by John Foxworthy; photos courtesy of Scotti Hill and SPV Records

Not many bands had Skid Row's impact on the scene in the late '80s and early '90s. Between several monster hits, a volatile yet charismatic front man and adversity in the face of grunge, it's amazing any of the members even lived to tell the tales. Now, with a new record on the rack and a renewed sense of self, it looks like the guys might have the power to reclaim their place in the annals of rock stardom.

Skid Row guitarist Scotti Hill isn't looking back to the old days. Even though there's a lot of history behind him and the band, his focus is on the here and now ... and the future.

As one of three original members, he's enjoyed the fruits of a five time platinum first album, a number one sophomore effort and several hits that have survived on radio nearly two decades. And, after separating from front man Sebastian Bach and taking a five-year sabbatical, Scotti and the gang decided to get back into the game with a new approach ... a comeback that was met with limited success.

But, that kind of stuff doesn't phase Mr. Hill. As he tells it, records come and go, but rock 'n' roll is forever. What follows is an impromptu phone conversation with Scotti. After a couple of weeks playing phone tag we finally hooked up and the experience was nothing short of electric.

John Foxworthy: Scotti!

Scotti Hill: John, you mother fucker ... you do exist!

Foxworthy: Yeah ... it's about time we hooked up.

Scotti: I know, man! It's something like two weeks. Watch me lose my phone connection and that'll be it. You'll say, "Scotti was a real nice guy. We're on the phone 30 seconds, he called me a mother fucker, bitchin' and complainin' and that was it."

Foxworthy: Hey man ... that's cool. It's all about rock 'n' roll, right?

Scotti: Hell yeah! How are you bro? What can I do for you today?

Foxworthy: Well, I'd like to talk to you a bit about what you guys are doing now ... probably gonna dredge up a couple of things you don't wanna talk about and if you don't that's fine.

Scotti: You know, it's always the things you don't wanna talk about you always wind up talkin' about the most. I'm prepared for anything, brother.

Foxworthy: Cool. You've got a new album out now, Revolutions Per Minute, and it sounds really good. I'm really liking your new singer, Johnny.

Scotti: Johnny kicks ass, dude! Let me just start by saying he's been in the band for six years now and we've really developed a tight friendship and working relationship and all that. I sat in there and watched him record every track for this record, because he was kickin' so much ass. He was in and out of there in no time.

Foxworthy: So, was it hard to find a replacement for Sebastian Bach ... to find someone that went with Skid Row's style?

Scotti: Well, we were mainly looking for somebody that could do justice to the old music, that had a voice of his own and somebody we could all get along with ... three things that don't really go well together. We really seem to pull it off, man. Johnny's a bro, he's one of the guys, we're family and he's great at what he does, man. I got some mad respect for him.

Foxworthy: Before you brought Johnny in, were you guys even considering going back and talking to Sebastian?

Scotti: No. That was never even a consideration. It just wasn't even something we wanted to explore, you know? I remember the particular day that Snake and I were having a conversation about doing something with Skid Row and we said, "Well, there's just one thing we had to change." So we went out looking for another singer ... fully aware people were gonna be pissed off and upset, but if people are working together and they don't get along it's probably just as well not to do it. We always try to be honest with our band and I think that would be a fake thing, you know?

Foxworthy: Right...

Scotti: ...People say, "Yeah, but dude ... you'll make lots of money," and that's great. I'd love to have a whole truckload of money, but not if that's what it's gonna take.

Foxworthy: Yeah ... all the money in the world's no good if you're all miserable together, eh?

Scotti: Right ... and what the fans have to understand. And I was having a conversation with a girl the other night at a show and she said to me, "It took a couple of years to realize that I can listen to both you guys. I can go see Sebastian Bach and I can go see Skid Row." And that's what people need to realize. If you don't like Skid Row without Sebastian Bach, don't bother with it. They don't have to choose favorites. Go see him when he comes to town, man. The guy's good at what he does and he puts on a fuckin' hell of a show. There's plenty of room for everybody.

Foxworthy: Yeah, and listening to RPM, halfway through "Disease," I'd completely forgotten all about him ... I'm dead serious.

Scotti: You know what I like about that song? The first time you hear Johnny's voice on this record is that scream that comes in at the beginning of that song. I think that's a good way to say, "I'm right here, man. Check it out."

Foxworthy: And this is kind of a new flavor for Skid Row, too.

Scotti: Yeah. For sure. When we went in to do this record, the concept was a non-concept, man. We'll have a song like "Disease" and we'll have a song like "White Trash." For us it's all about having fun and doing what feels good. A lot of people have asked, "How come no ballads on the record?" The band wasn't feelin' it at that time, so we just did what we were feeling. "You Lie" is on there, some heavy stuff, some poppy stuff...

Foxworthy: I think you guys did a hell of a job covering The Alarm's "Strength."

Scotti: Well, thank you for realizing that's a cover.

Foxworthy: It was driving me nuts. I had to listen to the lyrics a few times and I said, "I know I've heard this song before." I actually had to Google it.

Scotti: We were all sitting in the Italian restaurant over in England a couple of hours before a show one night. We're talkin' about cover tunes we'd like to do for the record and we had a little list made up, and we're goin' over them, and just right out of the blue Johnny says, "Hey, man! You remember that song by The Alarm?" He starts singin' it and we're like, "That's a great song!" We went lookin' for it ... looking for an MP3 and it wasn't that easy to find, but we got our hands on it and started playing it at rehearsal and said, "Man .. let's give this a shot and see how it works." I wasn't sure what people were gonna think about it, but the response has been positive. A lot of people didn't realize it was a cover. It's not like we were trying to slip that through and take credit for somebody else's work, but I guess it's a pretty old song. Something like '83.

Foxworthy: It was something like that. It's that first part of he chorus and it was one of the very few new wave songs I liked back in the day.

Scotti: You know ... they had kind of a U2 feel to them. People always compare 'em to U2, you know I always thought they were a real good band. I thought they had their own thing goin' on. That's probably where a lot of those comparisons come from. They're a kick ass band.

Foxworthy: So, with the whole album in general, how do you think people are receiving it so far?

Scotti: It's left and right, dude. They either love it or hate it. That's pretty much what we expected, because it's all over the place. There's no direct theme through the album. It's just kind of a little mish-mosh of everything. A lot of feedback we're getting is that it's totally cool, it's way different than anything we've done and other people are like, "This totally sucks. It's way different than everything you've done."

Foxworthy: I can still feel Skid Row in it, but you guys have kinda strayed away. The last time I listened to you guys was Slave To The Grind. As a matter of fact, with all the shit that was going on with your then singer, I really didn't know if you were gonna come out with another album at that point.

Scotti: Yeah. A lot of people aren't aware of what's going on and they're starting to catch on. It's all good, man. We're all happy, we're having fun. That's why I do this, man. I got a job that I really like and I'm gonna stick with it for a while.

Foxworthy: No doubt! So where are you guys right now? You're in Florida, right?

Scotti: Yeah. We're in Jacksonville.

Foxworthy: And how's the tour been going for you so far?

Scotti: Well ... we just started with King's X and Nashville Pussy yesterday. Started last night in St. Petersburg, Florida and I love both of those bands, so we're really happy to be here. Yesterday was a home gig for me, kinda, 'cuz I live in Florida. I couldn't really go see any of the other bands, because I had to deal with my guest list. I'm a fan of both the bands. We've also got a band out here called Rockets To Ruin. They're a band that Rachel's produced and has been working with.

Foxworthy: Really?

Scotti: Yeah, they're out here. We just said, "Hey. Come on along, man. We'll put you guys on and go out and have some fun." So we had a good group of people out here.

Foxworthy: Back to the album, would it be safe to say that you're not really looking for another "18 And Life" or "I Remember You" off of it?

Scotti: No, because they don't exist. The next record could hold anything, man. We were working on a ballad when we were in pre-production, but we didn't have time to finish it and we didn't wanna rush it. If it makes the next record it'll make it, but by that time there'll be lots of new, fresh ideas and we'll do whatever feels right at that time.

Foxworthy: Going back to what we were talking about a little bit ago, about RPM being all over the place ... what's the deal with "When God Can't Wait?" What is that?

Scotti: I'm not sure where you're going with that.

Foxworthy: I can't put my finger on where I feel like the influence came from.

Scotti: The influence came from, like, Flogging Molly ... or even a heavier band like Dropkick Murphys or something like that.

Foxworthy: Okay ... so you were going for that punk sound.

Scotti: Yeah ... for sure. I spent a couple of years belly at the bar at a local Irish pub in Florida and for about two years all I heard was this shit comin' outta the jukebox. It just rubbed off on me ... one day Rachel and I are sittin' in a hotel room, I start hummin' this melody and playing these chords. He's like, "That's cool, man. I'll be right back." He came back half an hour later and just had the whole song lyrically done.

Foxworthy: I thought I felt like the Irish pub thing going on there ... like I just got back from a soccer game or something.

Scotti: There's a lot of Guinness behind that tune, man.

Foxworthy: Cool. It looks like you guys are staying pretty much east for this tour.

Scotti: What we're doing, being that we have a couple of months left this year, we're gonna try and get ourselves close to the holidays, wrap it up for the holidays and probably late in January hit it again .. either opening for somebody, how we're doin' now or whatever it takes. We'll put that all together and we'll definitely be heading west at some point in '07 for sure.

Foxworthy: We look forward to seeing you over here ... that's for sure.

Scotti: Where are you at?

Foxworthy: Salt Lake City.

Scotti: Cool! I've been talking to a lot of people from the Salt Lake area.

Foxworthy: We've got a lot of old school rockers here. You can turn on the radio anytime of the day and hear Skid Row, Iron Maiden or something else I was listening to between '86 and '90.

Scotti: Yeah ... you know it's always been like that out there, too. I don't know what the deal is ... if it's the Mormon kids comin' out, trying piss their parents off. I don't know what the deal is, but that town has always rocked pretty hard, man. I remember playing the Salt Palace a bunch of times back in the day. I remember it as general admission and the crowds were always just awesome.

Foxworthy: Yeah. It gets pretty insane here. I think you guys'll do pretty well if you roll through. I'll make sure to catch the show for sure and I'd like to thank you for your time, man. You've been a blast to talk to...

Scotti: ...Right on, bro, right on! By all means, if we get out that way, rattle the cage, come down and hang out.
__

Visit Skid Row Online