When I heard that Lzzy Hale from Halestorm had signed on to help the Skid Row guys for 4 shows, I was stoked! I was excited for the band, excited for the people who would see her sing live, and excited for Lzzy!
After the first show was in the books, I texted Skid Row bassist, Rachel Bolan and drummer, Rob Hammersmith. Both of them were giddy with how the weekend went. That’s when I decided to ask Rachel if he’d come on my Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown podcast to talk about it.
“We had one rehearsal before the first show, and she blew us away.”
Rachel Bolan
Rachel told me how the ball started to roll at producer, Nick Raskulinecz’s birthday party. “I was like, “Hey, man, would you want to step in and do a few shows with Skid Row?” And she, you know, after we kind of cleared out what exactly the shows were because we, you know, I think she kind of thought we were just going to jam at like the Mercy Lounge or something. But, so when we cleared that up, she said, yes. “Let me talk to my team and my people and I’ll have an answer for you.” And the next day or a couple of days later, I was like, “Hey, man, were you serious about that?” She’s like, yeah, it’s a go. And we were all excited.”
“She unleashed that first scream, and we were all just like, whoa.”
Rachel Bolan
Rachel went on to say that they only rehearsed once before their first show. Lzzy said that she was holding back a little so as not to blow out her voice. Then, it was time to take the stage. “When we took the stage, ‘Slave to the Grind,” she unleashed. Unleashed that first scream. I was just like, I’m getting chills thinking about it right now. I was we’re all just looking at each other like, whoa”
Rachel couldn’t heap enough praise on the Halestorm front woman. “You know, when someone is great at what they do, people appreciate it. They appreciated Lzzy because she was great. She’s just freaking great!” He said the energy on stage was off the charts. “And you could you could feel the energy on stage. And a few of my friends said that I’ve never seen you smile so much. You’re always like the punk rock don’t smile, guy. You know, like you’re laughing up there, you’re smiling, and you’re interacting, you know? So it was really cool, man. And we got two more. And I just feel like that’s like another nine days, and I’m like, climbing wall of, like, what do you know?”
The other two shows he’s referring to are in Reno, Nevada, and Sacramento, California.
“Lzzy Hale is one of the best vocalists on the planet.”
Rachel Bolan
When I commented that Lzzy is such a badass, Rachel agreed. “You know, you just said something that is, descriptive that everyone has been saying, and that’s badass. Man, it’s so perfect because she is a badass. She’s a beast on stage, man. She’s great.”
Check out the entire interview, along with videos from the weekend’s shows, below.
Talkin' Rock with Meltdown - Rachel Bolan
