Let’s be honest, there are many who lost touch with Skid Row after they parted ways with Sebastian Bach. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that Johnny Solinger has sang in the band for over 15 years (which included two albums and two EPs). That’s why it was a tad surprising to learn that Skid Row not only parted ways with Solinger, but also already found his replacement (spoiler: it’s not Sebastian Bach).
Skid Row announced that they have replaced Solinger with former TNT singer Tony Harnell. “Sometimes things just end. People go in different directions and grow apart and you have to make a decision. He will always be our brother,” said bassist/co-founder Rachel Bolan in a statement about splitting with Solinger. “I’m so excited and honored to be a part of such a great band with an amazing legacy and legions of faithful fans,” adds Harnell about his new gig. “The guys and I have known each other for many years and this is such a natural fit. I look forward to getting out there and playing live together and being a part of making new music and creating our future together. It’s time to rock!”
Now, here’s where it gets a little confusing… word about Solinger’s split first came when the singer himself said via Facebook that he was leaving to “pursue my solo career.” Shortly afterwards, Bolan and guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo appeared on Eddie Trunk’s Sirius XM radio show, where they not only announced Harnell as their new singer, but claimed they gave him the boot. “Contrary to what he may be saying — and this is not a ‘he said, she said’ thing — this is something that we had discussed for a while,” claims Sabo. “And it was our decision and we made the call and informed him that we were making a change and we were gonna be going forward as Skid Row with a new singer.” The two further said that while there’s no animosity between them and Solinger, it became obvious that they were heading into different directions musically.
But was there ever a chance of Skid Row bringing Bach back into the fold, giving everyone the reunion many have been waiting for? In short: no. “Honestly, all of us, we were, like, ‘You know what?! It’s not something that we wanna do.’”, Bolan told Trunk. “Everyone’s got their own thing going on — cool, and that’s great, but it wasn’t something we even considered. We never once said, ‘Well, let’s have a ‘reunion.’ We were just, like, ‘Okay, let’s think about Tony.’ [Laughs] You know what I mean?! It was just that simple. I’ve been made to be the bad guy in a lot of stuff, and I’ve taken a lot of flak [for supposedly being the lone holdout on a reunion], and that’s fine — whatever. But it really never entered our minds.”
Sure, it’s a shame that Skid Row is still holding out on a reunion with Bach. However, there’s no denying that Harnell (who left TNT again earlier this year) is one hell of a vocalist. It’ll be interesting to see what Skid Row and Harnell accomplish together. The band are slated to soon record the third chapter of their United World Rebellion EP trilogy this summer, followed by a world tour.
