Dave "The Snake" Sabo | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | September 16, 1964 Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Guitar |
Years active | 1978–present |
Member of | Skid Row |
Formerly of | Bon Jovi |
Website | skidrow |
David Michael Sabo (born September 16, 1964), nicknamed The Snake, is an American musician best known as one of the guitarists of heavy metal band Skid Row. [1] [2]
Sabo was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey [3] and grew up in nearby Sayreville, in the same neighborhood as childhood friend Jon Bon Jovi. [4] His mother, Dorothy, raised him and his brothers as a single mother. Inspired by the likes of Kiss, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, as well as the Rolling Stones, Sabo began playing guitar at the age of 14 on a $40 Sears guitar his mother had purchased for his older brother years earlier. His guitar teacher was Al Parinello, who also taught Jon Bon Jovi. [5] Sabo was also a promising athlete, even being professionally scouted while a high school baseball player. Seeing Kiss play live as a teenager was the catalyst for Sabo to give up sports and focus on music full time. [6]
Sabo's friendship with Jon Bon Jovi led to him becoming the original lead guitarist for Bon Jovi in 1983. Sabo took part in a short three-week tour to support a demo version of Bon Jovi's debut single "Runaway" which became a surprise New York City-area hit in 1983. [7] Sabo's time in Bon Jovi was brief, and he was soon replaced by Richie Sambora as the band's lead guitarist. While working in Toms River, New Jersey, Sabo met local bassist Rachel Bolan and the pair agreed to form a band which would eventually become famous American rock band Skid Row.
Bolan and Sabo recruited guitarist Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Affuso and vocalist Matt Fallon and christened the new band Skid Row. Fallon was replaced by Sebastian Bach in 1987 and the band began playing shows in clubs throughout the eastern United States. [8] With some help from childhood friend Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo was instrumental in securing a record deal for Skid Row with Atlantic. [6] In 1989, the band released their debut album, Skid Row , which was an instant success. The record went multi-platinum and produced the hit singles "18 and Life", "I Remember You" and "Youth Gone Wild". Skid Row turned in a heavier direction on their double-platinum follow-up, the 1991 album "Slave to the Grind".
Sabo played lead guitar on "Trial of the Soul", a track by the band Kryst the Conqueror featuring former members of the Misfits as well as Jeff Scott Soto of the Yngwie Malmsteen band. Scott is credited under the pseudonym "Kryst the Conqueror" as he was under contract to Malmsteen and forced to remain anonymous. [9]
Sabo was briefly a touring guitarist for Anthrax during their "Attack of the Killer A's" tour in early 2000. [10]
Sabo is the uncle of former Association of Tennis Professionals player Matt Sabo. [11]
Bon Jovi is the debut studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on January 23, 1984, by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn, it is significant for being the only Bon Jovi album in which a song appears that was not written or co-written by a member of the band. The album charted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200.
Rachel Bolan, born James Richard Southworth, is an American musician, best known as the bassist and main songwriter of the metal band Skid Row.
Skid Row were an Irish blues rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, based in Dublin and fronted by bass guitarist Brendan "Brush" Shiels. It was the first band in which Phil Lynott and Gary Moore played professionally before finding greater fame with Thin Lizzy.
Skid Row is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on January 24, 1989, by Atlantic Records. After signing with manager Doc McGhee, Skid Row signed with Atlantic and began recording its debut. The album was recorded in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with producer Michael Wagener, and received mixed reviews upon its release. The band toured behind the album mainly as an opening act, supporting Bon Jovi and Aerosmith in 1989–1990. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1995 for shipping five million copies in the United States. It generated four singles: "Youth Gone Wild", "18 and Life", "I Remember You" and "Piece of Me", all of which were accompanied by music videos and received heavy rotation on MTV. The album's commercial and critical success made Skid Row a regular feature in rock magazines and brought the group nationwide popularity.
Sebastian Philip Bierk, known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and has made appearances in film and television such as Trailer Park Boys, The Masked Singer and Gilmore Girls. He continues his music career as a solo artist.
Skid Row is an American rock band formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. Their current lineup comprises bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave Sabo and Scotti Hill and drummer Rob Hammersmith. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) certified multi-platinum, the latter of which reached number one on the Billboard 200. Those two albums also produced some of Skid Row's most popular hits, both in and outside of the United States, including "18 and Life" and "I Remember You", which peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and other charting singles such as "Youth Gone Wild", "Monkey Business", "Slave to the Grind", "Wasted Time", and "In a Darkened Room". The band's third album Subhuman Race (1995) was also critically acclaimed, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessors. Those three albums featured the band's "classic" lineup, which consisted of Bolan, Sabo, Hill, drummer Rob Affuso and frontman Sebastian Bach. The band had sold 20 million albums worldwide by the end of 1996. Amid rising tensions, Bach was fired and Affuso left Skid Row towards the end of that year, after which the band entered a three-year hiatus.
Kryst the Conqueror was an American Christian metal project formed in August 1987 by two former members of the horror punk band, The Misfits. The project was led by bassist Jerry Only, who adopted a new stage name, "Mo the Great", and his younger brother, guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. The band fused fantastical and sci-fi imagery with religious themes and messages. The band has also been referred to as a "guitar shop project", as Only and Doyle constantly tweaked and refined their instruments throughout the band's existence, in an attempt to create what they felt would be the ultimate bass and guitar.
The Starland Ballroom is a concert venue located in Sayreville, New Jersey. Beginning in the 1960s, the building was known as the Jernee Mill Inn, a local bar with a banquet hall. It was originally known as the Hunka Bunka Ballroom and then Willy's in the 1980s. It has operated as a dance music club but more often hosted concerts with primarily metal, punk and ska lineups.
Paul Caiafa, known professionally as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits and his own band eponymously named Doyle.
"Monkey Business" is a song by American heavy metal band Skid Row. It was released in June 1991 as the lead single from their second album, Slave to the Grind (1991). It was written by bandmates Rachel Bolan and Dave "The Snake" Sabo.
Robert James Affuso is an American heavy metal drummer best known as a member of the band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996.
Oh Say Can You Scream is a VHS video of live performances by Skid Row featuring songs from the band's self-titled debut album. It was released on December 4, 1990. Running time is 100 minutes. The video includes 12 live performances from all over the world plus behind the scenes footage and uncensored video clips of "18 and Life", "Youth Gone Wild", "I Remember You", and "Piece of Me".
Scotti Hill is an American musician best known as a guitarist in the New Jersey heavy metal band Skid Row.
"In a Darkened Room" is a song by American rock band Skid Row, and a single from their second album Slave to the Grind. The song was released in 1991 and written by bandmates Sebastian Bach, Rachel Bolan and Dave "the Snake" Sabo. It charted in Switzerland at number 27.
"Slave to the Grind" is a song by American rock band Skid Row, written by bandmates Sebastian Bach, Rachel Bolan, and Dave "The Snake" Sabo. It is title track from their second album, Slave to the Grind (1991), and was released as the album's second single on September 2, 1991. The song reached number 43 on the UK Singles Chart.
Matt Fallon is a heavy metal singer best known for his work with Skid Row and Anthrax.
Mark Weiss is an American rock music photographer. His most widely recognized photographs capture the look and aesthetic of music and celebrity personalities of the 1980s. His work with publications such as Circus magazine and FACES helped establish Mark "Weissguy" Weiss as a name known for rock photography. He has photographed a wide range of acts including the Rolling Stones, Kiss, Madonna and Wu Tang Clan.
United World Rebellion is a double EP from the American heavy metal band Skid Row. The first and second chapters were released on April 16, 2013, and August 5, 2014, by Megaforce Records and were Skid Row's final recordings with singer Johnny Solinger. A third chapter was planned and scheduled for a 2015 release but was pushed back to 2016 due to Solinger's departure and pushed back again due to Tony Harnell's sudden departure. The third installment was planned to feature ex-DragonForce lead singer ZP Theart, but he was later replaced by Erik Grönwall. The third chapter was ultimately scrapped with the band's next record having the title The Gang's All Here instead.