Interview by Cameron Edney....

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American hard rockers Skid Row formed in New Jersey back in 1986 and within two short years’ founding member Dave ‘The Snake’ Sabo had cemented the line-up which would go on to record the bands self titled album and help make the band a household name! Signing to Atlantic Records in the fall of 1988 Dave Sabo, Scotti Hill, Rob Affuso, Rachel Bolan and Sebastian Bach hit the studio to make one of the biggest selling albums of 1989. Although on the surface things couldn’t get any better for the band that had just gone 5x Platinum, behind the scenes Skid Row were battling for their royalties and their front man’s onstage antics were constantly leaving the band in hot water. The success of Skid Row’s self titled album saw the band jetting off all over the globe, playing in Moscow, Japan, Australia and across Europe. Hard rock fans worldwide just couldn’t get enough of these five guys with long hair, tattoos and inspiring songs that are still getting airplay today! The bands follow up album ‘Slave to the Grind’ peaked on the American Billboard charts at #1 and included the smash hits ‘Monkey Business’, ‘Riot Act & ‘Wasted Time’. The band once again found themselves on the road playing with some of the world’s biggest bands. Two years after its release the bands popularity in Australia was at an all-time high. They had announced they would be doing outdoor shows with Guns n Roses and Australia’s own Rose Tattoo; they were high energy, intense experiences. For days surrounding the Australian shows both the Gunners and Skid Row continued to flood mainstream media, riot’s during the band’s Sydney in-store signing were reported and radio stations were broadcasting live all day long from the selected venues. The fans loved each and every minute of the pandemonium that was surrounding the tour! Sixteen years later Australian fans will finally get the chance to see the mighty Skid Row live once again! The band recently announced that they would be returning to Australia to play a series of shows across the eastern border and the Australian fans are thrilled!....

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A lot has happened in the Skid Row camp since the band last visited our shore, within three years Sebastian had been fired and shortly after Rob decided to leave the band, throwing Skid Row into turmoil on whether to continue or not. By 1999 the band had re-formed and aided the help of drummer Charlie Mils whose time in the band was short lived. Calling in former Saigon Kick drummer Phil Varone as well as vocalist Johnny Solinger, Skid Row were back and ready to kick your ass! With the new line-up complete the band hit the road supporting Kiss on their 2000 Farewell Tour and were back playing with Aerosmith and Def Leppard at the 2002 appropriately named ‘Rock Never Stops’ Tour. A year later Skid Row entered the studio and released their fourth full-length album ‘Thickskin’. Following the tour drummer Phil Varone left the band once reports of his battle with cocaine addiction became public. Phil was replaced by the bands current skinsman Dave Gara! ....

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PMPIX: Oh yeah, the Cities have certainly changed a lot since your last visit! This will be vocalist Johnny Solinger and Drummer Davee G’s first trip to Australia; no doubt they are excited to be heading down under as well!....

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SCOTTI HILL: Oh absolutely, Johnny [Solinger] likes to party and hang out with cool people and I know he’s thrilled and Davee is as well, it’s really exciting for them to travel and see all of these new places! Those guys are getting to go to a lot of places that Snake, Rachel and I have already been. Australia is so far from us and it’s really hard to get down there but we’re thrilled!....

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PMPIX: Scotti, it’s been such a long time between Australian tours, what can the Aussie fans expect this time around when you hit the stage and how is the set-list shaping up for the tour?....

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SCOTTI HILL: I consider our show to be very high energy; to me it’s just like getting out there and playing football in the streets with no pads! It’s just dirty and bloody and awesome, so you’re going to get a lot of that! I’m dying to hit the stage; it’s going to be dirty and sticky! As for the Set-list, we’re going to throw in some of the later material as well as all of the shit that everyone wants to hear! There will be a little of ‘Thickskin’, a little RPM [‘Revolutions per Minute’], ‘Slave to the Grind’ and the first album of course. Maybe even some ‘Subhuman Race’ tracks! ....

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PMPIX: When we spoke last you mentioned that your sister was living here in Adelaide and yet there is no show scheduled for Adelaide on this tour, do you plan to spend a few extra days here catching up?....

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SCOTTI HILL: No, no she’s back in the States, she moved back here. The family that was living in Adelaide all moved back to the States, my brother-in-law’s family is out there and I’d like to see those guys but I don’t book the tour so I just go where it says on the paper [laughs].....

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PMPIX: Scotti, the last time you were here, you played a very successful summer tour with Guns ‘n’ Roses and our own Rose Tattoo, what comes to mind when you look back on that tour!....

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SCOTTI HILL: Man it was so long ago… It was our second time in Australia, and to play with Rose Tattoo was just amazing and of course the Gunners. Without a doubt but, being in Australia and playing with Rose Tattoo was fucking thrilling man! I remember how huge it was, we flew in by helicopter, and it was a pretty exciting deal!....

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PMPIX: Do you have any plans to record or film any of these Australian shows for a possible future release?....

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PMPIX: Scotti, last time we spoke ‘Revolutions per Minute’ was just about to be released, now that you have had so much time to digest it, is there anything you would have changed? ....

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SCOTTI HILL: I wouldn’t have drunk as much while I was making it [laughs] ....

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PMPIX: [Laughs] ....

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SCOTTI HILL: Part of that record was played on severe hangover. Sometimes it works; sometimes you shoot yourself in the foot! I haven’t even listened back; it’s been a couple of years now! Usually when we finish recording something I listen to it when it’s done and for me I just put it away and then on to the next thing!....

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PMPIX: Considering it’s been almost three years now, I would imagine you are writing new material and would have the wheels in motion for the next album?....

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SCOTTI HILL: Yeah, 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 hand held recorder. Everybody’s writing and we’re getting into that mind set but we’re very slow, we’re very lazy. 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.....

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PMPIX: Mate I want to talk to you a little more about life on the road… going right back to the beginning can you remember the hardest time you had as an opening act? ....

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SCOTTI HILL: Oh man, there were a couple of them! I remember back when we were opening for White Lion… eventually both bands wound up coming acquaintances and friendly but we got bumped around a little bit. Any band that gets an opening slot, especially on the bigger tours, the production people don’t give a shit about how many records you’ve sold, they just care about getting their show onstage and on time. They like to kick around the support act, and we’ve been kicked around a bunch of times! It makes us stronger; it really makes us a better band. If some bands production crew is giving us a hard time, then we’re just going to have to get out there and kick that bands ass! I’m a little cocky about it but I’m proud of it, it’s like being in a gang!....

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PMPIX: There’s no doubt that over the years some crazy shit has happened whilst you’ve been on tour, the late 80’s bottle incident comes to mind! What's the craziest thing that has ever happened to you on stage?....

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SCOTTI HILL: Oh dude, I’ve gotten into fights, I’ve wound up outside the building. I’ve thrown up onstage more than once probably, more times than I can count I think [laughs]. You go night after night and you’re hitting the alcohol a little too hard sooner or later it’s bound to come back to bite you and it’s usually when you’re up there under the hot lights! During the show all kinds of shit happens; we have little conversations and little things going on during the show that people aren’t even aware of! During songs we will have a little huddle off to the side and have a giggle about something that happened or that is happening! ....

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PMPIX: What’s the most ridiculous thing you have ever asked for on a tour rider?....

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SCOTTI HILL: Something to eat [laughs]. If you get anything that’s on their, you’re lucky! For us it’s beer and liquor, we get a couple of cases of Beer, Vodka, Whiskey and Tequilla and that keeps us and our friends and anyone else that’s hanging out with us all happy. A couple of pizzas after the show and we’re good to go!....

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PMPIX: Over the years you have shared the stage with many amazing bands like Kiss, Bon Jovi & Motley Crue and one of course Pantera, what fond memories do you have of all the craziness that was going on backstage with the Pantera crew and jamming with Dimebag?....

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SCOTTI HILL: Looking back on it, it was amazing! We were all pretty young and I remember how beat up and just run down I felt back then being a young guy. Both bands were hitting it really hard and touring really hard. Both bands developed a really good friendship; we hung out a lot, we spent six month out on that tour together and it was really a test of what you could put your body through.....

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PMPIX: [Laughs]....

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PMPIX: As we just mentioned you have played with a number of amazing bands in the past, is there one band you have always wanted to hit the road with but due to conflicting schedules etc it just hasn’t happened?....

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SCOTTI HILL: Ac/dc, absolutely! There are two things I am yet to do, which up till now I haven’t, one is playing at Madison Square Garden’s, I’ve played everywhere else just not Madison Square Garden’s and the other is I’ve never opened for Ac/dc. They’re one of my favorite bands in the world, Brian [Johnson] and I are good friends, we live in the same town and spend a lot of time together, and we hit the pubs a lot! The guys are like... “Maybe you should drop a hint to Brian” but I would much rather leave that all out of it!....

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PMPIX: Mate, as a freelance writer / photographer, I often find myself down in the pit snapping away and capturing some amazing and yet sometimes scary moments! Once the shows are over and you get to kick back and view a lot of the press and fan photographs that come through via Myspace, emails etc do you come across those shots often, where you end up with your head in your hands screaming “what the F**k was I thinking / doing right there”? And of those moments what one stands out most for you?....

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SCOTTI HILL: Ya know what… do a Google search of my name and just look at the pictures that come up!....

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PMPIX: [Laughs]....

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PMPIX: For all artists, photo shoots are just as important as doing music videos, you have been involved in many shoots over the years, do you enjoy that side of the business and of all the shoots you have done is there any one shoot that stands out as the best for you?....

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SCOTTI HILL: No, I don’t like shooting videos at all and what I said about the camera… I’m talking about live onstage. Standing in a studio and trying to look cool in front of a backdrop is not one of my favorite things either. That whole side of it is work to me rather than playing guitar and having fun but it’s essential. I never liked making videos; it’s just too much waiting around and waiting some more!....

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PMPIX: Scotti, we have hit the part of the interview where our readers get to find out more about the real you… I know from an early age bands such as Kiss and The Ramones played a large influence on you all, but was music always your goal growing up or did you think you would follow a different path?....

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SCOTTI HILL: No, no, I started playing guitar when I was 13 and that’s pretty much where I set my sights! One way or another I just wanted to have a guitar in my hand, weather it was playing covers down at the bar and grill or if it was coming to Australia to see you guys! I didn’t want to answer to anybody and I didn’t want to sit in one spot. I don’t like that, man I just knew!....

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PMPIX: Growing up what did your parents think about the music you played?....

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