Skid Row guitarist Dave Sabo has shared his experience of touring with Van Halen in the 90s.
While opening for Van Halen on their 1995 tour, Sabo mentioned that Skid Row was treated ‘so great’ by all the band members. When asked what the late Eddie Van Halen was like ‘up close and personal,’ Sabo told Trevor Joe Lennon, “He treated us so amazingly. They all did. They treated us so great. I would see Eddie every day. I made sure — I wanted to see the soundcheck every day, ’cause I’m just such a fanboy. And I wanted to be around him and his playing as much as I could while we were out on the road.”
“And I used to walk on stage right before a soundcheck and he’d walk over to me and we’d hug each other and he’d give me a kiss on the lips and ask me how I’m doing. And he was just such a sweetheart,” the rocker revealed.
Sabo also talked about the unexpected gift EVH gave the band members. “Look, I don’t know what other stories other people have,” he continued. “All I can say is from my experience, he was the salt of the earth, man, and generous. We were talking about his amps, and at the time he was working with Peavey and doing the 5150 amplifiers through Peavey and doing the Wolfgang guitars through Peavey as well. And I’m, like, those amps are just incredible. He’s, like, ‘Oh, really? Okay, cool.’”
“Well, cut to a couple of days later, we’re playing in Camden, New Jersey at an amphitheater, and we were all still living in Jersey at this time. And so we drove our own cars down there,” Sabo continued. “It was just really cool to be able to pull up in our own vehicles, and a bunch of family and friends were there. And so we’re coming in the back area and he sees Scotti [Hill] and me. He goes, ‘Hey, hey, guys, come here. I got something for you. And he had two of the 5150 combos there waiting for us as gifts. And I was, like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, man. Eddie Van Halen is giving us his signature amplifier. It’s just crazy.’”
Former frontman Sebastian Bach too shared the experience of touring with Van Halen in a different interview. “Skid Row opened the whole USA ‘Balance’ tour, the first leg, and I got to know Eddie, I got to know Alex. And the first day of the tour, Edward came to our dressing room – we couldn’t believe it – and he was playing guitar the whole time. He’s just hanging out…”
Skid Row has released their first official live album and concert film, ‘Live in London.’ It was recorded at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on October 24, 2022, shortly after the band released their latest album, ‘The Gang’s All Here.’ This album features singer Erik Gronwall, who left the band earlier this year on good terms.