Skid Row have soldiered on through tense times, make-ups and break-ups, and have evolved from 'Youth Gone Wild', and developed a Thickskin to continue with a new line-up since 2000. Guitarist Scotti Hill speaks to us on the brink of their first Australian tour in 13 years.
yourGigs (yG): Do you remember much about last time you were here? What do you recall about supporting Guns N' Roses?
Scotti Hill (SH): I do remember it, though I think everything is probably a lot different now, it's [been] so much time. We really love it down there, we've been there twice and always had a really good time. I remember flying into the gig in a helicopter ... We flew and did a loop over the crowd, it was so amazing, I couldn't believe we were playing this place, it was so huge.
yG: Did you ever imagine you would be in Skid Row for so long and sill be doing it in 2009?
SH: I never look this far ahead, I just remember being psyched at being back in a band with Rachel [Bolan, bassist] again, and I'd just met Snake [guitarist Dave Sabo] and we were a hot local band. I wasn't looking much further than playing Philadelphia or maybe New York City. To still be in the band this much later: it's part of my family, they're all my brothers y'know, we're a real tight group.
yG: You've probably been in a unique position to observe how the whole industry and musical landscape has changed while you've been within Skid Row?
SH: I think the internet has been a blessing for anybody who is creatively trying to make music, because people get to decide for themselves whether they want to hear this or not. It's not some guy up in an office deciding what you are going to look like next year, what they are going to be having clothing-wise, listening to and all that stuff; it's not MTV really generating what people are listening to so they have more of a chance of hearing what's out there.
yG: So you get a wide range of audience members at your shows?
SH: Yeah I've noticed that over the years you get guys who are our age, and I've noticed - especially out in California - the people standing up front were a lot younger, they were these 18-year-old dudes with long hair and denim jackets, it's was like "Oh wow check it out - these guys are bringing this sh*t back!" Things have changed in the States, we've had quite a resurgence in our genre of music - hard rock/heavy metal - and it's really good, we've got some nice festivals going, and its cool, people are finally catching on back here again! It's just one of those things with what we do, it goes away for a while then it comes back. It sounds kind of the same, just a little more new; it looks kind of the same, just a little more up to date; and it always comes back around. I've seen hard rock and heavy metal come and go a few times - it always does, it's a good thing.
yG: Back to the beginning of the band. The band's debut album was such a runaway success - were you prepared for it and the band taking off?
SH: I was hoping for it, we were all working for a common goal and to have some success, but I didn't expect it at all. When the numbers started coming back I was like "Holy sh*t is this happening to me, this is crazy!" But it was a very exciting time, I'm very grateful for being in the right place at the right time and for a lot of people that helped us. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, but I'm just really grateful for what happened. And being able to play guitar for a living, that's my job! It's pretty cool. There's no way to prepare for something that doesn't happen every day.
yG: You are obviously motivated by the music and songwriting part of it, but did the chart success ever become an important consideration for the band and did it affect the way it created its music?
SH: When I was a kid and when I was learning how to play guitar, I would fantasize about the future and playing in front of a lot of people and having a good time. I wasn't fantasizing about "I hope my single comes out #1 with a bullet!" You just do it for the love of it, and if something crazy happens and you get lucky, it works out.
yG: When the band got back together in 2000 [after Sebastian Bach left] were there any concerns about it affecting the legacy you've already built up?
SH: ... Snake and I were talking about it for a while, Rachel as well, but not so much in the beginning. But when the three of us decided we were interested in it, we just had to do it a different way. At the time, we just wanted to be in a band, the band we were in from the beginning. That's almost 10 years ago at this point, Johnny [Solinger]'s been in the band so long, he's part of the legacy. Whether it's been recognised as such or as being successful, after this much time, these many miles and shows, he's part of the legacy, so - onward! That's what we always say.
yG: If you could do it all over again would you do anything differently?
SH: No man, definitely not. I'm at a good point in my life, I don't need to be playing the stadiums to be happy ... These are great times. We're out, we're playing, summer festival season in the States was great, it was hot, there were people getting their rock 'n' roll and being happy. It was good, I wouldn't change anything man!
yG: Do you still have any unrealised ambitions for the band?
SH: Well we've been trying to come to Australia for a couple of years, but everyone's been saying "Oh we're in a recession, nobody's coming down here". But then all of a sudden, everyone's coming down here, including Skid Row. We're going to get back in the studio eventually and start cracking at a record. We've never been a kind of band that just runs in and does it, we just drag our feet and take our time, but it gets done. We're going to get back in there eventually.
yG: How does a typical Skid Row song evolve?
SH: It usually starts with Snake and Rachel knocking the ideas around - their stuff is always the best, their combination, so that's where we go first but everyone contributes. We just need to sit down and start going over ideas and just bang it out like a band in a garage - that's how we've always done it ... It's always fun to do it the old-fashioned way and just bang it out nice and loud!
yG: What can Australian audiences expect from your shows?
SH: We just do a high energy show man, y'know, it's like street football with no pads, it's loud and sticky and hot! A hot noisy show, it's a rock show man! We just love to throw it down, that's my favourite part of the day!
Andy Ryan
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