Details have emerged over Johnny Solinger’s sudden decision to leave Skid Row. Apparently he did not actually leave the band, but was indeed fired. While the band seemed to let Johnny keep his dignity and say he is simply leaving the band, it didn’t take them long to say that this was a forced change, and have recuited ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as the new frontman.
In an interview with SiriusXM’s live radio show ‘Eddie Trunk Live‘, Eddie asked for details to Skid Row members Rachel Bolan and Dave Sabo surrounding the departure of Solinger:
“First of all, it’s one of those things where there’s no animosity with Johnny at all, from our standpoint. But it felt like it was just time for us to make a change.”
“We have been feeling this way for a little while.
“We’re thankful for the fifteen years that we had with Johnny. But it just felt like it was just time that we needed to make a change. And Rachel, Scotti [Hill, guitar] and I and Rob [Hammersmith, drums] spoke about it, and we just felt that if we’re gonna do something, we should do it now.”
Sabo continued:
“This has nothing to do with Johnny not being a good person; he’s a really good person, and we all got along well. There’s no animosity at all from our end. And these are terrible decisions to make, man. They’re awful. The guy’s been with us for fifteen years, and we saw a lot of miles of road together, and I feel extremely fortunate to have spent that time in a band with him. And he’s a great singer and he’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna pursue his solo stuff, I guess, and that’s what he should do. And for us, we’re moving forward. We’re excited about the future. These things are never easy. They’re life-altering decisions, you know. But it’s a decision that had to be made, from our standpoint, and we made that decision. And we basically said to Johnny that we’re making a chance and getting a new singer.”
The decision was apparently a surprise to Solinger, but it has been repeatedly stated that there is no animosity. The details about this semme oddly scarce, but nothing comparing the drama that surrounded the split between Skid Row and Sebastian Bach in 1996. We did dream big of a reunion for a moment there, especially as the firing was so sudden, but it appears that Tony Harnell will continue as Skid Row vocalist for the foreseeable future.
