SKID ROW's DAVE 'SNAKE' SABO Rules Out Reunion With SEBASTIAN BACH: 'It's Not Gonna Happen'

In a new interview with The Hook Rocks podcast, SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo was asked if he and his bandmates have "targeted" any new singers since SKID ROW's latest frontman — former "Swedish Idol" contestant Erik Grönwall — quit the band to focus on his health. Snake responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We haven't targeted anybody. If we wanna continue as SKID ROW, we're gonna have to get another singer. But we haven't targeted anybody. There's a lot of great singers out there. But Lzzy [Hale of HALESTORM who recently played two shows with SKID ROW as a stand-in singer] just raised the bar, man. And Erik is a great singer. He raised the bar as well. And then Lzzy just came in here and just really raised the bar and showed us another side of what this band could be. So, it doesn't necessarily have to be a male singer in SKID ROW. The options are wide open. And like I said, there's so much talent out there, but we just wanna make sure that we make the right choice and that we can bring the band to another level. That's the hope."

Pressed about whether anything has changed in terms of his thoughts about a possible reunion with the singer from SKID ROW's classic era, Sebastian Bach, Snake said: "Well, the answer has been the same for — I don't know — 20,000 years now. It's not gonna happen. And I say the same thing every time. I'm thankful that people have such an interest in wanting to see that happen, but I also have to reiterate that this is about being happy in the situation that you're in. So I'll speak for myself personally.

"First of all, I do need to say something too, is that the reason that this isn't happening is because there's three of us — myself, Scotti [Hill, SKID ROW guitarist] and Rachel [Bolan, SKID ROW bassist] — who've had conversations about this, and we've all been on the same page that we don't wanna go down that road again. We just — we don't.

"Rachel has taken a beating over this through the years," Sabo continued. "He's the one who's been blamed for this. 'Oh, it's Rachel's ego.' 'It's this and that.' No, that's a load of bullshit. That is not true. And I feel bad because he's really, really had to shoulder that blame and has never said anything derogatory or anything like that. But you know what? The truth of the matter is that Rachel, Scotti and myself have continually felt the same way, that we enjoy being happy in this band and we're really happy.

"It's been such a great experience for the last however, 35 years, everything, all the ups, all the downs, everything, but we just don't wanna revisit that particular aspect of our history," he explained. "I love the songs, [I] love a lot of the memories, [I am] not fond of some of the memories, but just as individuals and as a collective, that's just how we feel. So this is not on Rachel. And this has nothing to do with anyone's ego or anything like that. So that's just gotta be clear. Again, for anyone to sit there and make assumptions that this is Rachel Bolan saying 'nope,' it's not. It's the three of us, and we've all collectively sat there and just said that we don't wanna do it. We just don't wanna do it. And we wish everybody all the best."

Snake added: "We've been just ripped apart by ex-members of the band and stuff — ripped apart. Some really shitty stuff [has been] said about all of us. And we just choose not to [respond]. It's not who I am. It's not who we are. We won't go down that road. We just wanna play music and be happy. This has really never been about a monetary aspect of things because it's known that we've been offered a good amount of money to do shows together and to reunite [with Sebastian] and whatever, but it's just never been about the money, man. I choose my happiness, my willingness to continue to be a really good friend to my best friends and a really good husband and a really good dad and bandmate and person. And I don't wanna endanger that in any way. So the people that we choose to play with, those choices are made in order to keep those particular things in line for all of us."

Grönwall, who was SKID ROW's fourth frontman since Bach's departure, quit the band in March.

Erik, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, is immunocompromised, which made touring difficult.

Earlier this month, Bach was asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if there has been any dialogue between him and his former bandmates in SKID ROW about a possible reunion now that they are once again in need of a singer. He responded: "I found out something at the very last KISS show that I did not know before the very last KISS show. And it's a major piece of miscommunication. And I need to communicate with those guys because there's been something that happened that is not accurate. I can't tell you what it is, but the whole narrative of they don't like me and I'm too crazy is complete bullshit. It's not true. There's been attempts to get us going again.

"I'm so focused on [my new] album ['Child Within The Man'] and this tour that I haven't had time to think about that," he continued. "I can just tell the world that there's a good chance that'll happen 'cause there's no fucking reason not to, 'cause right now why it hasn't happened is a miscommunication. That's all I can say. There's a miscommunication. That's all I can tell you."

Asked if he is working clear that miscommunication up and whether he is open and willing to play with SKID ROW again, Bach responded: "I play with everybody in the world. I'm in KINGS OF CHAOS. I'm in ROYAL MACHINES. I got 25 guys in my band. There's no reason why I can't play with them. But here's the thing: I only have so much energy. At the age of 56…. Right now, I'm trying to talk as softly as I can because I have three [shows] in a row. I don't have the fucking energy. I'm trying, I'm giving as much as I can.

"I need to write a thoughtful e-mail clearing up a miscommunication, but I have to make sure it's the perfect fucking e-mail and I don't say anything wrong or make any jokes," he explained. "I just don't have the energy to do that right now, but I know I need to do that. I've just got a lot on my plate right now."

Elaborating on his desire to play with SKID ROW again, Sebastian said: "I would love to do it. I have dreams about doing it. I have a recurring fucking nightmare where SKID ROW reunites, and I go to the gig, and I forget my in-ears. I'm backstage, and the whole arena's packed, and Rachel and Snake, I go, 'Fuck, you guys. Fuck, I've gotta go back to the hotel. I forgot my fucking in-ears.' [Laughs] And I'm in the Uber, and I'm fucking racing, and the whole reunion's happening. I've gotta get my fucking in-ears, and I can't get the hotel key. So let's analyze that, let's analyze that shit right there that goes on in my head. And then I have these other dreams where we do a reunion show, and nothing happens. We just play, and then we walk off and we're, like, 'Right on.' And there's no fighting, there's no drama, we just do a show. And there's no, like, fighting or drama. And I told this to Rob [Affuso, former SKID ROW drummer]. He's laughing. He's, like, 'Imagine that. Fucking imagine that. Just do a fucking show.' It's funny, these dreams I have. But the in-ear one is real."

Bach previously spoke about the possibility of a SKID ROW reunion during a March 3 question-and-answer session with Downtown Julie Brown aboard this year's The 80s Cruise. He said: "There's no reason SKID ROW can't be together. I honestly think that it's a business thing at this point. But we're all still alive, and let's get the hair band back together while we've still got hair. I have no problems… I play with everyone — except for them. That's really weird."

He continued, addressing the audience directly: "How many of you guys watched METALLICA's 'Some Kind Of Monster' movie? It never gets old. It's all about them having a therapist. And James Hetfield [METALLICA frontman] can't rehearse past 4 p.m., and Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] is all mad, slamming the door. But that whole movie is about METALLICA working with a therapist. And nobody helped SKID ROW or anything. It was, like, 'You guys are on your own. Figure it out.' And every book I read — AEROSMITH, MÖTLEY CRÜE, every one — is about having somebody helping them. So maybe there's some therapist that wants to get paid some money and put the band back together. There's no reason that we're not together."

Referencing his 2016 autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row", Sebastian said: "When I first wrote my book, there was a lot of rotten shit in there. But right when that book was about to come out, we were talking about reuniting [the classic SKID ROW lineup], I swear. I know that seems crazy, but it's true. And my manager, Rick Sales, goes, 'Sebastian, take all that rotten shit out of your book right now.' I go, 'Really? I think people wanna read that.' He goes, 'No, take it out.' And I go, 'Okay.' So there's a file on my hard drive, my computer, that's called 'Rotten shit that I took out of my book.' And that might be the next book."

Asked if he is still hoping to get the classic lineup of SKID ROW back together, Bach said: "It's not that I'm hoping, but there's no reason why not to. There's no reason. They're, like, 'Oh, man. He was hard to work with in 1996.' 1996? Who remembers 1996? Sorry about 1996. Sorry. It's 2024. Can we move on or…?"

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY. In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I. Theart was fired from SKID ROW in February 2022 and was replaced by Grönwall, who was previously a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T.

Two years ago, Sabo told Ruben Mosqueda of We Go To 11 about the possibility of a reunion with Bach: "It's not even a part of any sort of thought process. This is SKID ROW. And that conversation is 23 years old [since SKID ROW reformed without Bach]. And I have no desire to… I'm not interested; none of us are. It comes down to happiness, and we're really, really, really happy where we're at and how the band sounds and feels. I love playing our music, and I love playing it with the guys that we're playing it now with. And so I don't wanna change that. I'm in a great place personally, and I think we're all in a great place as a collective."

In March 2022, Sabo was asked by Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio how he feels about people still calling for a reunion with Bach. He said: "Well, it's been 23 years [since SKID ROW reformed], so to say that I'm over it would be an understatement. We attempted [a reunion] slightly [back in 2016]. We dipped our toes in the water and realized that it didn't feel so good. It's just one of those things where we still could not see eye to eye; we couldn't even get past the point of simple texting.

"I am really, really happy where we are," Snake continued. "I'm very proud of our past, and all due credit to everybody who's been involved in every aspect of our career, whoever that may be, 'cause it all led to where we are now.

"I've been asked a thousand times: 'What about the payday [of a reunion with Sebastian]?' And that's all well and good, but if that's why I did this — if that's why we did this; I can speak for everybody — we probably wouldn't be doing it," Sabo explained. "I wanna be happy, and I am very, very happy. And so are the guys; everybody's really happy.

"The music climate is what it is, and we're a classic rock band, and I'm proud of that. And we're still able to make music. I mean, Jeez — I live a very, very blessed life, man," Snake added. "I have nothing but gratitude and humility for what we have achieved and for what we're able to continue to do. So while there may be people out there who are flashing dollar signs with a lot of zeroes, I still have to be happy doing it, and I am. And that's what's most important. I need to be happy being in a band with the people I'm in a band with. A lot of other bands can go out and they don't see each other till they're on stage and travel on separate buses and all that stuff, and that's all well and good, but I don't wanna live my life like that. I don't wanna be up onstage and kind of living a lie; it just doesn't feel good. So, while I'm thankful for people's interest and whatnot, I'm even more thankful that we still get to play music for a living under our terms."

In the summer of 2021, Bach told Florida's 98.7 The Gater radio station that "there's no reason" for the classic SKID ROW not to reunite. "When those guys [in SKID ROW] try to say [about me], 'He's difficult to work with,' let me just say this one more time. We have not been in the same room together since the year 1996," he said. "Shut the eff up about you thinking you know what I'm like. You don't know anything about what I'm like. And the 'Gilmore Girls' think I'm okay to work with; Broadway thinks I'm okay to work with; the 'Trailer Park Boys' think I'm okay; GUNS N' ROSES think I'm pretty cool. We're not getting any younger."

Sebastian went on to say that a SKID ROW reunion "should" happen "for the fans. And we are absolutely running out of bands — bands that can play in sheds," he said. "The fact that we are all still alive and we are all in our 50s — some closer to 60 than others — but that, to me, is selfish that we're not together.

"I can play with anyone. I do play with everyone [laughs] — except for them."

Four years ago, Bolan also confirmed that he and his bandmates "were entertaining the idea" of reuniting with Bach following Harnell's departure. But Rachel shot down the possibility of a rekindling of his friendship with Sebastian, explaining: "Well… Here's the soundbite for Blabbermouth. I wouldn't say we were friends [when we were in a band together]. We were bandmates. You know what I mean? We're two very different people." Bolan added that he hadn't seen Bach "in years."

Five years ago, Bach was asked by Rolling Stone what it would take for SKID ROW to be reunited. He responded: "It would take those guys to realize that I have a lifetime manager. His name is Rick Sales. I've been with him since 2006. They don't want to deal with a guy like that. They want to give some singer who doesn't have a manager $700 to $800 bucks a week. I've got a team that's worked with me and don't allow me to get fucked around. I didn't have that team when I was 19 years old."

In response to Bach's statements about the earnings of SKID ROW's singer, Sabo told Rolling Stone in an e-mail: "I guess fact-checking isn't in his skill set… The five of us go on that stage as a band and we all get paid equally. We're in this together. There's no egos."

Sebastian went on to say that SKID ROW was "close to reuniting, but then it didn't happen. The fact that it didn't happen obviously makes me somewhat bitter, because life is only getting shorter, as the song says," he added.

"I wouldn't say 'came close,'" Bolan told Rolling Stone in an e-mail response to Bach's account of the reunion talks. "We entertained the idea. Snake and I went as far as talking with agents and promoters about money. But we quickly learned after a few text conversations, why we fired him in the first place. Nothing is worth your happiness and peace of mind."

Sabo added: "It was already a miserable experience, and we didn't even get on the phone."

In 2021, Bach completed a U.S. tour during which he celebrated the 30th anniversary of SKID ROW's sophomore album, "Slave To The Grind".