Rachel Bolan remarks that “fans are ecstatic” over HALESTORM’s Lzzy Hale joining SKID ROW for a series of concerts in late May and early June.
The 40-year-old vocalist, leading her band HALESTORM for over two and a half decades, will take on vocal responsibilities for SKID ROW for just four shows following the departure of the group’s fourth frontman since Sebastian Bach’s exit — “Swedish Idol” participant Erik Grönwall — who left the band to focus on his health.
Bolan discussed SKID ROW’s collaboration with Hale during a recent interview with Fox 26 reporter Ruben Dominguez and Margot Hogan. Concerning how Lzzy was approached about the opportunity, the SKID ROW bassist conveyed (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “When we learned of Erik’s decision to prioritize his health and leave the band, I said to the [other] guys [in the band], I go, ‘You know what? She’s like a sister to me, and I’m just gonna ask Lzzy. I know they have a really busy schedule, and they just have a lot going on. We have these four shows. I’m just gonna ask her. And if she says no, no harm, no foul.’ And Nick Raskulinecz, who produced our last record, produced a couple of HALESTORM records, and it was his birthday party. I happened to be in Nashville because painters were painting the inside of the house that I’m putting up for sale. So I was just there, and he’s, like, ‘Hey, dude, it’s my birthday. We’re having Lzzy, Joe [Hottinger, HALESTORM guitarist] are coming… Everyone’s coming. You’ve gotta come by.’ And I was, like, ‘Okay, cool.’ So I got the painters out of the house a little early, and I went there, and that’s when I asked Lzzy. I just said, ‘Hey, would you wanna fill in on vocals or you wanna come sing with SKID ROW?’ And she thought I meant like at the Mercy Lounge [in Nashville] or something like that. It’s, like, ‘Yeah, we’ve jammed a million times. Sure. The guys gonna be in town,’ type of thing. And it’s, like, ‘No, no. We have four shows on the books. And Erik can’t do them. So would you come in?’ She’s, like, ‘Hell yeah.’ She’s, like, ‘Let me just double check with my team.’ And I hit her up a couple of days later, I go, ‘Hey, were you serious about that?’ She’s, like, ‘I was dead serious. And I am good to go for that.'”
Rachel further expressed that he and his SKID ROW bandmates are “incredibly thrilled” about performing with Lzzy, “because she is a powerhouse, without a doubt. And above all of it, above the band’s name and everything involved, she’s my friend,” he elucidated. “And it means a lot to me. So far above anything cool someone could do for a friend, she’s doing for us. And it means it really means a lot to me that she’s doing it. And the reaction has been unreal. Unreal. It’s great.”
Delving into why Hale is the ideal vocalist to join SKID ROW for these four shows, Bolan asserted: “Lzzy, she is her own person. We asked her not for any other reason than how good she is and how powerful she is and how much she means to people. And I’ve gotta be completely honest. I knew this was gonna get attention, but I didn’t know people were gonna be snapping out. And it’s making me, like, ‘Wow, my mind is completely blown.’ It’s a matter of a friend coming in to help friends. And even though we came out before and may have influenced her with stuff, she’s helping us a lot, a lot in a situation we’re in, and it is becoming something bigger than both of us. And I’m using her words. She’s, like, this has become really bigger than the both of us. And so everyone is really excited — her team is excited, SKID ROW team is excited. The fans are just losing their minds. And I can’t wait. I just wanna get into rehearsal, man. I just cannot wait to hear her sing these songs. And I think what we’re gonna put forth together is something really, really special that people are gonna dig.”
