Skid Row Rehearsal Video from 1991

[LitaStrauss]

This video came out today. Sebastian is in his prime and sounds awesome, and it's crazy to see how good looking he was then and how he looks now. You can still tell he's a pain in the ass and he's always acting goofy but it works at this age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoQsfNoxOLA

[MattleyCrue]

That was fantastic.

We just wish he would be the new singer

[p86]

This has been out before. It’s really awesome and shows how great the Skids were. Much like the Crue, they couldn’t hold it together.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Epic stuff...

This was the band and frontman that were virtually untouchable at this place and time.

Saw them on both the first tour and this one more than once, and hung with them at their shows, a video shoot, a photo shoot, etc...

While I agree he was a force, he was already a half a nightmare at this early stage.

As I've stated before, in some of those situations, I saw him act like a huge jerk, the video shoot for "Piece of Me" was a "Hioly F#@k" is this guy an ass moment for me.

Like noted above... being a pain in the ass, immature and the rest is expected when you're in your early 20's, but when he acted stupid over the last 20-25 years, it kind of takes on a whole new meaning.

Of course only the band, families, crew, management, etc... saw what level of a pain he was in their heyday, selling 5M record, doing arenas and stadiums and having all of that in your back pocket at that age can def turn you into a monster.

$tEvil

[PBFSUCKS]

Epic stuff...

This was the band and frontman that were virtually untouchable at this place and time.

Saw them on both the first tour and this one more than once, and hung with them at their shows, a video shoot, a photo shoot, etc...

While I agree he was a force, he was already a half a nightmare at this early stage.

As I've stated before, in some of those situations, I saw him act like a huge jerk, the video shoot for "Piece of Me" was a "Hioly F#@k" is this guy an ass moment for me.

Like noted above... being a pain in the ass, immature and the rest is expected when you're in your early 20's, but when he acted stupid over the last 20-25 years, it kind of takes on a whole new meaning.

Of course only the band, families, crew, management, etc... saw what level of a pain he was in their heyday, selling 5M record, doing arenas and stadiums and having all of that in your back pocket at that age can def turn you into a monster.

$tEvil

What’s the piece of me story?

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Epic stuff...

This was the band and frontman that were virtually untouchable at this place and time.

Saw them on both the first tour and this one more than once, and hung with them at their shows, a video shoot, a photo shoot, etc...

While I agree he was a force, he was already a half a nightmare at this early stage.

As I've stated before, in some of those situations, I saw him act like a huge jerk, the video shoot for "Piece of Me" was a "Hioly F#@k" is this guy an ass moment for me.

Like noted above... being a pain in the ass, immature and the rest is expected when you're in your early 20's, but when he acted stupid over the last 20-25 years, it kind of takes on a whole new meaning.

Of course only the band, families, crew, management, etc... saw what level of a pain he was in their heyday, selling 5M record, doing arenas and stadiums and having all of that in your back pocket at that age can def turn you into a monster.

$tEvil

What’s the piece of me story?

Read it right here, in TUFF DIARIES #10 (1989)

https://metalsludge.tv/tuff-diares-10-g ... ock-rings/

$tEvil

[skinni]

Awesome video, thanks for the link!!

Bach sounds amazing, saw them several times on this tour.

The current pregnant-version of Bach could never pull these songs off.

[ParaDime77]

As CEO stated, Skids were untouchable during this point of their lives. The band is heavy and aggressive, no similar band in that genre could even sniff this intensity.

[ParaDime77]

As CEO stated, Skids were untouchable during this point of their lives. The band is heavy and aggressive, no similar band in that genre could even sniff this intensity.

[VinceVanLane]

That's an awesome video. I actually forgot how dominating they were back then. As somebody said, they were untouchable. It's easy to forgot that now when you see what a mess Sebastian has become.

[Darrien]

This video has been around for a while but yes, it's fucking amazing. Look at how much energy they have just for a rehearsal, they are absolutely killing it.

[Mister Freeze]

Sebastian is holding nothing back. Almost the same performance you'd get at an actual concert back then.

No tracks, band can sing their own backing vocals. Nice.

Appreciate the little moment of Faith No More at 44:38:
https://youtu.be/IoQsfNoxOLA?si=soy0zjMeM5kgrrVz&t=2678

A slice of 1990/1991 for sure.

[Love_Industry]

As CEO stated, Skids were untouchable during this point of their lives. The band is heavy and aggressive, no similar band in that genre could even sniff this intensity.

The problem is, and it became obvious on this tour, they only had songs for one album and one single. Most songs from STTG were bland and unremarkable compared to the songs they played from the first album.

And how is STTG not seen as a bomb? In 1991, still pre-grunge and peak hair metal it sold less than half of the debut despite the three power ballad singles and tour with GnR. Did the #1 make it look bigger than it ever was?

[Bair Hand]

And how is STTG not seen as a bomb?

Because it was fucking great.

[Ryan81]

I gained a lot of respect for Skid Row because of Slave To The Grind. Out of all the bands at that time they could have cashed in HUGE if they put out a pop-metal album with wimpy ballads. Instead they put out something much heavier than I think anybody expected. That absolutely guaranteed that it wasn't going to sell as well which would've guaranteed they made less money, but they did it anyway. That is pretty cool.

Every single other band, except the great Judas Priest, had been on a path of releasing weaker and weaker albums. But with what Priest did with Painkiller after they had some publicity from the trial and what Skid Row did after the huge success of their debut those two bands will always have big respect from me (which I know is a huge thing for them).

Or perhaps maybe the Skids were just incapable of writing a commercial hit album at that point, but I doubt it. They could've done the lame Bon Jovi thing and brought in writers and the audience wouldn't have cared. I'd imagine Jon probably suggested this to them a time or two. They really were in a position to be nearly as big as Bon Jovi, but instead they put out a pretty fuckin' heavy album with a number of really solid and heavy tunes.

[Rocker4Real]

I just read in the Nothin' But A Good Time book that Snake Sabo was told by Atlantic that Slave would cut their audience in half since albums that heavy do not appeal to girls. It appealed to plenty of young males though. It caused my 13-year-old self to Rock out and buy the CD! Double Platinum is still good for an album not targeted to the mainstream.

[SexxAtraxxion]

What if 'Slave to the Grind' was their first record? Would they have been welcomed by the 90s generation crowd?

[FreddyFender]

That 12-string Hammer bass is a little unnecessary. Sounds great though.

[Rocker4Real]

What if 'Slave to the Grind' was their first record? Would they have been welcomed by the 90s generation crowd?

Not if the person started being a Rock fan with bands like Nirvana.

[Love_Industry]

I gained a lot of respect for Skid Row because of Slave To The Grind. Out of all the bands at that time they could have cashed in HUGE if they put out a pop-metal album with wimpy ballads. Instead they put out

... a pop punk album with THREE power ballad singles. That's 90s Aerosmith and Scorpions territory.

And a silly novelty song in GTFO if you got the most common version. They became uncool very quickly, like Twisted Sister in 85.

[Rÿche 1]

As CEO stated, Skids were untouchable during this point of their lives. The band is heavy and aggressive, no similar band in that genre could even sniff this intensity.

The problem is, and it became obvious on this tour, they only had songs for one album and one single. Most songs from STTG were bland and unremarkable compared to the songs they played from the first album.

And how is STTG not seen as a bomb? In 1991, still pre-grunge and peak hair metal it sold less than half of the debut despite the three power ballad singles and tour with GnR. Did the #1 make it look bigger than it ever was?

Are you fucking high? Slave to the Grind is one of the best albums ever recorded!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cowpins]

Well that's a kick in the balls.

[VinceVanLane]

I gained a lot of respect for Skid Row because of Slave To The Grind. Out of all the bands at that time they could have cashed in HUGE if they put out a pop-metal album with wimpy ballads. Instead they put out

... a pop punk album with THREE power ballad singles. That's 90s Aerosmith and Scorpions territory.

And a silly novelty song in GTFO if you got the most common version. They became uncool very quickly, like Twisted Sister in 85.

This is one of the more ridiculous takes I've seen on this board in a long time. There's nothing "pop punk" about Monkey Business, Slave To The Grind, The Threat, Psycho Love, Livin' On A Chain Gang, Creepshow, Mudkicker, or the ballads. Maybe I'll give you Riot Act and Get The Fuck Out for being more punkish, but that's it. The ballads weren't exactly love songs either with one of them being about heroin, another one about losing faith in religion, and the third about being in a dark room. It's not like they were putting out sappy love ballads like "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing."

Blink 182 or Green Day is pop punk. If you think Slave To The Grind is pop punk record, then you're on the wrong message board. Slave To The Grind is just a heavier and aggressive rock album. Why is that so hard to understand? And anybody saying the album was a bomb either wasn't around when it came out or is just wanting to rewrite history.

[Darrien]

I gained a lot of respect for Skid Row because of Slave To The Grind. Out of all the bands at that time they could have cashed in HUGE if they put out a pop-metal album with wimpy ballads. Instead they put out

... a pop punk album with THREE power ballad singles. That's 90s Aerosmith and Scorpions territory.

And a silly novelty song in GTFO if you got the most common version. They became uncool very quickly, like Twisted Sister in 85.

I'll give you the 3 ballads thing but pop punk? shit, that's a head scratcher for sure.

Also, I'll die on the hill that GTFO is a good song in the context of the album, you can all fuck off with Beggar's Day.

[War_in_D]

I gained a lot of respect for Skid Row because of Slave To The Grind. Out of all the bands at that time they could have cashed in HUGE if they put out a pop-metal album with wimpy ballads. Instead they put out

... a pop punk album with THREE power ballad singles. That's 90s Aerosmith and Scorpions territory.

And a silly novelty song in GTFO if you got the most common version. They became uncool very quickly, like Twisted Sister in 85.

This is one of the more ridiculous takes I've seen on this board in a long time. There's nothing "pop punk" about Monkey Business, Slave To The Grind, The Threat, Psycho Love, Livin' On A Chain Gang, Creepshow, Mudkicker, or the ballads. Maybe I'll give you Riot Act and Get The Fuck Out for being more punkish, but that's it. The ballads weren't exactly love songs either with one of them being about heroin, another one about losing faith in religion, and the third about being in a dark room. It's not like they were putting out sappy love ballads like "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing."

Blink 182 or Green Day is pop punk. If you think Slave To The Grind is pop punk record, then you're on the wrong message board. Slave To The Grind is just a heavier and aggressive rock album. Why is that so hard to understand? And anybody saying the album was a bomb either wasn't around when it came out or is just wanting to rewrite history.

"About being in a dark room..." Lol. Wow, you should write album reviews for reals.

[VinceVanLane]

... a pop punk album with THREE power ballad singles. That's 90s Aerosmith and Scorpions territory.

And a silly novelty song in GTFO if you got the most common version. They became uncool very quickly, like Twisted Sister in 85.

This is one of the more ridiculous takes I've seen on this board in a long time. There's nothing "pop punk" about Monkey Business, Slave To The Grind, The Threat, Psycho Love, Livin' On A Chain Gang, Creepshow, Mudkicker, or the ballads. Maybe I'll give you Riot Act and Get The Fuck Out for being more punkish, but that's it. The ballads weren't exactly love songs either with one of them being about heroin, another one about losing faith in religion, and the third about being in a dark room. It's not like they were putting out sappy love ballads like "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing."

Blink 182 or Green Day is pop punk. If you think Slave To The Grind is pop punk record, then you're on the wrong message board. Slave To The Grind is just a heavier and aggressive rock album. Why is that so hard to understand? And anybody saying the album was a bomb either wasn't around when it came out or is just wanting to rewrite history.

"About being in a dark room..." Lol. Wow, you should write album reviews for reals.

Thanks! LOL. I just dumbed it down for Mr. Pop Punk.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

I just read in the Nothin' But A Good Time book that Snake Sabo was told by Atlantic that Slave would cut their audience in half since albums that heavy do not appeal to girls. It appealed to plenty of young males though. It caused my 13-year-old self to Rock out and buy the CD! Double Platinum is still good for an album not targeted to the mainstream.

When Tuff had our "meeting" with the powers that be at Atlantic, in May of 1992, they were not thrilled with our direction of the NEW songs.

They listened to parts of "God Bless This Mess", "In Dogs We Trust" and then "Better Off Dead", about 30 seconds of each... maybe a minute.

Jason Flom instructed Kevin Williamson (West Coast A&R guy), when to start and stop the tape... it was not a pleasant 15 minutes...

Flom said... "What is this? 'Better off Dead'? We're going to have kids killing themselves to your music?" or something along those lines...

Flom told Tuff to our faces, "Skid Row sold 5M copies of their debut, they went Heavier, and now it's stalled out after 1M copies"

In the end... it sold 2M, but the debut went 5x platinum in the US and 3x platinum in Canada.

He had a valid point...

Also... touring with Bon Jovi, in 100% SOLD OUT arenas, to 15-20,000 nightly... compared to headlining with Pantera opening, playing 4-5,000 seat venues... also played into those final numbers... the truth is... the machine that is the music industry, can make or break anyone... regardless of your talent, looks, abilities, etc...

$tEvil

[War_in_D]

I just read in the Nothin' But A Good Time book that Snake Sabo was told by Atlantic that Slave would cut their audience in half since albums that heavy do not appeal to girls. It appealed to plenty of young males though. It caused my 13-year-old self to Rock out and buy the CD! Double Platinum is still good for an album not targeted to the mainstream.

When Tuff had our "meeting" with the powers that be at Atlantic, in May of 1992, they were not thrilled with our direction of the NEW songs.

They listened to parts of "God Bless This Mess", "In Dogs We Trust" and then "Better Off Dead", about 30 seconds of each... maybe a minute.

Jason Flom instructed Kevin Williamson (West Coast A&R guy), when to start and stop the tape... it was not a pleasant 15 minutes...

Flom said... "What is this? 'Better off Dead'? We're going to have kids killing themselves to your music?" or something along those lines...

Flom told Tuff to our faces, "Skid Row sold 5M copies of their debut, they went Heavier, and now it's stalled out after 1M copies"

In the end... it sold 2M, but the debut went 5x platinum in the US and 3x platinum in Canada.

He had a valid point...

Also... touring with Bon Jovi, in 100% SOLD OUT arenas, to 15-20,000 nightly... compared to headlining with Pantera opening, playing 4-5,000 seat venues... also played into those final numbers... the truth is... the machine that is the music industry, can make or break anyone... regardless of your talent, looks, abilities, etc...

$tEvil

So instead of being Poison were you now trying to be Skid Row?

[MetalSludgeCEO]

I just read in the Nothin' But A Good Time book that Snake Sabo was told by Atlantic that Slave would cut their audience in half since albums that heavy do not appeal to girls. It appealed to plenty of young males though. It caused my 13-year-old self to Rock out and buy the CD! Double Platinum is still good for an album not targeted to the mainstream.

When Tuff had our "meeting" with the powers that be at Atlantic, in May of 1992, they were not thrilled with our direction of the NEW songs.

They listened to parts of "God Bless This Mess", "In Dogs We Trust" and then "Better Off Dead", about 30 seconds of each... maybe a minute.

Jason Flom instructed Kevin Williamson (West Coast A&R guy), when to start and stop the tape... it was not a pleasant 15 minutes...

Flom said... "What is this? 'Better off Dead'? We're going to have kids killing themselves to your music?" or something along those lines...

Flom told Tuff to our faces, "Skid Row sold 5M copies of their debut, they went Heavier, and now it's stalled out after 1M copies"

In the end... it sold 2M, but the debut went 5x platinum in the US and 3x platinum in Canada.

He had a valid point...

Also... touring with Bon Jovi, in 100% SOLD OUT arenas, to 15-20,000 nightly... compared to headlining with Pantera opening, playing 4-5,000 seat venues... also played into those final numbers... the truth is... the machine that is the music industry, can make or break anyone... regardless of your talent, looks, abilities, etc...

$tEvil

So instead of being Poison were you now trying to be Skid Row?

""""""""""""""'So instead of being Poison were you now trying to be Skid Row?""""""""""""""

No... we were trying to be Right Said Fred.

$tEvil

[endstand]

As CEO stated, Skids were untouchable during this point of their lives. The band is heavy and aggressive, no similar band in that genre could even sniff this intensity.

The problem is, and it became obvious on this tour, they only had songs for one album and one single. Most songs from STTG were bland and unremarkable compared to the songs they played from the first album.

And how is STTG not seen as a bomb? In 1991, still pre-grunge and peak hair metal it sold less than half of the debut despite the three power ballad singles and tour with GnR. Did the #1 make it look bigger than it ever was?

Agree. The first album had well written, memorable, poppy enough hit songs. Sure, quite a few bland tunes in between, but enough really good stuff.

STTG while being ”heavy” had mainly mediocre riff driven hard rock songs with not enough hit potential. I am sure the band and the label were really happy when it went to number one, but in the end it did not have any big hits. And that was pretty much their run, everybody knows what happened with Subhuman Race then.

But sure, they were super tight live and Sebastian was truly unique and kick ass on his prime. No doubt about that.