BLABBERMOUTH.NET
A public funeral service for
QUIET RIOT drummer
Frankie Banali was held on Monday, November 15 at 2:30 p.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California. The entire event was livestreamed to the public and a playback is still available for viewing at
this location (if required, the password for the video is "Banali", according to the official
QUIET RIOT Facebook page).
Banali, 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. One day after his passing,
Frankie's wife
Regina spoke about plans for his memorial service during an appearance on
SiriusXM's
"Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". She stated at the time: "Funnily enough, he had already bought and paid for and planned his entire services at Forest Lawn [cemetery in Los Angeles] before his [cancer] diagnosis. He was gonna get the same kind of funeral that
Ronnie [
James Dio] got and
Jimmy Bain and all those funerals that we've been to many times. He was saying we're gonna rent the [legendary West Hollywood restaurant and bar] Rainbow and have laminated passes and [have a] send-off in the rock and roll way that he arrived in L.A.," she continued. "He had a lot of history with the Rainbow."
Regina went on to say that there would likely be a large-scale memorial event in
Frankie's honor once the coronavirus pandemic had subsided.
"I think it's better to go big, even if it's later," she explained to
"Trunk Nation". "'Cause I think people will still care. And I think he deserves the honor and recognition that he's earned."
Frankie was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer on April 17, 2019 and given six months to live. He put up an inspiringly brave and courageous battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18 p.m. on August 20, 2020 in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter.
Banali was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas. He had been in treatment since the spring of 2019 and completed his 21st round of chemotherapy not long before his death with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer.
Banali's history with
QUIET RIOT spanned over 37 years and he had the distinction of being the only member of the band to have recorded on every single
QUIET RIOT release from 1983's
"Metal Health", which was the first heavy metal album to reach No. 1 on the
Billboard chart, through 2019's
"Hollywood Cowboys". He also recorded seven albums with
W.A.S.P. between 1989 and 2004.
Banali resurrected
QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of singer and founding member
Kevin DuBrow.
QUIET RIOT's latest studio album,
"Hollywood Cowboys" was released in November 2019 via
Frontiers Music Srl.
A month after
Banali's death,
QUIET RIOT announced that it would carry on. The group, which now features drummer
Johnny Kelly (
DANZIG,
TYPE O NEGATIVE) and returning bassist
Rudy Sarzo, has a number of dates scheduled in late 2021 and early 2022.
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".
Prior to
Sarzo's return, bassist
Chuck Wright had 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"). Guitarist
Alex 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.
Frankie Banali's Funeral
November 15th 2:30pm PST
LIVE STREAMING
Watch LIVE or playback:
https://venue.streamspot.com/event/Mjg5MDQ4NQ==
Posted by Quiet Riot on Friday, November 12, 2021