David Michael Sabo, nicknamed
"The Snake," is a rock guitarist who plays in the heavy metal band
Skid RowSkid Row is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. They are named after Phil Lynott and Gary Moore's first band. They were most successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s when their first two albums with lead singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso were...
. He's co-guitarist with guitarist
Scotti HillScotti Hill , is a guitarist of the band Skid Row. He's co-guitarist in Skid Row with guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo....
.
He was born on September 16, 1964, in Perth Amboy,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, and grew up in Sayreville, down the street from
Jon Bon JoviJohn Francis Bongiovi, Jr. , better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League...
. 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
KissKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972. Easily identified by its members' trademark face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
,
AerosmithAerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and seen by some as America's greatest rock and roll band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues,, and has...
,
Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since...
,
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
,
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
, and
Van HalenVan Halen is a hard rock band formed in , USA in 1974. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007, Van Halen has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
.
David Michael Sabo, nicknamed
"The Snake," is a rock guitarist who plays in the heavy metal band
Skid RowSkid Row is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. They are named after Phil Lynott and Gary Moore's first band. They were most successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s when their first two albums with lead singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso were...
. He's co-guitarist with guitarist
Scotti HillScotti Hill , is a guitarist of the band Skid Row. He's co-guitarist in Skid Row with guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo....
.
Biography
He was born on September 16, 1964, in Perth Amboy,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, and grew up in Sayreville, down the street from
Jon Bon JoviJohn Francis Bongiovi, Jr. , better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League...
. 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
KissKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972. Easily identified by its members' trademark face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
,
AerosmithAerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and seen by some as America's greatest rock and roll band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues,, and has...
,
Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since...
,
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
,
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
, and
Van HalenVan Halen is a hard rock band formed in , USA in 1974. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007, Van Halen has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
. His mother had bought his brother a $40 guitar which he soon lost interest in, paving the way for Dave to take up the instrument at the age of 14.
Dave was also the first guitarist to join Jon Bon Jovi when he was forming his first band to showcase the song "
Runaway"Runaway" is a Bon Jovi song, written in 1980 and originally recorded in 1981 for the so called "Power Station Demos". The recordings were primarily done by an ensemble simply known as Jon Bongiovi & The Rest. Lead guitar on the original 1980's track was Bon Jovi's neighbour, Dave Sabo , who would...
" after it was released on a compilation record, only to be replaced by
Richie SamboraRichard "Richie" Stephen Sambora , is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer/ songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the popular rock band Bon Jovi. Along with frontman Jon Bon Jovi, he forms the primary songwriting unit of the band...
.
A chance meeting with local bass player
Rachel BolanRachel Bolan was born James Southworth. He is the bass player and primary songwriter of New Jersey metal band, Skid Row. He founded the band in 1986 with guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo...
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 MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
,
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the Northeastern New Jersey part of the tri-state New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays its home games in East...
and
New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, known familiarly as the Knicks, are a professional National Basketball Association team based in New York City, and the most valuable franchise in the league, valued at $608 million...
), video games (baseball), junk food (burritos, tacos, Doritos, chili dogs), and the number "13" . He stands 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 thus: "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." 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, Mike Thompson, who was poking fun at a single hair that grew "snake-like" from Dave's chest, when he was about twelve.
A famous quote from Snake came 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 against drunk driving, he said:
"Don't drink and drive. You might spill your drink."
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 MooreGary Moore is a Northern Irish guitarist and singer.In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore has played with artists including Thin Lizzy, BB King, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and the Blues-rock band Skid Row, as well as having a successful solo career...
'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 FallonMatt Fallon is a heavy metal singer best known for his work with Skid Row and Anthrax.- Early life :...
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
AtlanticAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. In 1989, the band released their first album,
Skid RowSkid Row is the debut album from the American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on January 24, 1989. The album is certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA. The album spawned the top 10 singles "18 and Life" and "I Remember You" and the Mainstream rock hit "Youth Gone Wild". It is the band's most...
, which was an instant success, mainly due to power ballads. The record went multi-platinum and produced the hit singles "
18 and Life"18 and Life" is the second single from Skid Row's 1989 eponymous debut album. The band's first power ballad single, it was written by bandmates Rachel Bolan and Dave "the Snake" Sabo....
", "I Remember You" and "
Youth Gone Wild"Youth Gone Wild" is the debut single by Skid Row and the lead single from their 1989 eponymous debut album.Its music video received heavy airplay on MTV; however, while the album itself was a major hit and went multi-platinum in the U.S...
" . 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 ReedDizzy Reed is a contemporary rock musician. He is best known for his tenure as the keyboardist for the rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has played, toured and recorded since 1990...
,
Guns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since its formation...
;
Adrian YoungAdrian Samuel Young is the drummer for the rock band, No Doubt.-Biography:Young's parents were hippies. He has three brothers: Alex, Damian and Aaron...
,
No DoubtNo Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, founded in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album, No Doubt , failed to make waves...
; Peter Finestone,
Bad ReligionBad Religion is an American punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley , Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz and Jay Ziskrout...
;
Darius RuckerDarius Rucker is an American musician. He is known for his role as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, of which he has been a member since the band's inception in 1986 and his work as a solo artist.Along with his work in Hootie & the Blowfish, Rucker has...
, Hootie and the Blowfish;
Delaney BramlettDelaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi.-Career:...
, Bonnie and Delaney and Friends; Eddie Hedges,
Blessid Union of SoulsBlessid Union of Souls is an American rock band from Morrow, Ohio that was formed in 1990 by friends Jeff Pence and Eliot Sloan....
; Dean Dinning,
Toad the Wet SprocketToad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of singer/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss...
;
Louise PostLouise Lightner Post is the lead vocalist and guitarist for alternative rock group Veruca Salt. She is a graduate of Barnard College, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.-Musical career:...
,
Veruca SaltVeruca Salt is a fictional character from the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the subsequent film adaptations.-Veruca in the novel:...
and Sonny Mone,
Crazy HorseCrazy Horse was a respected war leader of the Oglala Lakota, who fought against the U.S...
.