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Erik Gronwall is now the new singer of Skid Row


Captain Howdy

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3 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

I just spun the S/T disc and this didn't remind me at all of that album.

The S/T  is flat out a Fantastic album!!!

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new song is nothing great, will def be a bathroom break song on the tour of the local bowling alleys and casinos. I've seen comments about the debut related to this song; but the every song on the debut along with the leftover Forever destroys this new song.  Bach in his prime has a lot to do with how good those early skid row albums are, don't think the band would've amounted to anything without Bach. 

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Also a UK tour in October around the time the album comes out, and sharing the bill with Winger.

https://planetradio.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/skid-row-uk-tour/

Tickets are a bit pricey for the venue, but with Winger on the bill and two other bands (Phil X  & The Drills plus Collateral) makes it a fair price.

 

 

As for that Aussie tour, I am sure Reckless Love will help them shift some tickets as well.

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These guys are dicks:

Touching upon the circumstances that led to SKID ROW's split with Theart, Sabo said: "It got to a point where the situation with Zee kind of put itself forth where we had to make a decision, because something still wasn't working correctly. And that's when the idea with Erik came up. And ironically enough, years ago, a good friend of mine, Rob Hoffman, had said, 'If something ever happens, there's this guy in Sweden.' And he said the same thing to our manager as well years ago. And all of a sudden, as life happens, it kind of came full circle and it became a reality.

"I've been on a high for probably the last month, just hearing the way the songs are coming out, seeing the enthusiasm in everybody, seeing the positive reactions we're getting from playing it for people," Snake added. "And it feels so amazing. I feel like I'm 25 years old again… But it's been an incredible experience, and the way this whole thing has sort of come to fruition, it makes you just go, 'Man, there's something going on that's beyond our control.' The stars aligned, if you will."

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Played the new song for my buddy and he said "how can they say "the gang's all here" when Baz ain't there?" He wasn't too impressed. 

Good question and point my friend.

 

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10 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

Played the new song for my buddy and he said "how can they say "the gang's all here" when Baz ain't there?" He wasn't too impressed. 

Good question and point my friend.

 

Thing is though I could care less if Bach is there.  I was never a huge Skid Row fan and for me the nosedive started after Slave while Bach was still there.  If Bach really wanted to be there, he would be.  I don't think he's a Saint in all that's happened either.  And for my money, Erik is way better than Bach at this point in time anyways.

Either way, I'm viewing this as basically a new band with Erik Gronwall singing and they play some Skid Row tunes.

I dig the new tune quite a bit and I'm more interested in their new music with Erik than their past with Bach.

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12 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

Played the new song for my buddy and he said "how can they say "the gang's all here" when Baz ain't there?" He wasn't too impressed. 

Good question and point my friend.

 

Yeah and Rob ain't there either...he seems sort of forgotten...the life of a drummer lol

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8 hours ago, tts42572 said:

Thing is though I could care less if Bach is there.  I was never a huge Skid Row fan and for me the nosedive started after Slave while Bach was still there.  If Bach really wanted to be there, he would be.  I don't think he's a Saint in all that's happened either.  And for my money, Erik is way better than Bach at this point in time anyways.

Either way, I'm viewing this as basically a new band with Erik Gronwall singing and they play some Skid Row tunes.

I dig the new tune quite a bit and I'm more interested in their new music with Erik than their past with Bach.

That's not how it works though is it. He has tried to reunite the band and the other three won't allow it, and would assume that Bach has no legal right to the name. He can't just force his way back in.

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  • 4 weeks later...

 

 

DAVE 'SNAKE' SABO Says SKID ROW 'Had Been Starting To Drift Apart' From Singer ZP THEART

April 29, 2022

SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo says that singer ZP Theart "had been starting to drift apart" from the rest of the band before he was replaced by ex-H.E.A.T. frontman Erik Grönwall.

Theart, a former member of DRAGONFORCE, who hooked up with SKID ROW in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER),was abruptly fired from SKID ROW in February and replaced by Grönwall.

 

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency. SKID ROW's nine-song set included its new single, "The Gang's All Here", which was made available on March 25. The song is the title track of the band's upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW recorded "The Gang's All Here" in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Sabo discussed Grönwall's addition to the band during an interview with Finland's Chaoszine. Asked if Theart had laid down all the vocals for "The Gang's All Here" before being dismissed from the group, Sabo said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think we were about halfway through. Well, we had recorded… all the music was done, and I think we were maybe not halfway through the vocals but kind of close to there. But we had been starting to drift apart from ZP, and it just became evident the more that we were getting into the record the more that we were kind of on separate paths. And it wasn't just with the record; it was outside of that as well, like band business and things like that. Nothing that other bands don't go through; it just was quite apparent, I think, to all of us — I think ZP included — that we were just traveling down different paths and that we needed to make a change sooner rather than later.

 

"When we saw this starting to fracture a little bit, I believe it was [bassist] Rachel [Bolan] who said, 'Man, we should reach out to that dude Erik.' And so we did," Snake explained. "We said, 'Hey, man. We're gonna send you a song. And sing on it. We'll give you a guide and whatnot.' And he sent it back, like, 24 hours later, and it was awesome. And that happened to be 'The Gang's All Here'. And we were, like, 'This is it. This is what it's supposed to be. This is what this record's supposed to be.'"

Sabo clarified that "all the lyrics" and all the songs were written prior to Grönwall joining SKID ROW. "But we knew that it needed a change," he said. "The whole thing needed a change. So while what was going on was good, when Erik came in and sang, it was, like, 'That's right. That's the way it should be.'"

Sabo previously talked about SKID ROW's latest singer change in an interview earlier this month with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3. He said: "We were very, very aware of Erik. Erik [and H.E.A.T.] had opened up for us in 2019 on a European tour that we did, so we were aware of how talented he was. And also we were made aware of his audition tape that he did for 'Swedish Idol', the Swedish version of 'American Idol'. And his audition tape was doing '18 And Life' and he did an amazing job. Obviously, it got all of our attention. And so he recently did another one, a newer version of '18 And Life', which caught our attention again. So when things came to pass, that we knew that we needed to make a change, he was the first and only person that we spoke with. We started getting him music immediately, and he started cutting vocals immediately."

 

Sabo added: "It happened extremely fast — so fast that we were able to put out the single just in time for this residency that we're doing with the SCORPIONS right now in Las Vegas. And we were able to keep all our timelines and everything intact. And, really, the stars could not have aligned any better for us to be able to pull it off the way that it has occurred."

Back in 2018, a couple of years after Theart first joined SKID ROW, Bolan said that Theart had brought an "excitement" to the group that he and his bandmates hadn't had "for quite some time." Speaking to U.K.'s TotalRock Radio, Bolan stated about ZP: "He's a very talented singer and a great frontman. It's funny — when he first came over to the States to sing and we were just all getting together — 'cause him and I and Rob [Hammersmith, drums] had been friends for a few years at that point — but when he first came over to sing, it was so effortless. He's 10 years younger than us, and he kind of grew up listening to us. He's from South Africa, and him and his friends had to sneak and play our records, because they were deemed offensive [laughs], which is really funny."

The bassist continued: "Yeah, he came over and he was more than prepared and just blew us away. And then, when we toured for a year together and when it was official [that he was our new singer], our stock went up and everything started getting better and better. And he brought this excitement to the band that we haven't had for quite some time. And now we just can't wait to get out on stage every night. If we're off for a couple of days, its, like, 'Ahhh… When do we get back out there? It's so much fun.'"

 

Earlier this month, Grönwall spoke to Liz Berg of Smarts & Entertainment about what it's been like for him to join his favorite band and immediately start working on a new album, along with beginning to prepare for SKID ROW's Vegas residency. "It's insane," he said. "Surreal, definitely. I grew up listening to SKID ROW, and when I wanted to become a singer, I was trying to sing like [former SKID ROW singer] Sebastian Bach. And that's what I did. I did that at karaoke nights [back home in Sweden]. So it's just surreal, because I come into the band and I started to do a new album straight away. I don't just have to rehearse the old songs; I'm doing a new album. So it's my voice on that. It's surreal, and I'm so honored."

Bolan recently told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about Grönwall's addition to the band: "Just the way he does things and his work ethic is one I've never seen other than the four of us that are already in the band. He just doesn't stop until he gets things absolutely right. Whether it's his version, what he thinks is right, or what we think is right, he works hard — he works hard. And you can see why he had the success he did overseas because he's a really, really hard-working singer that takes care of his instrument and that takes pride in his craft."

Rachel also reflected on SKID ROW's first live performance with Grönwall, saying: "Honestly, dude, from the minute he opened his mouth… His timing is impeccable. We knew it was gonna be cool. And each show has gotten even better, 'cause we're learning each other's rhythm on stage. When I walked away from that show, I said to Erik, I go, 'This was show one. I cannot wait for show one hundred. It's gonna be amazing.'"

 

Bolan previously talked about how Erik came to join SKID ROW during an appearance on the latest episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation L.A. Invasion", recorded just hours before SKID ROW's first performance with the Swedish singer. "We toured together. H.E.A.T. was on tour with SKID ROW. What year was that? '18? And we'd hear him every night from the dressing room," he said. "And a couple of times, I was, like, 'Man, listen to this guy sing. He's phenomenal.' And then, I forget who told me, someone that was with us, 'Yeah, he won 'Idol' in Sweden.' And I was, like, 'Man, he's got pipes.' And I was listening. Then I went behind the monitor board a couple of times. And in my head, I'm, like, 'Wow! When SKID ROW has some downtime, I'm gonna get in touch with this dude and start a side project with him.' And obviously, that never happened. But as time went on and we got to the point to where we were with ZP and stuff, Erik was our first… I told Snake, I go, 'We've gotta check this guy out.' And along with Snake and the rest of the guys, and Nick, our producer, Nick Raskulinecz, were, like, 'He's the guy, man. Send him some songs.' So we sent him some songs that we were recording, just with a guide vocal on it, and it came back about 24 hours later, and we were, like, 'All right. He's the guy. Get him on a plane. Let's do this.'"

Grönwall sang on H.E.A.T.'s last four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

Grönwall was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. A short time later, he wrote on his social media: "I am extremely privileged and grateful to live at a day and age where a disease like this is curable. There's been so much progress made in this field. My body is reacting well to the treatment but it's a long treatment and it's going to be the toughest challenge of my life so far, for me and my family."

 

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms. At the time, he said about his version of the track: "This song was basically the starting point of my professional career as an artist. I performed this song during my 'Swedish Idol' audition back in 2009. 12 years later it's time to give this bad boy a try again. Here's my version of the SKID ROW song '18 And Life'."

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

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Turds. Sabo and Bolan are turds. 

They said the same thing when they got Theart. We found new energy and life bullshit.

Halfway through the recording of vocals when they canned him. Turds.

 

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5 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

Turds. Sabo and Bolan are turds. 

They said the same thing when they got Theart. We found new energy and life bullshit.

Halfway through the recording of vocals when they canned him. Turds.

 

I'd have to agree, and it's one of the reasons that despite his well known attitude, I don't even think Seb was 100% guilty in their split, I think those two and maybe Scotti are just as much to blame as Rob Afuso won't work with them either (but has appeared live with Seb). They treated Solinger like shit. Treated Harnell like shit. And now treated Theart like shit. And by the sounds of it, were never man enough to fire them face to face.

It took them what, 6 years to even record with him and then kicked him out half way through. I think they only recorded one remake of an older song with Harnell as well. And never did finish their so called trilogy of EPs. Shows a band who really could not give a shit.

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22 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

I'd have to agree, and it's one of the reasons that despite his well known attitude, I don't even think Seb was 100% guilty in their split, I think those two and maybe Scotti are just as much to blame as Rob Afuso won't work with them either (but has appeared live with Seb). They treated Solinger like shit. Treated Harnell like shit. And now treated Theart like shit. And by the sounds of it, were never man enough to fire them face to face.

It took them what, 6 years to even record with him and then kicked him out half way through. I think they only recorded one remake of an older song with Harnell as well. And never did finish their so called trilogy of EPs. Shows a band who really could not give a shit.

Exactly my thoughts.

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9 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

Exactly my thoughts.

I would say though that I am a big fan of Erik, so I hope for his sake it works out for him.

And for me, more music featuring Erik is a good thing, even if it is with Douche Bag Central.

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6 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

I would say though that I am a big fan of Erik, so I hope for his sake it works out for him.

And for me, more music featuring Erik is a good thing, even if it is with Douche Bag Central.

Exactly.

Hey, they might be douches, I have no idea.  I will say that from interviews I've watched recently, they seem like good enough guys and they don't come off as ego maniacs or something to me.  They say all the right things.....even if they've said it all before lol. 

Either way, the fact is they've been irrelevant since Bach left.  Before the pandemic, they played a venue about 10 minutes from my house and tickets were selling for $15.  I had zero interest in going and probably wouldn't have went if it were free.  I know somebody that went and he said there were literally probably 50-75 people there.

So I guess I'm going to reserve judgement for a bit because frankly, they sucked and they figured that out.  So not sure I can blame them for wanting more and wanting to become relevant again.  I'd assume they know their time is getting limited and this is probably their last shot.  If they can't some momentum with Erik, then they're definitely done.

I don't care about their past as there isn't much there worth even talking about since about 1992.  I'm  just happy seeing Erik getting some much deserved recognition and looking forward to hearing some new melodic rock music with him.

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