ERIK GRÖNWALL Looks Back On His Time With SKID ROW: ‘I Still Think We Were So Good For Each Other’

In a recent interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, former SKID ROW singer Erik Grönwall once again opened up about his decision to exit the band less than a year ago.The 37-year-old Swedish-born musician, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, announced his departure from SKID ROW in March 2024, saying that it had become increasingly “difficult to prioritize” his health and full recovery as the lead singer of the group.Addressing the circumstances that led to his exit from SKID ROW, Erik told Laughingmonkeymusic (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It was a really, really tough decision. And if I could have stayed in the band, I would. It just got to a point where I was, like, well, if I’m gonna respect the guy who went through all of this and respect my own values, I just had to make that decision. But it was the right decision, but it was a hard decision.”Grönwall went on to say that both he and the members of SKID ROW “took a risk” when they decided to work with each other. “I remember once saying to [SKID ROW bassist] Rachel [Bolan], like, ‘Wow, you guys took a really big risk with me.’ And he was, like, Yeah, but you took it that times four’ or something, ’cause there are four [other] people in the band. But the thing is we found each other right away. And I still think we were so good for each other. They helped me and I hope I added value to SKID ROW. It feels like it. And they added value to Erik Grönwall, the Grönwall business. So it was a really, really good relationship we had, and we had a really good thing going. But they definitely took a big risk.”Elaborating on the factors that were involved in his decision to leave SKID ROW, Erik said: “I understand it’s hard to grasp how what a bone marrow transplant comes with or a leukemia treatment comes with. There’s so much, and it’s not like there’s any blueprint for it. It’s just, ‘Okay. Today this is happening to your body. Okay, we’ve gotta check what that is.’ And it’s blood tests every month, every third month, every six months. And it’s a big thing. And it’s a lot to keep keep track on, obviously. But we were really good for each other. And those guys were very extremely generous from day one. Very democratic. It was democratic from day one. It wasn’t like I was the hired guy. I was part of the band. So they made me feel really good about that. And I wanted to be a part of the band as well. There’s a lot to say, obviously, but we had a really good thing together.”Regarding why SKID ROW turned down his proposed touring schedule of three weeks on the road, including traveling, and then one month off, Erik said: “I can’t speak for them, obviously. I gave them a proposal that I thought would be manageable for me, but it didn’t work for them. And they have to do what they do, and they’ve been doing this for a long time, and they somehow always manage to come back again. So it’s not for me to say.”Erik added that he really wanted to make things work, given the circumstances, but he was given no choice but to leave.”I can also feel saddened that we ended up here,” he said. “But I think we really tried to find a solution. And at the end of the day, everybody’s gotta do what they feel is best for them.”Grönwall also spoke highly of SKID ROW’s original singer Sebastian Bach, who hasn’t fronted the group since his 1996 departure.”I’ve always said, from the day I joined SKID ROW, I was, like, if I meet [Sebastian], I’m gonna shake his hand and just say, ‘Thank you for the inspiration,’ because he was a vocal inspiration for me when I grew up,” Erik said. “And I will say it again, what he did on [SKID ROW’s] ‘Slave To The Grind’ [album] — [one of] top three best vocal performances of all time in rock and roll history. That was insanely good. So, for me, it was a privilege to go out and sing those songs. There’s a lot of stuff going on vocally, which makes it fun, obviously. It’s not fun on bad days, though. When you have a cold, then it sucks — then it’s the worst job in the world —but on good days, it’s great.”Erik went from auditioning for the competition show “Swedish Idol” back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW’s “18 And Life” to fronting the band 13 years later.SKID ROW’s longtime friend Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) handled lead vocals for the band’s four concerts in late May 2024 and early June 2024, two months after Erik’s exit from the group.At the time of Grönwall’s departure, SKID ROW members said in a statement that they were “proud” of what they had “created and accomplished with Erik” over the previous two years” and wished “nothing but the best to him and his health.”Earlier this month, Erik told Finland’s Chaoszine about his exit from SKID ROW: “Leaving the band was one of the toughest career decisions I ever had to make. I loved being in that band. It didn’t hurt waking up being the lead singer of SKID ROW. But I would still be in the band if that was an option.”I left to respect the person who went through the leukemia — I mean, the person at the hospital,” he explained. “I promised myself that I would always put my health first. And when I felt like I couldn’t do that being in the band, I just had to make that decision.”I loved my time in the band. I had so much fun with the guys. We clicked right away, and I will always look back at that time with a smile, for sure. And I would have loved to stay in the band. But given the circumstances, we just couldn’t find common ground in terms of how much we should tour.”Grönwall went on to clarify that he was always open to continuing with SKID ROW if an agreement had been reached regarding how much time to spend on the road.”I’m not sure if it’s been said in any interview, but, for me, it was never about not touring at all,” he said. “I just wanted to have more time in between to recover. So, my suggestion was three weeks on the road, including traveling, and then one month off, three weeks on the road, including traveling, one month off, just to have that time in between. But they didn’t find that feasible, and that’s totally fine. I mean, SKID ROW has been doing this since before I was born. [Laughs] They have a recipe. I totally respect that they didn’t find out feasible at all. But it was what I needed, and here we are.”According to Erik, leaving SKID ROW has given him “a lot of freedom” to pursue other projects.”I won’t stop being an artist,” he said. “I can pretty much do whatever I want. And I like that. I’m not signed to any label right now. I don’t wanna be. I like that kind of independence, freedom. Maybe there will come a time when it makes sense to sign with someone, but right now I’m doing everything from [my home]. It’s nice to wake up, just go downstairs, put on some coffee, get in here and sing, and then go to the next room here and record the video and put it on YouTube. It’s kind of convenient.”As for how he plans to release his new music, Erik said:  ”I’m actually writing a lot of music now, because I wanna release something on my own. To be honest, I haven’t decided if I’m gonna do it solo or in a band. But I think I wanna start a band and just release new music. I still feel like I haven’t done my own thing 100 percent. I will always join bands who already had an established sound. So I’m working a lot on that, actually — writing new music and focusing on the future.”In a November 2024 interview with Chris Akin Presents, Bolan and SKID ROW guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo addressed Erik’s exit from the group. When host Chris Akin noted that Grönwall’s explanation for exiting SKID ROW sounded a little “fishy” to him and other SKID ROW fans in light of the fact that Erik had immediately announced that he was releasing his autobiography and was planning to go on tour with Michael Schenker in 2025, Rachel said: “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.”Bolan continued: “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.”Snake chimed in: “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.”Bolan and Sabo also touched upon the fact that Grönwall released a demo version of a song called “Can’t Kill What’s Dead” which Erik said he co-wrote with his producer Jona Tee for possible inclusion on a new SKID ROW album while he was still in the band.”Yeah, I heard the song for the first time in [Erik’s October 2024] post,” Rachel said. “So I’m not even sure what he was talking about.”After Akin clarified that Erik said “Can’t Kill What’s Dead” was one of three songs Grönwall co-wrote with Tee for potential inclusion on a new SKID ROW album, Rachel said: “That’s creative wording. That’s for sure.”Added Snake: “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.”Rachel continued: “Yeah, I saw the post and I was, like, ‘Huh. Okay.’ I was as confused as everyone else. I’m, like, ‘Okay.'”The English version of Grönwall’s autobiography, “Power – Music, Death, Life”, was made available on December 6 via HarperCollins.Grönwall, who was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. for nearly a decade before exiting the group in October 2020, announced in September 2021 that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant one month earlier.Grönwall sang on four H.E.A.T. studio albums — “Address The Nation” (2012),”Tearing Down The Walls” (2014),”Into The Great Unknown” (2017) and “H.E.A.T II” (2020).In September 2021, just four months before joining SKID ROW, Grönwall released his new cover version of “18 And Life” via all streaming platforms.In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC’s live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, “The Gang’s All Here”. The song is the title track of the band’s latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS’ “Sin City Nights” residency.Grönwall lives in Knivsta, a city in Uppsala County in east central Sweden, with his wife and their son.[embedded content]