David Michael Sabo (born September 16, 1964), nicknamed "The Snake", is an American musician best known as one of the guitarists of heavy metal band

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

Biography

Pre-Skid Row

Sabo was born in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

and grew up in nearby

Sayreville Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United Sta ...

, in the same neighborhood as childhood friend

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

. His mother, Dorothy, raised him and his brothers as a single mother. Inspired by the likes of

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, as well as

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, Sabo began playing guitar at the age of 14 on a $40

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

guitar his mother had purchased for his older brother years earlier. Sabo was also a promising athlete, even being professionally scouted while a high school baseball player. Seeing Kiss play live as a teenager was the catalyst for Sabo to give up sports and focus on music full time."Snake Sabo (Skid Row) 2013 Interview on the Signals of Intuition". The Signals of Intuition. 99.1 CJAM-FM. May 28, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013. Sabo's friendship with Jon Bon Jovi led to him becoming the original lead guitarist for

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

in 1983. Sabo took part in a short three-week tour to support a demo version of Bon Jovi's debut single " Runaway" which became a surprise New York City-area hit in 1983. Sabo's time in Bon Jovi was brief, and he was soon replaced by

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

as the band's lead guitarist. While working in

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County.Rachel Bolan Rachel Bolan (born February 9, 1964), born James Richard Southworth, is an American musician, best known as the bassist and main songwriter of the Heavy metal music, metal band Skid Row (American band), Skid Row. Career Bolan was born in 1964 to ...

and the pair agreed to form a band which would eventually become famous American rock band Skid Row.

Skid Row

Sabo performing in 2009 Bolan and Sabo recruited guitarist

Scotti Hill Scotti Hill (born Scott Lawrence Mulvehill on May 31, 1964, in Manhasset, New York) is an American musician best known as a guitarist in the New Jersey heavy metal band Skid Row. Overview One of the last glam metal bands to hit the big time ...

, drummer

Rob Affuso Robert James Affuso (born March 1, 1963, in Newburgh, New York) is an American heavy metal drummer best known as a member of the band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Affuso is currently the band leader and drummer for Soulsystem, a band he forme ...

and vocalist

Matt Fallon Matt Fallon (born Matthew Frankel; September 30, 1965, Brooklyn, New York) is a heavy metal singer best known for his work with Skid Row and Anthrax. Early life Fallon moved to central New Jersey at the age of eight with his parents and young ...

and christened the new band Skid Row. Fallon was replaced by

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...

in 1987 and the band began playing shows in clubs throughout the eastern United States. With some help from childhood friend Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo was instrumental in securing a record deal for Skid Row with

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. In 1989, the band released their debut album, ''

'', which was an instant success. The record went multi-platinum and produced the hit singles " 18 and Life", " I Remember You" and "

Youth Gone Wild "Youth Gone Wild" is the debut single from American heavy metal band Skid Row's debut album, released in January 1989. Background The song's music video received heavy airplay on MTV; however, as a single it only reached #99 on the US ''Bil ...

". Skid Row turned in a heavier direction on their double-platinum follow-up, the 1991 album "

Slave to the Grind ''Slave to the Grind'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on June 11, 1991, by Atlantic Records. The album displayed a harsher sound than its predecessor and lyrics that avoided hard rock cliches. ''Sla ...

Kryst the Conqueror

Sabo played lead guitar on "Trial of the Soul", a track by the band

Kryst the Conqueror Kryst the Conqueror (pronounced "Christ") was an American Christian metal project formed in August 1987 by two former members of the horror punk band, The Misfits. The project was led by bassist Jerry Only, who adopted a new stage name, "Mo the ...

featuring former members of the Misfits as well as

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and (briefly) the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also sa ...

of the

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

band. Scott is credited under the pseudonym "Kryst the Conqueror" as he was under contract to Malmsteen and forced to remain anonymous.

Anthrax

Sabo was briefly a touring guitarist for

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

during their "Attack of the Killer A's" tour in early 2000.

Family

Sabo is the uncle of former

Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, an ...

player Matt Sabo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabo, Dave 1964 births Bon Jovi members Skid Row (American band) members American heavy metal guitarists American people of Italian descent Living people Lead guitarists People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey People from Sayreville, New Jersey American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists