New details revealed about Erik Grönwall’s departure from Skid Row

Skid Row guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo and bassist Rachel Bolan discussed the March 2024 departure of the band’s two-year frontman Erik Grönwall in a recent interview with Chris Akin Presents. The 36-year-old Swedish artist stated that he wished to “prioritize [his] health” and concentrate on his “full recovery” after receiving a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. In light of the fact that Grönwall had quickly announced that he was releasing his memoirs and intending to tour with Michael Schenker in 2025, host Chris Akin said that Erik’s reason for leaving Skid Row seemed a little “fishy” to him and the fans.

Well, I’ll put it this way: we understand exactly what you’re saying. And I’d be a liar if I said sometimes I don’t feel the same way. We were told exactly what he announced to the rest of the world via his YouTube channel. That’s exactly what we were told. That’s exactly what he sent in a text to Snake. I’m not gonna sit here and shit talk the guy because it’s not gonna do anything. But we had a really, really, really good thing going, and we’re here now. You’re not the first person to say this to any of us. We’ve all been DMed and a lot of fans thought think the same thing, and, like I said, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I thought the same thing at times, but we’re just going by what he told to us. Rachel Bolan

Obviously, we had to postpone and cancel some shows. There was definitely some health issues with him while we were out there. But what Rachel is saying is 100 percent true. This is what we were told, and we made attempts to figure it out, how we could do this where we could cut way back on the touring, but it just wasn’t economically feasible for anybody — it just couldn’t be done. And, yeah, we had a really, really good situation, but he was the one who left.

Dave Sabo

The recent publication of a demo version of the song “Can’t Kill What’s Dead” by Grönwall, which Erik said he co-wrote with his producer Jona Tee for potential inclusion on a future Skid Row album while he was still in the band, was another topic Bolan and Sabo discussed.

Yeah, I heard the song for the first time in (Erik’s October 2024) post. So I’m not even sure what he was talking about. That’s creative wording. That’s for sure. Rachel Bolan

That’s news to us. I mean, I guess we would have to play on it for it to be on a Skid Row record.

Dave Sabo

Yeah, I saw the post and I was, like, ‘Huh. Okay.’ I was as confused as everyone else. I’m, like, ‘Okay.’ Rachel Bolan