SKID ROW charted their new longplayer "The Gang's All Here" at number 15 on the German album charts. This is the second highest chart position ever for the band in Germany.
Additionally, the band is pleased with #5 in Switzerland (Album Charts), #2 in the UK (Rock Charts), #1 in Sweden (Hard Rock Charts), and #4 in the USA (Album Rock Charts).
"The Gang's All Here" is bursting with energy and exceeds all expectations for the band's return. The album is not only the uncompromising evolution of the Skid Row trademark sound: with the addition of singer Erik Grönwall (formerly of H.E.A.T. and one of the best hard rock frontmen of all time) to the family, Skid Row is also boldly exploring new paths.
The band is currently touring in England and will come to Germany for 4 shows in November:
Skid Row Live
09.11.22 Hamburg, DE Fabrik
10.11.22 Oberhausen, DE Turbinenhalle 2
13.11.22 Bruchsal, DE Fabrik
14.11.22 Munich, DE Backstage (Werk)
SKID ROW are:
Erik Grönwall – Vocals
Snake Sabo – Guitar
Scotti Hill – Guitar
Rachel Bolan – Bass
Rob Hammersmith – Drums
Do you remember the first time you heard Skid Row?
"Youth Gone Wild" was playing on MTV. "18 and Life" was the summer hit, and the band was very present on the covers of rock magazines. That intoxicating sound of youth was heard everywhere. We recognized ourselves in the band and gathered around their catchy choruses about camaraderie and rebellion. Rob Hammersmith saw himself exactly in that gang mentality. "I was looking for that," he recalls. "Everyone goes through the 'me against the world' phase, where you just have to stand up for yourself and prove yourself. Every kid goes through that phase, and Skid Row helped realize that you're not alone in it."
Snake Sabo knew he wasn't alone after entering a songwriting partnership with Rachel Bolan. "I saw all the talent he had and still has, and it sparked something in me. I thought, 'Man, this is the beginning of something great. This is exactly where we should be at this moment in our lives.' That was the birth of Skid Row."
This something - and the band name - represented the impulse of wild kids who could channel their love for punk and metal into something understood worldwide by like-minded individuals. The moment we came up with Skid Row as a band name, I realized we were building something very special that reflects all our influences," Rachel recalls. Their attitude and presence were palpable in those songs. It was obvious. A demo of songs that Rachel and Snake had written together was the first that Scotti Hill heard from Skid Row, and he wanted to be part of it. "There were three songs on it — including 'Clock Strikes Midnight' — and I loved all three. Right from the start, I liked the direction the music was taking. I just had to be in that damn band!"
It was exactly this band that created something so powerful and timeless that years later it captivated a young Swedish singer on the other side of the world. "You're young, a little crazy - fist in the air and fuck yeah - that kind of feeling," Erik Grönwall remembers. "Skid Row are 'the youth gone wild', and I wanted the same. I wanted that lifestyle."
It's a cliché to say that a band needs its whole life to write a first album. The truth is, they spend the rest of their lives trying to understand how they managed to do it. "The Gang's All Here" is the catalyst for an attitude that has been burning since the band's founding in 1986. Producer Nick Raskulinecz ignited a creative fire by getting the band to construct good ideas and turn them into something even better. Something timeless. He became the referee of their legacy, allowing the band to trust their instincts and be the same unruly kids who created their first two albums.
"For 'World On Fire' I had written this really cool riff. Nick said, play the chord up here, an octave higher than the original notes. At first, I didn't know how to physically pull that off, it was hard. But it challenged me. And when I got it right, Nick just said, 'That's Skid Row.' That was a tough moment. There was this guy who had to coax Skid Row out of me… even though I'm a founding member of the band! We were kids," Rachel says about writing songs that propelled "Slave To The Grind" to number 1 on the Billboard charts and made the self-titled album a #6 multi-platinum hit. "We were writing from a completely different perspective back then. Nick brought us back: what approach did we take on the first two records? What did we do back then? In the end, I felt just like I did back when we wrote '18 and Life' and 'Youth Gone Wild'," he says. "There was this feeling: Wow! We're creating something really cool here!"
The album production really felt like back then when the gang was meticulously crafting songs in a garage in New Jersey. "It's so much fun to be able to let everything out in a room," Scotti says. "It felt like back then, as if we were back in our garage, like in the old days. The only difference is that we now have air conditioning and don't have to inhale the fumes from kerosene heaters anymore."
Rob knows the feeling. "The way we spent eight to ten hours a day trying out ideas and playing things brought us back to the feeling of being a kid playing in the garage with friends," he says. "This album is really a group effort, and I really enjoyed how close this whole experience was with the guys." This creative closeness led to new songs being spontaneously written during rehearsals. As soon as someone played new riffs, songs like "World On Fire" and "Not Dead Yet" were born on the spot. "That was really a premiere," Rachel says. "When everyone contributes from the start, you can really work instinctively."
Still, Scotti feels that the co-writing of Rachel and Snake is the most characteristic for Skid Row. "The best stuff is what they create together, just the two of them. Let them do what they do. That's how it was in the beginning, and it works great now too. This combination of the guy who writes those powerful guitar riffs and the guy who was influenced by punk and has that poetic street poetry style."
"I wish I had written these songs," Erik laughs. "There are a lot of great songs here. It's a nice problem to have too many potential singles. These songs have a lot of 'old school' Skid Row in them, like on 'Tear It Down', which I like as a fan." This old-school style makes "The Gang's All Here" instantly familiar. It's the sound of a good time. "Many of the songs are fun," Rachel says. "They're songs you can sing and move to, just like on our first two albums. You can fight to these songs. Drink to them. Strip to them. All areas are covered."
Raskulinecz encouraged Skid Row not to shy away from putting typical accents that define their classic songs. The band should sound like they sound. He pursued the same philosophy as producer Michael Wagener many years ago. "Nick is very aware of the past and respects it," Snake says. "But it's more about the essence and the soul of why we started this thing in the first place. He said everything from 1985, when I met Rachel, to 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee, is Skid Row, and he was there to remind us of that."
Another déjà vu is Erik Grönwall and his growling sound, which can range from a gritty grin to a sweet whisper. "We wanted him to show his full range," Rachel says. "We wanted him to really tap into his influences - Skid Row happens to be one of them. But above all, we wanted him to just let loose and do what he does best."
"That was exactly my approach," Erik says. "Finding a good balance between the old-school stuff and the way I sing. I just had so much fun recording this album because I really enjoy singing this kind of music." The first song he heard was "The Gang's All Here", and Erik felt immediately transported back. "That was for me Skid Row of the old school - the Skid Row I fell in love with. I thought, wow, they're really returning to the old school sound, and I can contribute something here. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it when I heard it for the first time."
From songwriting to performance, the entire band agrees that the ten tracks on "The Gang's All Here" are among their best songs ever. There is a palpable connection to the songs that too often gets lost in the technicalities of making music. "There's a piece that came about between Snake and me - 'October's Song' - where we ended up playing a double lead. That's really cool, and it was so much fun. He was on the left side of the room, I was on the right, and we played together. That's how it should be, and not many people do it that way these days."
There will always be expectations of how Skid Row should sound. Erik expects strict comparisons with other singers in the band's history. But he thinks it's a good thing that people care so much. "That speaks to the greatness of the band. If people care that much, it means the band is relevant." "Many people have taken this journey with us," Snake says. "But even though we've all gotten older - and a little wiser - our essence is still there."
You won't be disappointed. "The Gang's All Here" is a revival of everything you've ever loved about Skid Row. Snake calls it a rebirth. "There's a newly discovered energy and passion - and excitement - because we were challenged. When we're challenged, we rise to the occasion! There's still so much in us that needs to be told. Recording this album showed me that our tank is far from empty."
The Gang's All Here - you, the band, and the attitude of being forever wild and young at heart. The album will bring back to life everything you felt the first time you heard this band. It's like the first time you heard Skid Row, over and over again.
