Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo Pays Tribute to Late Skid Row Bandmate Johnny Solinger
Guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo has paid tribute to his fellow Skid Row bandmate, Johnny Solinger, who passed away in June. Sabo talked about how his bandmate's sweet soul and how he needs to be talked about more often during a chat with SiriusXM host Eddie Trunk.
Former Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger was the frontman of the band for 16 years after Sebastian Bach. He revealed in May that he had been hospitalized over the past month due to liver failure.
In his statement on social media about his diagnosis, Solinger stated that he needed help with his medical bills, due to not having health insurance like "most musicians." Then, in late June Solinger sadly passed away at the age of 55.
Sabo was recently on "Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk" on SiriusXM and talked about the loss of his Skid Row bandmate. According to Blabbermouth, here's what Skid Row guitarist Sabo said about the passing of Solinger:
"It's a terrible, terrible tragedy. It's a really big loss. It was really hard when we had heard about it. We had heard that he was sick. We didn't understand to what degree. But we reached out to him and we had some communication with him."
"Johnny was one of those guys - he just had a sweet, sweet soul about him. Never malicious, always kind-hearted, always with a smile on his face. And he was a good guy. I mean, we were together for nearly 15 years, and we were friends throughout the whole thing," he continued.
The guitarist clarified, "Our separation of the band and him was simply because it just wasn't working anymore, just from a standpoint of where we were headed as a band and where he kind of was headed as a singer. But there was no hate there at all; to be honest with you, nothing but love for the guy. And I don't say that because he's passed away; I said that when we split up. I mean there was absolutely no animosity whatsoever."
Sabo concluded, "He's gonna be missed, 'cause he is a part of the history of this band - a big part. And I'm grateful for the time that he gave us and allowing us to make records with him and together. And I'm fond of those records - I'm fond of the EPs and Thickskin and Revolutions Per Minute. That's a big part of our history that helped us to get here where we are now. So I'll always be thankful for him and I'll always miss him. And I appreciate you bringing that up, because he needs to be talked about more often. I feel he kind of gets lost in the sauce, and that's not fair to him or his memory."