Quiet Riot were one of the more successful hard rock acts in Los Angeles in the mid to late 1970s. Quiet Riot was unable to land a recording contract in the United States. In 1977 they were able to secure a deal with Sony, but their records were only released in Japan. The original four members, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QR I, in 1977. DuBrow and Garni did not get along. They hated each other and it put a lot of stress on the other members to remain neutral. Their second album Quiet Riot II, or QR II, was recorded at The Record Plant and released in Japan in 1978. Once recording was completed, Garni left the band. He was replaced by Rudy Sarzo.
In 1979, upon the recommendation of future Slaughter bassist Dana Strum, Rhoads auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's band and was hired immediately. Sarzo also left Quiet Riot for Osbourne's band a short time later. Since no one expected Quiet Riot to reform at this point, a few of the Quiet Riot songs ended up on the Osbourne albums under different titles. The Osbourne song "Suicide Solution" originated as a Quiet Riot demo called "Force of Habit".
Rhoads' departure from Quiet Riot didn't derail the band, it ended it. DuBrow and Forsyth continued on with the addition of guitarist Greg Leon and bassist Gary Van Dyke. The band changed its name to 'DuBrow' and also played shows with drummer Skip Gillette. By 1982 guitarist Carlos Cavazo and drummer Frankie Banali had also been recruited by DuBrow.
Randy Rhoads died in a plane crash while on tour with Ozzy Osbourne in March 1982, after which Rudy Sarzo quit Osbourne's band. DuBrow contacted Sarzo to play on a track called "Thunderbird", which was a tribute to Rhoads. The lineup of DuBrow, Sarzo, Cavazo, and Banali had so much fun recording the track that they wound up recording half of an album in the process. The previous bassist was sacked to make room for Sarzo. There was some uncertainty over if the band should be named DuBrow or Quiet Riot; but in the end they decided on Quiet Riot.
In March 1983, with help from producer Spencer Proffer, they released the album Metal Health. This was Quiet Riot's American debut, as their two previous albums have still not been released in North America, despite the band's subsequent success. The album contained the hits "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Cum On Feel the Noize" (a cover of the 1973 hit by Slade,) Helped in no small part by Mtv's heavy rotation of both videos from the album, Quiet Riot became the first heavy metal band to have a top 5 hit and No. 1 album in the same week. The album Metal Health would ultimately sell over six million copies in the United States.
The group's follow-up, Condition Critical, was released on July 7, 1984, selling only 3 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 lack of success, DuBrow ran his mouth to the heavy metal press that many bands in the metal scene owed their success to 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, resulting in Rudy Sarzo quitting. Sarzo was replaced in Quiet Riot by Chuck Wright (formerly of Giuffria) 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, the rest of Quiet Riot fired DuBrow from his own band in February 1987, while still on tour. They replaced him with former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino, leaving no original members in the band. Chuck Wright left shortly thereafter and the group recruited Sean McNabb for the bassist slot. The revamped band released their second self-titled album, Quiet Riot. The album failed to return the band to its commercial glory. In April 1989 the band members went their separate ways. Frankie Banali resurfaced on the W.A.S.P. album The Headless Children. Sean McNabb joined House of Lords in 1991, where he ironically replaced Chuck Wright, the bass player whom he also replaced in Quiet Riot.
Kevin DuBrow subsequently fought in court to keep control of the band's name. 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. DuBrow and Manning compiled songs for a new album and 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. Adding bassist Kenny Hillery and drummer Bobby Rondinelli, Cavazo and DuBrow reverted to the name Quiet Riot and released Terrified in 1993 with Banali rejoining on drums. 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 1995 and a Greatest Hits album in 1996. Former bassist Kenny Hillery, who had left the group in 1994, committed suicide on June 5, 1996. Rudy Sarzo rejoined the band in 1997, reuniting the Metal Health lineup.
In 1999 the band released Alive and Well, which featured new songs and several re-recorded hits. The same lineup released Guilty Pleasures in 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.
In 1999 the band released Alive and Well, which featured new songs and several re-recorded hits. The same lineup released Guilty Pleasures in 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.
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. The line-up included Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali, Chuck Wright, and new guitarist Alex Grossi. In December 2005, guitarist Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns briefly joined Quiet Riot but he left after one rehearsal due to musical differences.
Wright and Grossi left in early 2006. During this period Quiet Riot also included guitarists Billy Morris and Neil Citron, and bassists Sean McNabb and Wayne Carver. Quiet Riot worked on a new studio album and bassist Tony Franklin worked with the band in the studio. Quiet Riot finally released the album Rehab on October 3, 2006; featuring a lineup of DuBrow, Banali, Franklin, and Citron. 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 and touring with the band.
On November 25, 2007, Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his Las Vegas apartment and was later determined to have died of a cocaine overdose approximately six days earlier.
Frankie Banali stated shortly after DuBrow's death that he had no interest in trying to resurrect the Quiet Riot name without vocalist Kevin DuBrow. But less than 3 years later, 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 on vocals. On January 12, 2012, whilst Huff was awaiting brain surgery, Quiet Riot announced that they had parted ways with Huff, replacing him for upcoming dates with Keith St. John. Huff found out about his firing online. 3 months later, Banali hired new unknown vocalist Scott Vokoun as the third Quiet Riot singer in a year and a half.
So God Bless Chuck Wright for standing on stage and proudly proclaiming himself to be the bass player for Quiet Riot. He has been the bass player for QR for more years than anyone else, even though Sarzo is thought of as the "official" bassist.
But fuck Frankie Banali !! For touring with absolutely no original members and still calling the band Quiet Riot. For firing Mark Huff while he was in the hospital awaiting brain surgary. But most of all, for being an insufferable prick who had his head stuck so far up his own ass that he wouldn't sign autographs for the fans waiting outside in Cincinnati, Ohio when he toured with WASP during the Headless Children tour. Johnny Rod hung out with the fans and carved his name into someones bass with a bottle opener, but you were too much of a prick to even sign one autograph.
Jerk!
Update Nov 2013
Quiet Riot has replaced their vocalist again. Scott Vokoun is out (amiciably, according to the rest of the band) and has been replaced by Jizzy Pearl, who has previously replaced the singers in Ratt and LA Guns. Quiet Riot is currently in the studio working on material for a new album due to be released early in 2014. Good luck to Jizzy Pearl, who will most likely be looking for a new gig before the end of next year. But he's got a new album coming out with his band Love/Hate, so maybe he'll be able to go back to that.
I wanted to clarify something about my Frankie Banali rant. I believe every celebrity has a right to a certain amount of respect and privacy. And if you don't want to sign an autograph, that is up to you. What I don't respect is the way he went about it. There were maybe a dozen or so people behind the venue hanging out trying to get autographs from the members of WASP. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Blackie Lawless never exited the rear of the venue to interact with the crowds. From what I hear, this is standard for Blackie, he doesn't hang out with the fans much. Lead guitarist Chris Holmes, at the time still a raging alcoholic, was drunk and a little beligerent and totally blew off the fans. But he was drunk at the time, and having met him when he sobered up years later, he was a pretty nice guy to hang out and shoot pool with now that he's sober. Bassist Johnny Rod, as I mentioned in the article, signed anything and everything that the fans had. He even continued to hang with the fans when they ran out of things for him to sign. But Banali was a different story all together. He walked out the backstage door with someone in a wheelchair. No one approached him until he turned to head back inside, out of respect for the guy in the wheelchair and to not interrupt whatever they had going on. I asked if he could sign an autograph for me. He said he was going inside to take a quick shower and he would be back out to sign some stuff. At this time the tour bus driver started the bus and drove around to the front of the building. I would also like to mention that the venue doesn't have showers, but I didn't know that at the time because I had not ever been in the backstage area at that point in time. Banali entered the back of the building, walked through the venue, then exited out the front door, got on the waiting tour bus and left. He would rather lie to me and the fans than take maybe 2 minutes to sign a few autographs.
ReplyDeleteAnd then he makes a big deal out of saying he doesn't want to tarnish Kevin DuBrow's memory by putting Quiet Riot back together with Paul Shortino on vocals or reunite with Cavazo or Sarzo. Then he puts together his own version of QR together a couple of years later anyway, after plainly stating that Kevin DuBrow was Quiet Riot.
But to fire your singer, Mark Huff, while he's in the hospital for brain surgary, and to have him find out about it on the Internet, that's low. I realize that the show must go on and all that, but unless they had to cancel shows because of the surgary (which I never heard was the case), it was just a real jerk thing to do.
Maybe I'm just an opinionated jerk, but if I were ever given the opportunities that Mister Banali has, I would certainly treat my fans and fellow band members with more respect. Without Kevin DuBrow, Rudy Sarzo, and Carlos Cavazo, where would Frankie Banali be? He'd be playing cover songs in small clubs, which is mostly what he's doing with his band that he calls Quiet Riot.
And once again to Chuck Wright, God bless you and best of luck.