SKID ROW Bassist On His Fondness For Racing

Jonn Kmech of The Gateway Online recently conducted an interview with SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On being both a seasoned rocker and racer:

"My older brother was into [racing]; he always took me to drag races and stock car races when I lived in New Jersey when I was a kid. I became a Dale Earnhardt fan through him and got into NASCAR, which I still love. It's cool now because I know a lot of the drivers."

On touring with KISS:

"Doing the KISS tour — nothing has to be said about that, growing up as a KISS fan. [Gene Simmons] was one of my biggest influences. I mean, I didn't even know what the bass was [growing up], but I wanted to play with the guy that spit blood. We did, I think, 130 shows with them, and I must have watched them in the majority of those shows. It was great.”

On rock stars he's met and celebrities he's almost partied with:

"The most interesting person that I almost partied with was David Lee Roth. I met him back in the day [at a club]. It was just a chance meeting, and he offered to buy me a drink. He ended up walking away without paying for the drink."

On starting his own motorsports company, which allows him a chance to go beyond his stage presence to connect with fans:

"I started Rachel Bolan Motorsports so that SKID ROW fans could see what I do outside the band. I race cars called legend cars. I also race thunder roadsters and go-karts. Whenever I get a chance to race, I always put my schedule up so fans can hang out and watch me race. I still make a lot of noise, but they can see me do something other than jump around on stage."

"Racing and playing are so similar. Putting on my fire suit is like putting on my stage gear. Walking down the hallway is like getting ready to go onto the race track.

"It's the same thing: you hit that pedal, and it's like, 'Ladies and gentlemen, SKID ROW.' Except I don't have to worry about flipping when I'm onstage."