Dave Sabo

David "The Snake" Sabo
Birth name	David Michael Sabo
Born	September 16, 1964 (1964-09-16) (age 47)
Origin	Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Heavy metal, glam metal, thrash metal
Occupations	Guitarist, songwriter, manager (of the band Down)
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1985–present
Associated acts	Skid Row, Anthrax, Bon Jovi, Kryst the Conqueror
Website	http://www.skidrow.com

David Michael Sabo, nicknamed "The Snake," is a rock guitarist who plays in the heavy metal band Skid Row. He is co-guitarist with guitarist Scotti Hill.

Biography

Sabo was born on September 16, 1964, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He grew up in Sayreville, down the street from Jon Bon Jovi.^[1] 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, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, and Van Halen. 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" after it was released on a compilation record, only to be replaced by Richie Sambora.^[2]

He is also the uncle of former ATP Tennis professional Matt Sabo.

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.

Skid Row

Skid Row is an American heavy metal 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.^[3]

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; Eddie Money; Darius Rucker, Hootie and the Blowfish; Vince Neil, Mötley Crüe; Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie and Delaney and Friends; Eddie Hedges, Blessid Union of Souls; Dean Dinning, Toad the Wet Sprocket; Ace Frehley, KISS; Louise Post, Veruca Salt and Sonny Mone, Crazy Horse.^{[dated info]}

Personal life

He loves sports — he's a fan of the 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 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."^{[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, 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 public-access television cable TV 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."^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Makin, Robert. "Kiss it Goodbye", Courier News (New Jersey), June 8, 2000. Accessed February 15, 2011. "Lifelong members of the Kiss Army, such as guitarist Dave 'Snake' Sabo of Sayreville and music writer Jeff Kitts of Scotch Plains..."
2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Biography: Bon Jovi". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3734/biography. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
3. ^ Weber, Barry. "Biography: Skid Row". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5444/biography. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 

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Name	Sabo
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Date of birth	1964-09-16
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