“Our biggest mistake, and I’m saying ‘our’ — I disagreed with the decision, so I’m just putting that on record — was releasing ‘Slave To The Grind’ as a single, the song ‘Slave To The Grind’. Radio didn’t touch it.”
— Rachel Bolan / Skid Row
Metal Sludge — Skid Row bassist and co-founder Rachel Bolan has recently went on record discussing what he calls, the band’s “Biggest mistake“, when they released “Slave To The Grind” as their 2nd video single off of their sophomore release of the same name.
Bolan, 61, talks in detail, about what transpired back in 1991 and 1992, as the band was in the middle of promoting record number two for Atlantic Records, and the subsequent choices for singles/videos and touring mates for their headlining tour.
Bolan also talks about how he and Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo, were tasked with calling radio stations, and telling them to NOT play their song “Quicksand Jesus“, which in hindsight, turned out to be a very bad idea says the bassist.
The following was shared on Blabbermouth, which goes into a lot of detail as to what happened.
During an appearance on the “Going Off Track” podcast, SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan reflected on the more aggressive sound of the band’s second album, 1991’s “Slave To The Grind”, compared to its predecessor, 1989’s “Skid Row”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It was very organic, the heaviness, just shifting to that heavier side. Our biggest mistake, and I’m saying ‘our’ — I disagreed with the decision, so I’m just putting that on record — was releasing ‘Slave To The Grind’ as a single, the song ‘Slave To The Grind’. Radio didn’t touch it. Our male fanbase went up. The female fanbase dried up. They all but disappeared. And then we took PANTERA on the road, and it was mainly guys at the show. But we lovePANTERA. But anyway, with ‘Slave To The Grind’, we came out with [the first single] ‘Monkey Business’. It went breaker in two weeks, so we had a certified hit. We’re on a fuckin roll now. Radio jumped on, before we even released the second single, or even thought of a second single, the radio jumped on ‘Quicksand Jesus’. And I was, like, ‘This is great. This is awesome.’ I go, ‘This is our ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.’ I mean, the song is six minutes long. And I’m not saying it’s as good as ‘Bohemian’; you know what I mean. I’m, like, ‘This is great.’ Somebody — I think our manager at the time — said, ‘We shouldn’t release that song second.’ And we had someone in the band that agreed with him. And I’m, like, ‘But the radio’s already playing it. Don’t we see what’s going on?’
So someone came up with the fantastic idea — ’cause Snake [SKID ROW guitarist Dave Sabo] and I were the radio guys; we would do all the interviews; we did the rounds — ‘why don’t you and Snake start calling and ask them not to play it, until we decide on a single?’ I’m, like, ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Yeah.’ So, I did as I was told and we called [and literally asked radio stations] to not play that song because we were coming with a different single. The responses we got were exactly what I thought. I had one guy yell at me, one PD [program director] yell at me. I forget which market it was, but it was a major market; I think it was out near Chicago. He goes, ‘Are you out of your fucking mind?’ And I go, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ And then we released ‘Slave To The Grind’ [as a single]. And radio wasn’t only, ‘We’re not playing this. It’s too heavy for our listenership.’ They were also, like, ‘We’re not playing it. And fuck you.’ And then we tried again with ‘Quicksand Jesus’. Everyone was, like, ‘Too late, too late.’ And that was pretty much it for radio for that record.
We had videos, we had ‘Wasted Time’ and ‘Slave’ and ‘Monkey’. And what else did we have? Was that it for that record? I forget. But, yeah, that was a huge mistake. And I remember being in that hotel room [and saying], ‘We can’t release ‘Slave To The Grind’ as a single.’ And I remember our manager at the time going, ‘You guys can do whatever the fuck you want at this point.’ Big mistake. Huge mistake. But, yeah, that that was our biggest mistake. I just remember seeing it in the room and seeing a few guys thinking it was a great idea, and I’m, like, ‘It’s not a great idea. This is not a great idea.’ And I just got ignored, and that was it. And it was done. But I think that record would have sold a lot more had we stayed the course and let someone dictate for us, in a good way. But it is what it is.”
Stay tuned to Metal Sludge for Breaking News, Updates and Features along with both New Interviews and Classic 20 Questions.
Below you can check out more at Metal Sludge about Skid Row and Sebastian Bach below, in various articles from throughout the years.
December 6th 2023
HE’S BACH … Sebastian Bach drops new single “What Do I Got To Lose”
September 25th 2022
SKID ROW … Rachel Bolan Talks to 80’s Metal Recycle Bin podcast about Everything from Bon Jovi to Grönwall but Not a Peep about Bach
June 28th 2022
SKID ROWZ … Sebastian Bach and former Skid Row band-mates appear in new ‘Breaking the Band’ episode on REELZ
March 23rd 2022
SWEDEN ROW … Skid Row introduce new singer, Swedish Idol star Erik Grönwall formerly of H.E.A.T
March 8th 2022
PACKAGE TOUR … Skid Row, Warrant, Winger and Quiet Riot team up for ‘LIVE TO ROCK’ 2022 Summer Tour
January 12th 2022
SLIM TO THE GRIND … Ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach goes on crash diet and loses 35 pounds
September 6th 2021
BAZ DEMANDS REUNION … Sebastian Bach says: ‘There Is No Reason’ why Classic Skid Row shouldn’t Reunite
June 14th 2021
F-BOMB MELTDOWN … Sebastian Bach goes on a Twitter tirade feuding with a fan about Skid Row song credits
January 21st 2019
30 & LIFE … Rhino Records releases SKID ROW debut for 30th Anniversary, w/ Bonus track + 10 Live tracks
January 1st 2019
DIARRHEA MOUTH … Sebastian Bach unloads on Skid Row (again): “Maybe you’re hard to work with!”
December 30th 2015
DISRESPECTED “I was not fired from SKID ROW. I Quit.” Tony Harnell
May 13th 2003
SLUDGE FLASHBACK … 20 Questions with Producer Extraordinaire Michael Wagener – Date: May 13th 2003
April 4th 2000
CLASSIC 20 QUESTIONS … Skid Row guitarist Dave ‘The Snake” Sabo in his tell-all interview with Metal Sludge back on April 4th 2000
