David Michael Sabo (Former members - Anthrax)
David Michael Sabo, nicknamed "The Snake", is a rock guitarist who plays in the heavy metal band Skid Row. He's co-guitarist with guitarist Scotti Hill.
He was born on September 16, 1964 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey growing up in Sayreville, down the street from Jon Bon Jovi. His mother Dorothy, or "Mama Snake" as she is known, raised him, and his brothers, on her own. Influenced heavily by the rock n' roll music of the era, including some Motown, he found himself listening to the likes of Kiss, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, and Van Halen. His mother had bought his brother a $40 guitar which he had soon lost interest in, paving the way for Dave to take up the instrument at the age of 14.
A chance meeting with local bass player Rachel Bolan in the Garden State music store, where he was employed, set him in the direction of forming the band that would earn him fame. Their partnership would not only prove to be the right step with their songwriting, but for friendship as well, as they still consider themselves to be best friends.
He loves sports (e.g., New York Mets, New York Jets and New York Knicks), video games (baseball), junk food (burritos, tacos, Doritos, chili dogs), and the number "13" . He stands at 5' 9", has green eyes and dark brown hair that has been dyed many colors over the years.
He is described in his own words thusly: "It is tough to be objective when you are talking about yourself, but I am definitely the most level-headed. I can say that honestly, when it comes to people going in completely opposite directions, I am the guy who can maybe bring it together. Who finds the common ground. That is maybe my strong point. The bad point is that I'm the worrier." {citation needed} When asked where his nickname comes from, years ago he said that it came about as a result of a fantasy he had at 14 about an encounter with two porno queens who were "so enamored at my girth that they called me 'The Snake'". The truth is actually very different from the fantasy. The nickname, in fact, came about from childhood friend, Jon Bon Jovi, who was poking fun at a single hair that grew "snake-like" from Dave's chest, when he was about twelve.
A favorite quote from Snake came from when he and Skid Row made an appearance on a cable access show called Rock In New England. When asked to do a public service announcement for the stand against drunk driving, he said: "Don't drink and drive. You might spill your drink." {citation needed}
Skid Row
Skid Row is an American hard rock band which became one of the flagship bands of the late 1980s metal scene. They were reasonably successful until they were eclipsed by the Seattle grunge-type bands in 1992. The band was named after Gary Moore's first band, Skid Row.
Skid Row was formed in New Jersey in 1986 by Bolan and Sabo. The pair added guitarist Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and vocalist Matt Fallon who was later replaced by Sebastian Bach in 1987. The band began playing shows in clubs throughout the eastern United States.
With the assistance of friend Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo secured a record deal for Skid Row with Atlantic. In 1989, the band released their first album, Skid Row, which was an instant success, mainly due to power ballads. The record went multi-platinum and produced the hit singles "18 and Life", "I Remember You" and "Youth Gone Wild" . Skid Row turned in a heavier direction on its future albums. Sabo has worked as assistant producer on many of the band's songs.
Sabo recently composed music for the film score, The Still Life set to be released in 2007 with Dizzy Reed, Guns N Roses; Adrian Young, No Doubt; Peter Finestone, Bad Religion; Darius Rucker, Hootie and the Blowfish; Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie and Delaney and Friends; Eddie Hedges, Blessid Union of Souls; Dean Dinning, Toad the Wet Sprocket; Louise Post, Veruca Salt and Sonny Mone, Crazy Horse.
