SKID ROW....THE BIOGRAPHY!

Skid Row was formed in Toms River, New Jersey, in late 1986 by bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo. The pair added guitarist Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and lead vocalist Sebastian Bach, who replaced original lead vocalist Matt Fallon, to the line-up by early 1987. The band began playing shows in clubs throughout the eastern United States.

Jon Bon Jovi had been put in a position to seek out new and upcoming talent. He had set up a publishing company called the Underground Music Company. Bon Jovi and Dave Sabo had been friends for a very long time. They agreed that if one of them made it in the music business, he would help the other out.  manager Doc McGhee sought out Skid Row, and signed them. They secured a record deal with Atlantic Records in 1988, and entered the studio with Michael Wagener (of  Ozzy, White Lion and Extreme) to record their first album. The album was recorded in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin at the Royal Records studio. Skid Row would later open for Bon Jovi, who were touring behind their New Jersey album.

"Skid Row" self titled album released in January 1989, and was an instant success. The record went 5x platinum and produced the hit singles "18 and Life", "I Remember You"and "Youth Gone Wild". In what is referred to as "The Bottle Incident" by fans of the band, Bach was hit with a bottle thrown onstage from the crowd at a concert in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Skid Row was opening for Aerosmith on December 27, 1989. Bach threw the bottle back, hitting a girl (not the thrower), so he jumped on the crowd to beat the person who can be seen on a tour video released by Skid Row called Oh Say Can You Scream in 1990.

Skid Row returned to the studio with Wagener in 1990, to record their second studio album which was titled "Slave To The Grind" !! A heavier direction in this one and once again a major success for Skid Row! The album was originaly released in June 1991and it debuted at Number 1 in the American charts.

Before a third album could be recorded, Skid Row took an extended hiatus in 1993, following the Slave to the Grind tour and the release of the EP, B-Side Ourselves, in September 1992.

For some time, Skid Row parted ways with Wagener, possibly due to their music taking a different direction for the follow-up to Slave to the Grind. In 1994, the band returned to the studio with Bob Rock (of Metallica, Mötley Crüe and The Offspring fame), to record their third studio album. "Subhuman Race", released in March 1995, charted in the top 40. Although it did not achieve the success of Skid Row and Slave to the Grind, it generated a few hits, but at that point, their videos were rarely played on MTV, partly because of the rise in popularity of grunge and subsequent decline of many heavy metal styles and 1980s hard rock. Skid Row would open for Van Halen on the North American leg of the tour.

Eventually, Sebastian Bach was fired by the band in late 1996, following an argument with Rachel Bolan over a chance to open up for KISS. Skid Row were called to open for KISS on New Year's Eve '96 and Bach was all for it as he has always been a huge fan of KISS. According to Bach, Rachel Bolan was more concerned with his punk band side project and did not want to play the show. Although the group never officially disbanded, the remaining members went on to play briefly in a band called Ozone Monday in mid 1998, which featured lead vocalist Sean McCabe. Shortly after, drummer Rob Affuso left the band and still remains friends with the band to this day.

THE NEW ERA.....

Skid Row re-formed in 1999 with new lead vocalist Johnny Solinger, formerly of Solinger, and drummer Charlie Mills. Mills soon left the band and was replaced with an interum drummer. After re-forming, they opened for KISS on their farewell tour, and have also played with other 1980s metal bands such as Poison. They have been on tour every summer. In 2002 they were part of the Rock Never Stops Tour. The new lineup has shared the stage with such acts as Aerosmith, Kid Rock, Def Leppard, Sammy Hagar, as well as many others from their genre.

Skid Row released their fourth full-length studio album, Thickskin, in 2003, which was their first album to feature Solinger and their first studio album in 8 years. An album that was overall a good one but far away from the band's huge 80's sound!  In 2004, Dave Gara came on as role of drummer.

The fifth Skid Row album, "Revolutions Per Minute", was released on October 24, 2006 through SPV Records. An album that mixed-up the feelings of the band's long time fans!!  Michael Wagener reunited with Skid Row and became their producer for this album.
Asked in September 2009 about the next Skid Row album, guitarist Scotti Hill  replied, "we haven't sat down and recorded anything yet, but we have sat down and worked out some ideas and just played them on a handheld recorder. Everybody's writing and we're getting into that mind set. Once the wheels get in motion we'll all probably fly out to Atlanta spend a week or two up there come home, go back up there do it again, we're all living in different cities, which can make it difficult at times."
In May 2010, it was announced that Skid Row had parted ways with drummer Dave Gara, who is now replaced by Rob Hammersmith

Sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skid_Row_(American_band) , http://www.skidrow.com/