Singer Zinny J. Zan up for Shotgun Messiah reunion but has not talked to Tim Skold since 1990

Singer Zinny J. Zan up for Shotgun Messiah reunion but has not talked to Tim Skold since 1990

Stagman and former Shotgun Messiah frontman Zinny J. Zan recently spoke to the 80’s Glam MetalCast podcast in advance of the release of his third solo album titled The Emperor’s New Clothes, which will be released under the name Stagman on February 21, 2020.

Wikipedia states the following about Shotgun Messiah‘s three different “eras” (with slight edits):

“The band originally went under the name “Kingpin” while in Sweden, recording the album Welcome To Bop City; the album line-up featured former Easy Action vocalist Zinny J. Zan (vocals), joining Skövde musicians Tim Skold (going by “Tim Tim“) (bass), Harry K. Cody (Harri Kemppainen, guitar) and Pekka “Stixx Galore” (later simply “Stixx“) Ollinen (drums). This would become the original line-up of Shotgun Messiah as the band changed their name and relocated to Hollywood, California. The album they released under the “Kingpin” name was re-recorded and released as Shotgun Messiah‘s self-titled debut album, Shotgun Messiah. The style of this album was glam metal typical of early 1980s American bands such as Mötley Crüe and Ratt.

Frontman Zinny J. Zan departed the band in 1990 leaving Tim Skold to take over vocal duties; Shotgun Messiah drafted an American bassist, Bobby Lycon, to fill Skold‘s former position. In 1991, the band’s follow up album Second Coming was released, spawning their most famous hit “Heartbreak Blvd”. Stylistically, due to Skold‘s less conventional singing style, this era saw the band playing sleaze glam-styled hard rock, closer to Guns N’ Roses and Faster Pussycat than their previous effort.

A punk rock influence is also notable during this period. The band released I Want More, an EP featuring cover versions of songs by the Ramones, The Stooges and the New York Dolls.

1993 was the final year for the band; Harry K. Cody and Tim Skold were left as the only members of Shotgun Messiah and created what would be the last Shotgun Messiah album Violent New Breed. This album is significantly different from the previous efforts as it focused heavily on industrial rock stylings, bringing in live players for the “Violent New Breed” tour. Soon after the tour, the band split permanently citing artistic differences as the reason.”

With respect to what led to his departure from Shotgun Messiah, Zan advised (as transcribed by the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast): “Tim was not too happy on how the band was progressing. We were writing songs for the second album and it was back and forth there. Harry sat with me at times, and at times he sat with Tim. That’s when the tension started and the tension was between me and Tim. I felt absolutely sidelined by them, because they weren’t inviting me all of a sudden. I just started hanging out with other people. We sat down and said I guess we can’t work together. Relativity Records took me out for numerous dinners, saying what’s it going to take to get you back in the band. I told them there was no reason because they want to go another way and they don’t want to work with me anymore. To be honest, none of them really spoke to me about it.  I guess Tim wanted to sing and wanted to be a singer, and that’s what happened after. So we really didn’t fight about it. I said If it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be and I’ll leave.”

In terms of what he thought of Shotgun Messiah‘s Second Coming album, which was released after his departure from the band, Zan indicated: “I think the “Second Coming” album is fantastic, very good. I don’t think it would have sounded the same with me. Tim did an absolutely OK job, because to be honest – I never really considered him to be a singer. He was an OK back up singer. Harry has a much better voice for that, so I am surprised he really pulled it off. So all credit to him for that.”

In regard to the last time that he spoke to Skold and whether he’s be up for a Shotgun Messiah reunion, Zan stated: “Tim and I haven’t spoke since 1990. I have a great relationship with Stixx and in recent years, Harry and I have been in contact. It all came about two years ago, we were talking about doing a reunion. Tim talked to Harry, but Tim didn’t talk to me at all. Through Harry, he said that would be a cool thing to do. They wanted me to check out the festivals in Europe. I had about five festivals that wanted us to do it over various dates in the summer. Tim and Harry live in the U.S. and it didn’t really work out. It would have been hard for them because it would have been too much going back and forth. If it’s the right time and place, I am absolutely up for a Shotgun Messiah reunion. Even though I haven’t talked to Tim since 1990, it doesn’t really matter. Sometimes that tension is good in a band, brings out creativity. As long as I can pull the songs off, I would absolutely do it.”

You can listen to the interview with Zinny J. Zan by the 80’s Glam MetalCast below:

80’s Glam Metalcast – Episode 11 – Zinny J. Zan (Shotgun Messiah/Stagman)

In this episode, I talk to Glam Metal legend Zinny J. Zan. We talk about his new project Stagman and we get the inside story on his days in Shotgun Messiah. …