SKID ROW Guitarist's Rescheduled Neck Surgery Forces Postponement Of Australian Tour

SKID ROW has postponed its previously announced tour of Australia in order to allow guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo time "the proper time to heal" from his "rescheduled neck surgery." The dates, which were originally slated to happen in December, will now take place in May 2023.

Danny Bazzi, head of Australia's Silverback Touring, which is the promoter for SKID ROW's tour of the country, said in a statement: "Health and family should always take precedence and we fully support both the band and Dave and wish him the best of luck and a speedy recovery.

"We are grateful to fans for selling out two of the four shows well ahead of the band's arrival and ask that you hold your tickets for the May dates as they will all be honored.

"If you cannot attend the new dates, you may seek a refund from your point of purchase, subject to some processing conditions.

"We are super excited to welcome SKID ROW back to Australia as are their fans. We will just have to wait a little while longer".

SKID ROW's 2023 Australian dates are as follows:

May 17 – Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
May 19 – Sydney, AU @ Manning Bar
May 20 – Adelaide, AU @ Bridgeway
May 21 – Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell

Last month, SKID ROW played some of the shows on its U.K. tour without Sabo after he tested positive for COVID-19. Filling in for him was SKID ROW's guitar tech Casey Sproatt.

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.