By Alaina Loughridge and Douglas E. White
When I found out Quiet Riot was playing at Tybee’s annual Pirate Fest
this year, I almost lost my mind! Hell yeah! Growing up as an 80’s child,
it was a time of wild hair bands, head banging and guitar riffs that had
your whole body jamming out. Quiet Riot was no exception and when
they released their album Metal Health in 1983, everyone turned up the
volume for the smash, mega hit, Cum on Feel the Noize, as well as Bang
Your Head and a slew of other great songs! So, imagine my delight when
I was offered an opportunity to sit down (metaphorically speaking) with
Frankie Banali, drummer and longest surviving member of Quiet Riot!
I began my homework on this band. Wow!! Formed in 1973 by Kevin
DuBrow, Randy Rhoads, Kelly Garni and Drew Forsyth, this band has
had its share of ups and downs over the last 45 years. Members have
moved on and passed on, but when Frankie Banali joined QR in 1982, he
was there to stay. Having released 10 more albums since Metal Health,
none have enjoyed the initial success of that album, but their refusal to
disappear into history and continue to put out awesome head banging
tunes shows a consistency and obvious pleasure in keeping their fans
happy and always wanting more. The current QR line up is Frankie Banali,
drummer, Chuck Wright, bass and backing vocals, Alex Grossi, guitars,
and James Durbin, lead vocals, and they are coming to Tybee to rock out!
The following Q & A session is between Frankie Banali and myself:
1. With so many different genres of metal these days, how do you feel
QR fits in with today’s metal scene? Would you classify yourselves as a
classic hard rock metal band?
“QUIET RIOT has always been and will always be a hard rock band.
That’s how our late singer, Kevin DuBrow, and I always looked at QUIET
RIOT and our music as far back as 1980. We got the “Metal” moniker in
November of 1983 when the QUIET RIOT “Metal Health” record reached
the #1 spot on the Billboard charts and became known as the first
metal band to have a #1 debut album.”
2. 28 members (including current) have come and gone. As a driving
member, what keeps you kicking for this band?
30 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | OCT 2018
“I’ve always believed in QUIET RIOT and will always believe in QUIET
RIOT. And 38 years later, when Kevin DuBrow and I first started playing
together in 1980, I am very respectful of the fans who continue to
support QUIET RIOT, even with all the many changes. That makes it
worth doing for me. I have survived every member change, I have
survived the death of my best friend, and to date, I am the only QUIET
RIOT member to have played on every single QUIET RIOT album from
Metal Health to the present. And I’m not done…”
3. Who is the main writer of your current songs? Or is it a group
collaboration?
“On the most recent QUIET RIOT release “Road Rage” in 2016, all the
music was written by me and my writing partner Neil Citron, with the
exception of the music to one song written by Alex Grossi and Chuck
Wright, being a co-writer on one song. All the lyrics were written by
James Durbin.”
4. Any influences from original members, Randy Rhoads and/or Kevin
DuBrow when you are writing or in the recording studio?
“The Randy Rhoads version of a QUIET RIOT was more of a hard pop
band, so that style didn’t play into the songwriting. I personally pulled
from my roots and influences as always, which is what both Kevin and
I always did in the past, which is based on 60’s and 70’s British hard
rock bands.”
5. Where do you see QR going in the future?
“We continue to tour and perhaps might create new music in the future.
Before Kevin passed in 2007, we toured year in and year out for decades.
Since continuing QUIET RIOT in 2010, we have toured consistently for
the past eight years, and that’s not going to change as long as there is
one single QUIET RIOT fan.”
6. When can we anticipate a new album?
“January of 2019. We performed at a festival in Milan, Italy last April
which was recorded for a CD DVD Vinyl release. It is largely material
from QUIET RIOT albums from 1983 through 2007 and two songs from
2016’s Road Rage.”
7. Any future tour plans? Maybe with (and I’m just tossing names): Ratt,
Cinderella, Twisted Sister, Great White …?
“We play with most of these bands year in and out. We recently did
major shows with Tom Keifer, The Voice of Cinderella (Cinderella is no
more), another with Ratt, another with Dee Snider (there is no more
Twisted Sister) and another with Great White. Who knows what 2019
and beyond will be.”
8. Do you keep in touch with any of the former members such as Rudy
and/or Carlos? Do they have any input into anything QR? Also, a follow
up to the Rudy and Carlos question: Any chances with working with them
again? Reunion Tour?
“I keep in touch with Rudy all the time. We’ve known each other since
1972 and he’s more than a friend, he’s my brother. Carlos not really.
We were never very close and have grown apart. Although Rudy is one
of the strongest supporters of me personally and QUIET RIOT, neither
Rudy nor Carlos have been involved in QUIET RIOT for 15 years. I think
if Kevin were alive there might have been a reason to reunite in some
form as the “Metal Health” lineup, but things being as they are its not
likely, though never say never as unlikely as this might be.”
9. Being the first Heavy Metal Album to break through the Billboards Top