Fans of Skid Row seem to be divided on the fact as to whether or not there is life in Skid Row after Sebastian Bach. Sebastian Bach was in the band from 1987 to 1996. Johnny Solinger has been in the band from 1999 to now. That means that the “replacement” guy has been in the band a whopping four years more than Bach who was actually the replacement for original singer Matt Fallon. Anyways, Skid Row fans all over seem to be a fan base divided. Some will say that Sebastian Bach is the ONLY singer for Skid Row. Others will say that Johnny Solinger has been doing a kick ass job and that Bach isn’t missed. Then there are those that will say that they love Johnny yet would love it more if Bach was back in the fold. I myself, as a Skid Row fan will say that I love having Solinger in the fold. There’s no love lost here. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of those three Bach era albums and I will not deny the fact that the studio versions of songs like “Quicksand Jesus”, “Wasted Time”, and “Monkey Business” were lightning captured in a bottle. The fact is that I just don’t miss Sebastian Bach’s larger than life ego, extended self absorbed stage rants and inconsistent performances. Let’s face it. Can you find a live version of any of the above listed songs that sound anywhere nearly as amazing as those studio versions? That’s what I thought.
To me, the real proof is in the pudding. I have seen as many, if not more, Skid Row shows 
with Solinger fronting the band than I did with Bach fronting the band. My memories of Skid Row back in the day were that that shows were a lot of fun, full of energy and that the band was amazing. I also remember feeling that Sebastian’s voice didn’t seem to hold up well in a live setting. He usually came out of the gates winded and unable to hit the notes. He would recover by the 3rd song or so and then by the ¾ mark his voice was shot to shit. Johnny Solinger on the other hand seems way more capable of delivering these songs than Bach ever did or is able to do now. I watched two performances from 2012, one of Skid Row and one of Sebastian Bach solo, doing the same song “Big Guns.” Just these two videos alone show Bach showboating and hamming it up on stage yet completely unable to deliver the song with any kind of decent melody while the Skid Row footage shows Johnny Solinger with a more modest and non-arrogant stage presence delivering the song sounded full and nearly spot on. This has been my experience with Skid Row over the past few years.
You’re probably wondering what this whole post is stemming from? Well, just recently the site Blabbermouth posted a story saying that Sebastian Bach and Skid Row guitarist/songwriter Dave Sabo had run into each other a recent Duff McKagan gig. Bach had this to say:
“I know there are those of you reading this that have been waiting since 1996 to see this happen. We got to hang out together for the first time in …. well, a long time. We talked, laughed, and in the end, even hugged. “It was great to see my old friend. “It was great to talk with Dave about the past… And the future :).”
I can only hope that this is just another case of Sebastian Bach talking out of his ass. I really didn’t know what to make of this other than roll my eyes. Since being ousted from the band, Bach has done nothing but spew shit about how the band is ruining the legacy that he helped create (he didn’t write a fucking word/lick. Ok, maybe a word or two.) and that he never wants to be compared to Skid Row. On numerous occasions he stated that he was doing his own thing and that he didn’t want to live in the past all the while billing himself as “The original voice of Skid Row” and performing shows with a set list that is 95% Skid Row material with maybe 2 or 3 of his solo songs. Skid Row, on the other hand, proved to take the high road as they very seldom addressed Sebastian in interviews except to recount issues in the past and to extinguish any kind of reunion rumors. It’s also said that the only person holding up the reunion is Rachel Bolan. Well, can you blame the poor guy? If I had to spend day in and day out with Sebastian Bach, I think I would want to shoot myself in the face. Matter of fact, it would barely be worth it if the guy had the amazing voice that he once had but he doesn’t. His voice is shot to shit yet he still carries the same weighted ego that he did when he actually could sing.
I’ve seen Skid Row three times over the past few years and I have to say that I had an absolute blast watching this line up perform. The last time I saw them here in Atlanta was without a doubt the best Skid Row performance I have ever seen. The band was firing on all cylinders and the songs were delivered with lots of energy, passion, and that fire that most bands of their peer group seem to lack. Something about this lineup has the band looking and sounded motivated. Johnny Solinger is a great front man. He’s got a laid back approach to performing that isn’t lazy but it’s not all “look at me! I’m the singer.” He works hard to get the crowd off and into the songs and he puts a lot of energy into delivering a great performance.
In my opinion, to just reunite the “original” line up would be nothing more than a cash grab. I see no artistic or creative positives about this happening. Matter of fact, I question even how relevant a Skid Row reunion in 2012 would be. Bach is far from the top of his game while Skid Row is performing to modest audiences that seem to be digging what they’re doing. If this idea would be a cash grab, is it even worth it to put up with Sebastian Bach’s bloated ego, blown voice, and ridiculous “I told you so, blah blah blah” showboating banter that you just know will happen? I don’t know but maybe it is to the guys. I know that I would go see it as a curious cat. Hell, who knows? Maybe it would be something amazing but in all honesty, Skid Row doesn’t seem to be a broken machine whatsoever. They seem to be chugging along just fine and they seem to really be enjoying each others company. Like the old saying says, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Skid Row doesn’t need fixing. They work just fine thank you.
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