SKID ROW's DAVE 'SNAKE' SABO Sits Out Shows After Testing Positive For COVID-19; Guitar Tech Steps In

SKID ROW played the most recent two shows of its U.K. tour — in Manchester on Thursday, October 27 and in Sheffield on Friday, October 28 — without founding guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo, who had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the Manchester gig. Filling in for Sabo is SKID ROW's guitar tech Casey Sproatt. Fan-filmed video of both concerts can be seen below.

Shortly after the Manchester gig, Sproatt shared one of the fan-filmed videos of the show on his Facebook page and he wrote: "filled in for Snake tonight! It was fucking rad!!!!!"

Sproatt previously played guitar for SKID ROW in April when guitarist Scotti Hill was forced to miss the band's concert in Ashland, Kentucky after testing positive for COVID-19.

SKID ROW's latest album "The Gang's All Here", arrived on October 14 via earMUSIC. The group recorded most of the LP 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.

Swedish singer Erik Grönwall joined SKID ROW in January as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years. Theart played his final gig with SKID ROW in February before being officially given the boot.

Grönwall spoke to The Rock N' Roll & Coffee Show about how he has been accepted by SKID ROW fans since he joined the group earlier this year as the replacement for ZP Theart. He said: "There's so many different types of fans. I've realized that… 'Cause when we did the show in California, [some] people came up to me after the show, and they were, like, 'Sebastian [Bach], you've still got it.' [Laughs] Yeah, that happened. Then you have the fans who still think that Sebastian is in the band, and then you have the fans who know the whole story."

Erik, who made his recording debut with SKID ROW on "The Gang's All Here", went on to say that he isn't bothered by the fact that some fans are still clamoring for a reunion of the band's classic lineup.

"I understand the fan perspective of wanting the original lineup — I understand that — because I'm a Bon Scott guy myself," he explained, referencing AC/DC's late singer. "But I think that people are really excited about this new album, and I feel like even the people who want the original lineup are actually starting to approve."

He added: "When I joined this band, I realized that it's such a privilege to have people so interested in the band, talking about the band, discussing everything. A lot of bands would kill for that, and that's a privilege. You have all these people talking about SKID ROW and they like that singer or they like that song or they like that era, and that's just incredible, having people so excited about it or hating it. [Laughs]"

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 and 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 singer Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by Theart, the South African-born, British-based singer who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

Grönwall was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. with whom he recorded 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. Six months later, he announced that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant in August 2021.

In September 2021, Grönwall released his cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

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.