BLABBERMOUTH.NET
QUIET RIOT guitarist
Alex Grossi will join the band's former bassist
Rudy Sarzo this week on his radio show,
"Six Degrees Of Sarzo", on
Monsters Of Rock Radio. The episode will include the world premiere of the brand new
QUIET RIOT song
"Rock In Peace", written by late
QUIET RIOT drummer
Frankie Banali and
Paul Sabu. The track is dedicated to original
QUIET RIOT singer
Kevin DuBrow features
Sarzo on bass, reunited with
Banali on drums.
The shows will air on the
Dash Radio Network at the following times:
* Friday, July 9: 2:00 p.m. PST
* Saturday, July 10: 8:00 a.m. PST
* Sunday, July 11: 4:00 p.m. PST
* Tuesday, July 13: 8:00 p.m. PST
QUIET RIOT's current lineup includes drummer
Johnny Kelly (
DANZIG,
TYPE O NEGATIVE), who replaced
Banali last year.
Frankie, who joined
QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on its breakthrough album, 1983's
"Metal Health", died in August 2020 after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
The surviving members of
QUIET RIOT said it was "
Frankie Banali's wish that the band continue and we keep the music and the legacy alive."
Asked in a recent interview with the
"Music Mania" podcast how
Johnny came to be involved with
QUIET RIOT,
Grossi said: "When
Frankie got sick, one of the first phone calls he made to me was regarding getting a substitute drummer. And
Johnny and I had worked together, and still work together, in that band
HOOKERS & BLOW, that cover band we do for fun. And he just made perfect sense on so many levels, because he's not totally intertwined in the L.A. music scene and doesn't really get involved with the gossip and this and that. Because keep in mind,
Frankie wasn't public about his cancer until several months after his diagnosis."
He continued: "
Johnny, he's family to me, and
Frankie and him were friends. And he can definitely fill the role onstage and off; he's a total pro and he's a friend. It worked out great, because the first show that
Frankie was gonna miss was in Dallas, Texas, which is when
Johnny Kelly lives. So we were able to fly in, do one song for soundcheck, and then trial by fire, do the whole show. He had never played with us before. And
Chuck [
Wright, bass] and our singer had never even met him. So it was definitely a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-type moment, but
Johnny rose to the occasion, and we're thankful he's onboard to help us out."
Speaking about the discussions that
Frankie and the other members of
QUIET RIOT had about continuing without him,
Alex said: "There really wasn't any one specific conversation. It was just, 'Keep it going. Business as usual.' We're not gonna miss any dates. We're not gonna make a thing of it. We're gonna keep the band rolling.
"
Frankie put so much of his life into building, helping to build, keeping the band going through good times, through bad — '80s, '90s, 2000s — if you think about it, and that's his baby; that's his legacy. And when the reality is that you're not gonna be around anymore, you still want your baby to grow and your legacy to grow, and that basically was always this unwritten thing. And I'm really glad.
"I always tell people I wish I could have found a way to fix his ailments, if you will, but, obviously, no one can do that,"
Grossi added. "But I take a lot of pride in knowing that we pulled it off last year and we're moving forward the way he wanted to and delivering a great show to people. So that I find comfort in. So that's been a positive."
At some of
QUIET RIOT's 2019 and 2020 shows,
Banali was replaced by
Kelly or
Mike Dupke (
W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician's availability.
QUIET RIOT's shows in 2019 with
Kelly and
Dupke marked the first time ever that the band performed without any of the members from its classic lineup:
Banali,
DuBrow, guitarist
Carlos Cavazo and
Sarzo.
QUIET RIOT initially featured the late guitar legend
Randy Rhoads and went through some early lineup shifts before securing the musicians that recorded
"Metal Health".
Wright has been a part of
QUIET RIOT, on and off, since 1982, having initially been involved in the
"Metal Health" recordings (he played bass on the tracks
"Metal Health" and
"Don't Wanna Let You Go").
Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before
Kevin passed away, and was asked by
Banali to return in 2010.
QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists —
Mark Huff and
Scott Vokoun — before settling on
Jizzy Pearl in 2013.
Pearl announced his exit from
QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by
Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of
"American Idol" finalist
James Durbin.
Pearl returned to
QUIET RIOT in September 2019.
Durbin recorded two studio albums with
QUIET RIOT — 2017's
"Road Rage" and 2019's
"Hollywood Cowboys" — during his three-year stint with the group.