Metal Sludge — Taking a walk down memory lane with another Sludge Flashback from 2001.
Today we revisit our 20 Questions with the late and great drummer, Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot.
At the time, Kevin DuBrow was a big Metal Sludge fan and pushed Frankie to do our interview.
Rip to both Kevin & Frankie… Metal Sludge will continue to help keep your music and memory alive and well.
Below is the exact interview we published on April 10th 2001.
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20 Questions with Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot – Date: April 10th 2001
Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow actually set up this 20 Questions for us. He let us know that Frankie was down with doing 20 Question so we sent them out to him. Enjoy!
1. What are you currently up to? This is your only chance to plug your shit.
Frankie Banali: Currently on the never ending QUIET RIOT tour cycle, looking forward to the release of the QUIET RIOT “Guilty Pleasures” CD, as well as the W.A.S.P. CD which I played on about half of. These two releases make my 56th and 57th credited CD releases. But enough about me……
2. Lets get right down to the Sludge. Have you considered Richard Simmons deal a meal plan, a work out routine or change of eating habits lately?
FB: You know, a lot of people don’t know that I originally started to gain weight when I ate both Paul Shortino and Sean McNabb after the dismal failure of the fourth QUIET RIOT CD.
3. What hard rock/heavy metal band should give it up and call it a day?
FB: I don’t think any band should call it a day as long as they still enjoy playing, even if no one gives a fuck if they do or don’t.
4. Tell us an early memory of playing with the late & great Randy Rhoads?
FB: I have little experience playing with Randy, God bless him. Near the end of the first version of QUIET RIOT, Rudy suggested to Kevin and Randy that I should join the band. At the time I was playing in an LA based trio called “Monarch” with Steppenwolf guitarist Michael Monarch. We thought we were Led Zeppelin, so playing with QR at that time was unacceptable to me because even though Randy was a 100% rock guitar genius, the band to me as a whole were too “pop” for my taste. I showed up and hour and a half late for my “audition” and purposely played really bad. They agreed. Later, when Randy first started to work with Ozzy Osbourne, he told Ozzy about me and was invited to rehearse with them at Mars Rehearsal Studios in Hollywood. That was truly a memorable experience for me as Randy was in his prime, full of energy and passionate playing. Ozzy was a blast to be around. Unfortunately nothing came of it as they (Jet Records) only budgeted to take one player to the UK, and Randy was the clear and obvious choice. During the recording of Ozzy’s first solo record, I was in Frankfurt, Germany doing a record for ex Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey. Randy tracked me down by phone and asked if I’d be interested in going to England to work on the album, but already committed to Tony Carey, I was unable to. An unfortunate missed opportunity.
5. Rate the following drummers on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a hack and 10 being great.
Tommy Lee = 10 (His drumming on Dr. Feelgood still kicks ass!)
Rikki Rockett = 10 (He’s come quite a way from his early days)
Lars Ulrich = 5 (Yeah, come on, open up the flood gates….)
Eric Singer = 8 (But what do I know, he’s in KISS!)
Mick Brown = 8 in Dokken 10 in Lynch Mob
Fred Coury = You’d have to tell me which records he’s played on to give a fair opinion. Although I did see him sub for Guns and Roses, and he held his own.
Blas Elias = 10 (Besides, chicks dig him, must be doing something right)
Neil Peart = 10 (But I prefer Simon Phillips)
Bobby Blotzer = (I’d rather not say, and please Bobby don’t waste your time slamming me, we all know you think I suck too!)
Randy Castillo = 10 (Good luck with all things Randy)
Peter Criss = (He’s retired, right?)
6. Quiet Riot has toured and played for over twenty years. You have obviously seen everything from all angles so tell us, which band or bands gave you guys the worst time ever?
FB: None of them, really. I mean in every situation where a plethora of egos and testosterone are running rampant, there is bound to be friction, but overall, we’ve been luckier than most in that department.
7. You don’t actually consider Bodyguard Records a real record label, do you?
FB: Well, nobody considered Pasha Records much of a label, yet they signed us and QUIET RIOT went on for a period of time to be quite successful. What’s in a name?
8. Kevin DuBrow has rocked the Quiet Riot boat in the past with his big mouth. What was the final straw that made you guys boot his ass and start playing with Paul Shortino?
FB: Things had been bad in the band for quite a while. Not just Kevin, but on every level, including the label, management, over touring, you know, the usual shit you see every band bitch and moan about on all the VH1 “Behind The Music.” We were in Japan and no one was getting along. There had been discussions of what to do about the deflating future of the band. The two most obvious options were to part company with Kevin, or just call it a day. Everyone avoided the issue knowing that something had to give. The best option was to do nothing until the Japanese tour ended. A friend of Kevin phone him to tell him that he was going to be asked to “no longer participate” which of course had not been decided. He, understandably, had a fit. The gates of hell now fully open, the decision made itself. Very messy indeed.
9. What do you think about Eric Singer playing in Kiss wearing Peter Criss makeup?
FB: Not my cup of “9 Lives,” but hey, it’s show biz. Give the people want they want, right? I’m sure that KISS fans will think he’s the cat’s meow. Besides, KISS is a state of mind, and a very successful one.
10. Give us a touring memory about the following cities:
Atlanta = Met Greg Lake of “ELP.” He wasn’t impressed.
Tokyo = In the 80’s, more sex than you could shake a penis at.
London = Listening to Chris Holmes and Lita Ford fuck (they were in the room next to mine). World war II was quieter.
Phoenix = Some chick with big tits.
Seattle = Having a very civilized diner with Kevin and David Coverdale. Later getting totally shit faced.
San Francisco = Opening up for “Vandenburg” at the very early stages of the “Metal Health Tour” before anybody got what QR were about.
Nashville = Having eaten rancid oysters and having fluids spew out from both ends during Carlos’ guitar solo.
New York = Playing Madison Square Garden for the first time. For me, a childhood dream realized after seeing Led Zeppelin there.
Cleveland = Not much comes to mind. But Cleveland rocks, just ask Ian Hunter.
Hawaii = The only place I’ve ever been able to truly relax.
11. Heavy Bones was a band you formed after the Quiet Riot flame was faded beyond repair. Tell us about Heavy Bones and where are they now?
FB: Actually I had nothing to do with the bands initial forming. It was put together by ex “Cats and Boots” vocalist Joel Ellis and Gary Hoey. It was a band that was good, but good ten years too late. A total musical fabrication that was doomed from the beginning. In the end, Heavy Bones proved to be for me nothing more than a way to pass through a couple of musically difficult years while at the same time being on a creative pause. Nothing really memorable for me there except working with Ritchie Zito, a nice Italian producer, as well as working with Gary, who is incredibly talented.
12. Speaking of things being beyond repair, when was the last time you saw Kevin without that fixture on his head?
FB: Oh that, well I think that a lot of people have wasted a lot of time discussing it, so what can I really add to such a thoroughly explored phenomena. You are talking about the angelic Halo, right?
13. For $500,000 would you: Be the clown chased by Brahman bulls in the rodeo, only there are no other clowns to distract the enraged bulls nor anything of any kind to hide in. When you have successfully outrun 5 bulls for 3 minutes each, then you get your $500,000.
FB: My mother was born in Madrid, Spain, so running with th e bulls runs in the family. I’ll do it for free. Join me?
14. What rock star deserves a smack in the mouth and why?
FB: Every single one that has taken a shot at QUIET RIOT, so move over, the line forms to the right…….
15. Which do you prefer?
Dreadlocks or Hair Extensions = Dreads
Nikki Sixx or Lars Ulrich = Nikki
Straight sex or Anal sex = Giving or taking?
Touring or Recording = Both. Touring you can occasionally suck, but hopefully you are drowned out by the guitar and bass, so nobody notices. In the studio you are under the microscope, so try to get it right at least once.
Limp Bizkit or Kid Rock = Kid
Playboy or Hustler = Hustler
Playing with Faster Pussycat or Playing with Gary Hoey = Faster Pussycat, less talented, definitely more fun.
Axl Rose or Sebastian Bach = On or off off Broadway?
Eminem or Boy George = Boy
Moonstone Records or Kamikaze Records = A poke in the eye with a sharp stick
16. What are your 5 best and 5 worst memories of Quiet Riot?
FB: Best:
1. Getting signed.
2. The freedom to drink with total abandon.
3. Having a #1 album.
4. My birthday party in 1984. Caligula would have taken notes.
5. Last but not least, having the money to care for my mother.
FB: Worst:
1. Getting signed.
2. The freedom to drink with total abandon.
3. Having a #1 album, and knowing that next stop would be the bottom of the heap.
4. Not ever having a hope of surpassing my 1984 birthday party, though I repeatedly tried anyway.
5. Recording the fourth QR record fully knowing that I did it only to make a buck and that it would go nowhere.
17. How much money are you guys generally getting per show?
FB: I am not at liberty to discuss our corporate fiscal earnings. Well, OK, gobs and gobs of money.
18. What makes you think that your new album “Guilty Pleasures” won’t end up having the same fate as “Alive And Well.”
FB: Because it’s the first record we’ve done since “Metal Health” where we actually gave a fuck about the songs, the playing, and each other. Like it or not, it’s a great record.
19. Kevin DuBrow said in his 20 Questions with us that Dana Strum was “feces with legs.” Would you agree?
FB: God bless Kevin for being both kind and generous!
20. Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association. We give you a name and you tell us your thoughts.
Don Dokken = Talented and Troubled.
Bret Michaels = Knows how to work an audience, and he’s a babe magnet.
Pamela Anderson = Barbie out of control.
Chuck Wright = Excellent bass player with a fear of commitment.
Jani Lane = More talented than he’s given credit for. I’ve heard him sing things in dressing rooms that surpass what he’s done on record and stage.
Enuff Z’Nuff = Good drummer (Vickie (sp).
Blackie Lawless = Completely and totally committed to his brand of music. Recording and touring “The Headless Children” was a very positive experience for me. A good friend.
Nikki Sixx = I like Nikki, but I don’t know Nikki.
Creed = As talented as they are lucky.
Ozzy Osbourne = An institution. One of the best and long lasting success stories in music business.
Have fun guys!
Frankie
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Thanks to Frankie for being down! Of course Quiet Riot will be out this Summer with Poison, Warrant, and Enuff Z’Nuff. And look for 20 Questions with Rudy Sarzo sometime later this Spring or early Summer along with a Rewind With Kevin DuBrow.
For more information on Quiet Riot, you can go to www.quietriotonline.com!
Copyright & Credit to Metal Sludge April 10th 2001
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About Quiet Riot
American heavy metal bandThis article is about the band. For other uses, see Quiet Riot (disambiguation).Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The band is ranked at No. 100 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.The original line-up featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though that version of the band was mired by turmoil that would eventually see Garni fired for threatening to kill DuBrow. Their most commercially successful lineup consisted of DuBrow alongside guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Frankie Banali, and in 1983 released their breakthrough album Metal Health, which is known for being the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard album chart. Their hit songs include “Cum On Feel the Noize” and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (both cover songs of the British glam rock band Slade), and “Metal Health”.Despite several lineup changes and brief breakups, Quiet Riot continued to record and tour until DuBrow’s death from a cocaine overdose in 2007. Although there are no original members left in the band, Banali (who had been a member on and off since 1982) reformed Quiet Riot in 2010, and by 2020, it had consisted of himself on drums, lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl, bassist Chuck Wright and guitarist Alex Grossi. The band has continued to record as well as tour following DuBrow’s death, and in 2014, they released their first album in eight years titled Quiet Riot 10, which was followed by Road Rage in 2017 and Hollywood Cowboys in 2019. Banali died on August 20, 2020, following a sixteen-month battle with pancreatic cancer. About three weeks after his death, the surviving members of the band announced that they would move forward without Banali, who wished that they continue by keeping the Quiet Riot name alive; he was replaced by Johnny Kelly.Early career, first two albums and first breakup (19731981)
Formed in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, Quiet Riot became one of the more successful hard rock acts in Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 1970s. Originally known as Mach 1, the name was soon changed to Little Women before the name Quiet Riot was finally settled upon in May 1975. The band’s name was inspired by a quote from Rick Parfitt of the British band Status Quo. Parfitt stated that he thought the name “Quite Right” would make a good band name and with his thick English accent the term sounded like “Quiet Riot”. The band was inspired and chose this as their new name. Drew Forsyth, who had previously played with Rhoads and Garni in a band called Mildred Pierce, was hired as the new group’s drummer, and an L.A. photographer named Kevin DuBrow was hired as lead vocalist. DuBrow was not at all what Rhoads had in mind for his new band, and he was not well liked by his Quiet Riot bandmates, a situation that caused a great deal of tension within the band. Rhoads had envisioned a frontman in the vein of Alice Cooper or David Bowie, but Dubrow was persistent and would not take no for an answer. In the end, Rhoads and Garni decided that if nothing else, DuBrow shared their enthusiasm and he was hired.Rhoads became the focal point of the band, both musically and visually. The “polka-dot theme” he incorporated onstage became Quiet Riot’s visual signature during their time on the L.A. club circuit, with many fans showing up at the band’s shows wearing polka-dot bow-ties and vests in emulation of what the guitarist wore on stage. Musically, Rhoads’ talent as a lead guitarist began to spread by word of mouth, and hard rock fans from across Los Angeles began frequenting the band’s gigs to hear what the fuss was about.In the 1970s, Quiet Riot developed a friendly but intense rivalry with Van Halen, a band they often played with in various L.A. clubs, including the Starwood and KROQ’s Cabaret nightclub, before either act had signed a record deal. While Van Halen signed to Warner Bros. in 1977 and released a debut album that would achieve Gold certification, Quiet Riot’s contract with Sony would see their first two albums released only in Japan, albums that to this day have never been released in the United States. The band recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QR I, in 1977. Coupled with their inability to secure an American recording deal, tensions between vocalist DuBrow and bassist Garni began to tear the band apart. According to Garni, “I was on a constant quest to get him out of the band and get a different singer. I hated him, he hated me and we could not find any way whatsoever to get along which caused a lot of tension in the band and it put a lot of stress on Randy to try to be neutral.” Their second album Quiet Riot II, or QR II, was recorded at The Record Plant and released in Japan in 1978. As Quiet Riot II was being recorded, the relationship between Garni and DuBrow finally reached its breaking point. After robbing a bar the previous night and stealing liquor, a drunken Garni unsuccessfully attempted to convince Rhoads to replace the vocalist. Garni drunkenly fired a handgun through the ceiling and a fistfight between him and Rhoads ensued. Garni then hatched a plan to drive across town to The Record Plant and kill DuBrow, who was there recording vocals for Quiet Riot II. Garni was arrested for drunk driving before he reached the studio, and the plan to kill his bandmate waned after he sobered up. Nonetheless, Garni’s time in Quiet Riot came to a swift end. Though his replacement, Rudy Sarzo, was pictured and credited on QR II, it was actually Garni who performed on the album. Though he downplayed the inner conflict within the band, DuBrow would confess years later that this period of the band’s existence had been extremely frustrating: “We had one of the best guitar players ever in our band and we couldn’t get arrested!”By 1979, Rhoads began to tire of the turmoil within Quiet Riot as well as their failure to sign a US recording deal. Late that year he auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne’s band upon the urging of future Slaughter bassist Dana Strum. Osbourne has stated in the ensuing years that he was immediately blown away by the guitarist’s talent and hired him immediately. Shortly thereafter, bassist Rudy Sarzo followed Rhoads to Osbourne’s band and Quiet Riot’s future seemed very much in doubt. As Quiet Riot was expected to disband at this point, Rhoads incorporated many riffs and fragments of early Quiet Riot material into the new material he was working on with Osbourne. According to Sarzo “a lot of the Quiet Riot songs ended up on the [Osbourne] albums under different titles. Obviously Randy thought we’d never use those songs again so he’d give the riffs to Ozzy who’d come up with new words.” For example, the main riff of the Osbourne song “Suicide Solution” originated as a secondary riff during the verse of a Quiet Riot demo recording entitled “Force of Habit.”According to DuBrow, Rhoads’ departure from Quiet Riot in 1979 appeared to be the end of the line, saying that the loss “didn’t derail the band, it ended it.” He and Forsyth attempted to carry on under the Quiet Riot name for a short time with the addition of guitarist Greg Leon before the band officially broke up in 1980. Without Rhoads, fans lost interest. Following the demise of Quiet Riot, Dubrow recruited former Gamma drummer Skip Gillette and played shows in the L.A club circuit for approximately two years under the band name DuBrow.
Rebirth and Metal Health success (19821984)
In early 1982, having recruited drummer Frankie Banali, bassist Chuck Wright, and guitarist Carlos Cavazo, DuBrow contacted Rhoads to ask if he had any objections to him reviving the name Quiet Riot for his new band. Rhoads gave him his blessing but said he wanted to check with Rudy Sarzo first. Sarzo had no objections, and Quiet Riot was thus reborn after a two-year hiatus. Rhoads died suddenly in a plane crash while on tour with Osbourne in March 1982, and Sarzo subsequently left Osbourne’s band a few months later, having a difficult time coping with the grief of losing his close friend and bandmate. The reformed Quiet Riot was recording a new song called “Thunderbird” as a tribute to Rhoads, and DuBrow called Sarzo to ask if he’d like to participate in the recording. The lineup of DuBrow, Sarzo, Cavazo, and Banali had so much fun recording the track that they wound up recording more than half of the new album in the process. Bassist Wright had already been briefly replaced by Gary Van Dyke (Hollywood Stars, Virgin), but the arrangement wasn’t working out and Sarzo was subsequently welcomed back to Quiet Riot as a full time member. Coming so soon after Rhoads’ death, there was some question over the appropriateness of the new band using the Quiet Riot name. Rhoads’ mother Delores encouraged the band, and in the end it was decided that “although Randy wouldn’t be in it, the original spirit of the band was back,” according to Sarzo.In September 1982, with help from producer Spencer Proffer, Quiet Riot finally signed a US recording contract with CBS Records and the album Metal Health was released on March 11, 1983. The group’s landmark single “Cum On Feel the Noize” was released on August 27, 1983. A cover of a 1973 song by Slade, the single spent two weeks at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1983 and made history as the first heavy metal song to ever crack the Hot 100. The success of the single was instrumental in ushering in a new era of unparalleled success for heavy metal music in the 1980s and helped carry the album Metal Health to the top of Billboard album chart, making it the first American heavy metal debut album ever to reach No. 1 in the United States. On November 26, 1983 Quiet Riot became the first heavy metal band to have a top 5 hit and No. 1 album in the same week. Their success was aided in no small part by the “Cum on Feel the Noize” video’s heavy rotation on MTV. Metal Health displaced The Police’s Synchronicity at No. 1 and stayed there for just a week until Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down took over the No. 1 spot.Metal Health’s title track, charted in early 1984 and peaked at No. 31. The song was placed at No. 41 on VH1’s Top 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. The album Metal Health would ultimately sell over six million copies in the US.In support of Metal Health, Quiet Riot toured North America as the opening act for ZZ Top on their Eliminator Tour for selected dates in June, July and September 1983, and Black Sabbath on their Born Again tour from October 1983 through March 1984.
Steady decline and DuBrow’s firing (19841989)
The group’s follow-up, Condition Critical, was released on July 7, 1984. Though successful, it was a relative critical and commercial disappointment, selling 1 million units and reaching only No. 15 on the Billboard album chart. This release included yet another Slade cover, the single “Mama Weer All Crazee Now.” Frustrated over the album’s failure to duplicate the success of its predecessor, DuBrow began expressing his opinion in the heavy metal press that many bands in the Los Angeles metal scene owed their success to what he saw as the doors opened for them by Quiet Riot. At one point he even compared his band to The Beatles. DuBrow’s verbal assaults angered many of Quiet Riot’s musical contemporaries and alienated fans.DuBrow’s tirades led to fan backlash and clashes in the media with several other Los Angeles-based metal bands, which resulted in Rudy Sarzo quitting the group in March 1985. After auditions, Kjel Benner was brought in to complete previously booked South American tour dates in April 1985. Despite any lingering hard feelings between DuBrow and Sarzo, the bassist briefly rejoined his former bandmates in May of 1985 for the Hear ‘n Aid sessions, a charity project headed by Ronnie James Dio to raise money for African famine relief. Sarzo resurfaced with former Ozzy Osbourne bandmate Tommy Aldridge two years later in Whitesnake, touring in support of the band’s hugely successful self-titled 1987 album. Sarzo was permanently replaced in Quiet Riot by a reinstated Chuck Wright, after five years absence from the band. and the group temporarily added keyboardist John Purdell for their 1986 tour. That year the album QR III was released and became another commercial disappointment.Fed up with DuBrow’s antics and pressure from the band’s management and record label, the rest of Quiet Riot fired DuBrow from his own band in February 1987 and replaced him with former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino, leaving no original members in the band. Chuck Wright left the band shortly thereafter, and Sarzo was invited to return. Sarzo agreed, and while technically back in the band and even featured in some press photos for this brief liaison, he was also committed to Whitesnake at the time and could not continue onward. The group then recruited Sean McNabb for the bassist slot. The revamped band released their second self-titled album, Quiet Riot (also known as QR IV), in October 1988. The album failed to return the band to its commercial glory. In April 1989 the band members went their separate ways. A show from their final tour was later released on a DVD titled ’89 Live in Japan. Frankie Banali resurfaced on the W.A.S.P. album The Headless Children, and played some shows with Faster Pussycat. Sean McNabb joined House of Lords in 1991, where he replaced Chuck Wright, the bass player whom he had also replaced in Quiet Riot. Kevin DuBrow subsequently fought in court to keep control of the band’s name.
Reformation and Metal Health lineup reunion (19902003)
Having won the rights to the band’s name, DuBrow teamed up with 21-year-old English born blues guitarist Sean Manning, bassist Kenny Hillery, and drummer Pat Ashby to reform Quiet Riot. Initially using the moniker Little Women (a name Rhoads and DuBrow used in the 1970s before settling on Quiet Riot) on tour to avoid any adverse publicity, DuBrow and Manning compiled songs for a new album, which would eventually turn up on the July 1993 release Terrified. The band played venues throughout the United States until 1990 when Manning left to join the band Hurricane.By the early 1990s tempers had cooled between former bandmates Carlos Cavazo and Kevin DuBrow, and they started to communicate again. They eventually formed the band Heat in 1991 with bassist Kenny Hillery and drummer Bobby Rondinelli. This foursome reverted to the name Quiet Riot the following year, and released the aforementioned Terrified in 1993 with Banali rejoining on drums after Bobby Rondinelli joined Black Sabbath. Chuck Wright then rejoined on bass for a 1994 tour in support of Terrified.That same year, DuBrow released The Randy Rhoads Years, a compilation featuring remixed tracks from Quiet Riot’s two Japan-only releases along with previously unreleased material, many of which featured newly recorded vocals. The band released the album Down to the Bone in March 1995 and a Greatest Hits album in February 1996. Greatest Hits covered only material from the CBS years, including three tracks from the 1988 album with Shortino and two previously promo-only live tracks. Former bassist Kenny Hillery, who had left the group in 1994, committed suicide on June 5, 1996.Rudy Sarzo rejoined the band again in January 1997, reuniting the Metal Health lineup. During a tour that year, one angry fan sued DuBrow for injuries she claimed were sustained during a show. In March 1999 the band released the album Alive and Well, which featured new songs and several re-recorded hits. The same lineup released the album Guilty Pleasures in May 2001. In September 2002, the band teamed up with director Jack Edward Sawyers to shoot a concert video at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The live DVD Live in the 21st Century was released November 11, 2003. Quiet Riot officially broke up again in September 2003.
Second reformation and death of DuBrow (20042007)
Kevin DuBrow released his first solo album, In for the Kill, in May 2004, which was followed by the announcement of a Quiet Riot reunion in October 2004. This reunion line-up included Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali, Chuck Wright, and new guitarist Alex Grossi. The band was featured on the 2005 Rock Never Stops Tour along with Cinderella, Ratt, and FireHouse. In December 2005, guitarist Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns briefly joined Quiet Riot. Guns left less than a month later after one rehearsal due to musical differences.Wright and Grossi left the band in early 2006. During this period Quiet Riot also included guitarists Billy Morris and Neil Citron, and bassists Sean McNabb and Wayne Carver. During 2006, Quiet Riot worked on a new studio album that was expected to be released in either 2006 or 2007. The band stated that they had set no timetable for the release of the album, that they were financing the project themselves, and that it would be released when they saw fit and on their terms. Ex-The Firm and Blue Murder bassist Tony Franklin worked with the band in the studio. Quiet Riot released the album Rehab, featuring a lineup of DuBrow, Banali, Franklin, and Neil Citron, on October 3, 2006. Former Deep Purple bassist and singer Glenn Hughes made a guest vocal appearance on the album. By the end of 2006, Wright and Grossi were back in the band and toured in support of the album. In 2007, Quiet Riot were featured in radio promos for ESPN Radio, parodying their status as outdated rock n’ roll icons, with commentary from DuBrow and Banali.On November 25, 2007, Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his Las Vegas apartment. Frankie Banali confirmed the death in an e-mail to Spain’s The Metal Circus. Banali wrote:
Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow.
Original Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni, who had been fired from the band after hatching a plan to kill the vocalist in 1978, urged fans to be patient and not offer any speculation until authorities ruled on the cause of death. Recognizing the negativity DuBrow’s behaviour had created among fans over the years, Garni asked fans to, for the sake of family and friends, resist any urge to be critical:
I ask this to all of you not only for myself but for other friends and family. I ask that no one here offer any speculation or opinions, theories or other things that could be construed as negative or, and I’m sorry for this, even sympathetic, right at this immediate time. I am already, within hours of this, having to deal with untrue rumors and speculation and that only adds fuel to that. There is a tendency for the subject of Kevin to incite flames on every board, and now is not the time for that. I will explain to everyone here the facts and the truth in the next 24 to 48 hours as I realize this will affect us all. So please, until then, be patient. All details and other pertinent info will be passed on to you here when it becomes available to me.
On December 10, 2007, media reports confirmed that DuBrow was pronounced dead on November 25, 2007, and was later determined to have died of a cocaine overdose approximately six days earlier. On January 14, 2008, Banali issued the following statement via his website regarding the future of Quiet Riot:
I have been approached to see if I would be interested in contacting Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo and to audition singers for Quiet Riot. I have also been approached to see if I would be interested in contacting and reforming the version of Quiet Riot that included Paul Shortino, Carlos Cavazo and Sean McNabb. Let me make this very simple and perfectly clear. While I am still actively involved in the business interests of Quiet Riot and will continue in that capacity, I reject any and all suggestions to have Quiet Riot continue as a live performing entity. My friendship, love and respect for Kevin DuBrow as well as my personal love and affection for Kevin’s mother and his family makes it inconceivable for me to ever entertain any ovation to reform or to continue Quiet Riot. Kevin was too important to go on without him. It would also be a disrespect to the fans who have supported Quiet Riot for nearly 25 years. I thank everyone for the wonderful and sometimes unpredictable adventure that I was able to share as a member of Quiet Riot. The only regret that I have is the loss of Kevin. May he rest in peace. I now begin life after Quiet Riot.
Revival with multiple vocalists and death of Banali (20102020)
Despite his previous insistence that Quiet Riot could never return as a live performing entity, Banali announced a new version of Quiet Riot in September 2010 with himself on drums, Chuck Wright on bass, Alex Grossi on guitar, and newcomer Mark Huff (formerly of the Van Halen tribute band 5150) on vocals. The band has sought the blessings of the DuBrow family, and DuBrow’s mother encouraged Banali to revive the band. In July 2011, this lineup toured Germany as support for Slayer and Accept.On January 12, 2012, whilst Huff was awaiting brain surgery, Quiet Riot released a statement, announcing that they had parted ways with Huff, and they were replacing him for upcoming dates with Keith St. John (formerly of Montrose). Huff found out about his firing online. In March 2012, Banali hired unknown vocalist Scott Vokoun to fully replace Huff.Original bassist and founding member Kelly Garni released his long-awaited autobiography in October 2012. The book covers the beginnings and early years of Quiet Riot, as well as details of Garni’s friendship with founder Randy Rhoads.In November 2013, it was announced that Scott Vokoun had amicably parted ways with Quiet Riot, and that his replacement was Love/Hate vocalist Jizzy Pearl, who played his first show with the band on December 31 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The band then were reported to be in the recording studio working on a new studio album which was set for release some time in 2014.In December 2013 Frankie Banali was interviewed by Loudwire, during which he discussed the future of Quiet Riot as well as their upcoming album. He revealed that the album would feature six new songs recorded in the studio, with former bassist Rudy Sarzo and Rehab session bassist Tony Franklin playing on two songs each, as well as four live songs taken from Kevin DuBrow’s final professionally recorded shows with the band in 2007. Banali said of the song choices:
I made a conscious decision not to use the usual songs that people would expect. I picked tracks that were special and of the moment. Let’s just say that there will be a familiar track, two unexpected choices and one that really shows the roots of Quiet Riot and how the band interacted in the live arena. I think that Quiet Riot fans will really appreciate my choices.
A Quiet Riot documentary movie, titled “Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back” (named after a lyric in the band’s hit song “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)”) and directed and produced by Banali’s fiancee Regina Russell, was completed around this time. It premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 29, 2014.In June 2014, the band released their new album, titled 10, their first studio release in eight years and their first since their most recent reformation.Vocalist Jizzy Pearl departed the band at the end of 2016 to concentrate on his solo career, and was replaced by former Adler’s Appetite and Icon vocalist Seann Nicols, formerly known as Sheldon Tarsha. On February 13, 2017, the band announced that they would release a new album Road Rage on April 21. However, in March, it was announced that Nicols had left the band and that James Durbin was the new singer. The band subsequently announced that Road Rage would be delayed until summer 2017 so that all of Nicols’ vocals could be replaced by Durbin’s with new lyrics and melodies. It was then announced that the new version of the album would be released on August 4 by Frontiers Music Srl.Banali was forced to sit out several Quiet Riot shows throughout 2019 as he was receiving treatment for stage-IV pancreatic cancer, though he did not reveal his diagnosis until October of that year. He was replaced by either former Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly or former W.A.S.P. drummer Mike Dupke depending on each drummer’s availability. In September 2019, Durbin quit the band to “follow his own path” according to Banali, and Pearl was rehired as the lead vocalist. Two months later, Quiet Riot’s fourteenth studio album, and second and last to feature Durbin, Hollywood Cowboys, was released.On August 20, 2020, Banali died from pancreatic cancer, which he had been diagnosed with sixteen months earlier, leaving him as the second member of the Metal Health-era lineup to die, following DuBrow in 2007.
Johnny Kelly replaces Frankie Banali (2020present)
On September 9, 2020, Quiet Riot announced on their Facebook page that would continue on without Banali, who had wished that they keep the music and legacy of the band alive. He was replaced by Johnny Kelly, who had filled in for Banali on the band’s 2019 and 2020 tours.
Legacy
Quiet Riot’s song “Metal Health” is used as the title theme to the video game Showdown: Legends of Wrestling. The same song also appears in the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, and is a playable song in the games Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80’s and Rock Band Blitz, while “Cum on Feel the Noize” is featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. “The Wild and the Young” is in the soundtrack to Brtal Legend.Quiet Riot are mentioned in Ben Folds 2001 song “Rockin’ the Suburbs” in the lines “I’m rockin’ the suburbs, just like Quiet Riot did. I’m rockin’ the suburbs, except that they were talented.” In the 2005 album “Punk Goes 80’s,” Relient K covered The Bangles’ song “Manic Monday” and changed two original lines to read “He says to me in his Quiet Riot voice: “C’mon feel the noise.” On the Weezer track “Heart Songs” from their self-titled “Red” album, one line goes: “Quiet Riot got me started with the banging of my head.”In the 2005 episode of The Simpsons titled “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star,” the band is jokingly depicted as converted to a religious band called “Pious Riot” and plays a parody of the song “Cum on Feel the Noize” as “Come on Feel the Lord.””Metal Health” was also used in the Crank soundtrack, as the song played during the film’s opening sequence. It was also used in scenes for the films Footloose and The Wrestler. The song “Cum on Feel the Noize” is featured in the musical Rock of Ages.Professional wrestler Necro Butcher uses “Metal Health” as his entrance theme in Wrecking Ball Wrestling.
