never Skid Row nevermind Guns N Roses. They even had young, dumb, naive fans like me who thought for one hot minute in 1986 that Don was the greatest vocalist and frontman of all time. Until we arrived at the arena or stadium to watch them as an opening act and saw just how bad he sucked.

Don’t get me started on George Lynch. Everyone gives Bruce Kulick sh*t for not having cool points or a stage presence. He was Hendrix compared to how boring Lynch was to watch in the late 80s. Lynch stood still so much onstage, I thought he might be a stone s statue wheeled out onstage before the lights when up. Boring AF

Hollywood had plenty of upside in 1987. You’ve told us so. Much more so than New York. Correct? You guys had the legendary, infamous clubs from Santa Monica to Sunset to Reseda. There was a history there. All the suits and labels were located there too. I remember walking by Geffen Records one night in late summer 1989. All you Hollywood bands had plenty of advantages that the east coast bands did not. You guys even had a movie made about your scene. I knew your and Lean’s faces and band name before I had ever heard of Skid Row or Sebastian Bach.

I know it kills you to give Bach any kind of credit. But if Matt was so good and Jon was writing the checks and attaching the training wheels, why didn’t they take off in 1987 or 88 at the latest? It was all the same songs…..your thread title established that. So what was different? Only one thing: Sebastian Bach.

I’d probably want to punch him out or slit my wrist with a dull knife too like Rachel does. But SR with Bach made Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Ratt, Dokken, WASP and even Def Leppard and Motley look like washed up, old hat. For many, most people my age that band was Guns N Roses. But for me and even some of my friends, that band was Skid f*cking ROW!!!! I’ll take Skid Row and Slave to the Grind over anything Motley did from 1983 to 1989…maybe even 1982.

The Sleeze Beez and Britny Fox? Seriously? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Sleeze Beez but they weren’t Skid Row never mind Guns N Roses.

Britny Fox? They were a poor man’s Cinderella. Their albums sucked! They made Bulletboys literally look like classic Van Halen, and I say that as not the biggest BB fan.

Yes Stevie, even at the age of 16 and 17 in 1989-90, I was FULLY aware that Sebastian didn’t write much on the first album. I didn’t care then and I DON’T CARE now. I was a HUGE Dave Sabo and Jim Southworth fan. Jim turned me onto Graham Maby and helped me expand my musical tastes as a listener and fan. Had they stuck with Matt, they’d be saying “Would you like some fries with that?” Although Rachel jumped all over the grunge wagon. I guess riding Jovi’s coattails was great from 1986-1992. But once it became unhip, he jumped ship. Dyed his hair reddish pink and seemed all disgruntled.

Most of these bands had no spine. Sadly, Poison was one of the few bands who did.

Sebastian, even though he hated the hair metal tag, he stayed fairly authentic, even when he was playing with clowns like Richie Scarlett.

Matt was no Paul Di’Anno. But Sebastian definitely was a Bruce Dickinson and Ozzy. Period.

Erik’s great! I love that kid! But they will never recapture the magic they had from 1989-1992. That time has passed.