Interview: Skid Row’s Rachel Bolan Says Shows With Lzzy Hale Were ‘Some of the Most Fun’ of His Career

Rachel Bolan joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (Nov. 21) to dive into Skid Row‘s brand-new rum and also spent a bit of time celebrating the band’s shows with Lzzy Hale that took place earlier this year. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“I knew her work ethic and I never once was concerned or worried,” Bolan told host Chuck Armstrong about working with Hale.

“I was like, ‘Man, some of these songs are bears, if you want to take them out and put something else in,’ [and she said,] ‘No, I got it.'”

Bolan admitted he was blown away by how Hale handled Skid Row’s catalog and said the shows with her felt “absolutely perfect.”

“Honestly, dude, the four shows we did together were some of the most fun shows of my career onstage and it was just insane.”

Skid Row Celebrates Their “18 and Life” Rum

In addition to reminiscing about Hale’s brief stint with Skid Row, Bolan dove into what it was like working on the band’s first-ever official rum.

“We’re very protective of the brand,” Bolan said, “so we tried out a bunch of rums and they sent us more.”

Eventually the band landed on what would become the “18 and Life” single-origin, ultra-premium rum.

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“It was a really fun process and it took about a year to get it all together and we’ve just been having fun with it,” he said.

“It’s something that we could be proud of because it tastes really good, like, we really like it.”

What Else Did Skid Row’s Rachel Bolan Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What it was like working on Skid Row’s debut album in the ’80s and how Jon Bon Jovi was a significant help during the songwriting process: “We had a great songwriting coach [who] would listen to our stuff and he’d give us notes like, ‘I really like it, but this is so personal to you that someone that didn’t grow up in New Jersey and have the same exact experience you did may not know what you’re talking about.'”
• His preferred way to drink Skid Row’s “18 and Life” rum: “I’ll just drink it over one big ice cube and just sip.”
• What fans can expect from Skid Row in 2025 and the surprises they’re working on for some surprise singer appearances: “We may do some more celebrity collabs because a few of our famous friends are like, ‘I like that Lzzy stuff,’ and they’re like, ‘I want to do that.’ We’re like, ‘Okay, cool. Let’s try it out.'”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Rachel Bolan joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, Nov. 21; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.