Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Alice Cooper, Miles Davis and Alex Harvey have inspired Skid Baxter, the brainchild of Vinnie Salvatore. Vinnie is a guitarist from Pittsburgh, PA, most recently with the Columbus, Ohio-based hard rock band, Rat Bastard Syndicate (since 2016), featuring Steve Theado and Keith Pickens. Theado, Pickens and Salvatore are former members of American Dog.