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Group Members: Mark Huff, Citron, Paul Shortino
All Music Guide:
For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster 1983 smash album Metal Health. But Quiet Riot's road to success had in fact been long and arduous, and when their star power subsequently began to fade, their fall from grace was ironically accelerated by the man who was most responsible for taking them to the top: singer Kevin DuBrow. Unable to suppress his infamous motor mouth from assaulting many of Quiet Riot's peers, DuBrow gradually alienated his fans and fellow musicians, and in the face of plummeting record sales, faced the iniquity of being fired from his own band. The dust eventually settled and DuBrow was able to resurrect Quiet Riot in the 1990s, but despite their best efforts, the once chart-topping band would remain forever exiled to the fringes of pop conscience, and what might once have been a full chapter in rock history has instead become little more than a footnote.
The story of Quiet Riot begins with vocalist Kevin DuBrow and guitarist Randy Rhoads, who started the band in 1975 after disbanding an earlier project named Violet Fox, and completed their first lineup with bassist Kelli Garni and drummer Drew Forsyth. Along with local scene contemporaries like Van Halen, Xciter, and London, the band thrilled audiences packing the L.A. nightclubs, but found it difficult to land a record deal during the disco-dominated late '70s. Eventually securing a contract with Columbia Records in Japan, they recorded two moderately successful albums -- a 1978 eponymous debut and 1979's Quiet Riot II, featuring new bassist Rudy Sarzo -- before losing Rhoads (and later Sarzo) to Ozzy Osbourne's band (and later a tragic plane accident, rock & roll martyrdom, immortality, etc.). Quiet Riot disbanded and DuBrow formed a new band under his own name, working with several musicians over the next few years before signing with independent Pasha Records, reverting to the Quiet Riot moniker, and entering the studio with new guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Chuck Wright to start work on a new album. The year was 1982 and, following Randy Rhoads' well-documented demise, former henchman Sarzo quit Ozzy, pushed Wright out of the way, and brought friend and drummer Frankie Banali into the fold to complete the lineup and sessions for what would become 1983's Metal Health. Driven by the irresistible double whammy of the title track's muscular bassline (reputedly played by Wright before his dismissal) and a raucous rendition of the old Slade chestnut "Cum on Feel the Noize," the album stormed up the U.S. charts, duly reaching the number one spot and going platinum five times over in the process. Their unexpected success shocked everyone, not least of which the bandmembers, who found it pretty hard to cope with sudden stardom and the pitfalls that came with it.
Pressured to capitalize on their hot streak, Quiet Riot was rushed back into the studio to whip together 1984's Condition Critical, but unsurprisingly, the album was little more than a weak carbon copy of Metal Health -- even sinking so low as to include another chart-ready Slade cover in "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." Fans were unimpressed, and panic set in as the band watched the record quickly sliding off the charts to make way for fresher, up-and-coming L.A. glam metal contenders like Mötley Crüe and Ratt. An incensed DuBrow went on a rampage, incessantly slagging fellow metal bands, members of the press, and his own record company, in the process quite literally burning most every bridge he'd worked so hard to build. The abusive behavior also began wearing on his band mates, and by the time they re-grouped to launch a comeback with 1986's QR III, Sarzo was long gone (later joining Whitesnake) and had been replaced by former bassist Chuck Wright, most recently working with Giuffria. A failed experiment in ultra-glossy '80s metal, QR III was a third-rate Hysteria possessing none of its predecessor's blue-collar grit and became an even bigger flop, sending Quiet Riot into an irreversible tailspin. Mounting tension resulted in an all-out band mutiny at tour's end, with DuBrow finding himself abandoned at the hotel in Hawaii, while the remaining musicians and crew left on an earlier flight back to L.A. Furious, he watched in disbelief from the sidelines as Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino stepped into his shoes and recorded 1988's simply named Quiet Riot with Cavazo, Banali, and new bassist Sean McNabb. The album's absolutely abysmal sales offered little consolation, and DuBrow finally gave up on diplomacy and filed an injunction against his former colleagues (apparently he still owned rights to the name), successfully bringing Quiet Riot to a stuttering halt. Frankie Banali said "good riddance" and jumped ship to join L.A. shock-metal kings W.A.S.P., while the remaining bandmembers went to ground.
Then, come 1991, DuBrow and Cavazo began working together once again in a band called Heat. In time, they began using the Quiet Riot name once again, eventually recording 1993's Terrified with bassist Kenny Hillery and a returning Banali. Down to the Bone followed two years later, and in 1997, a one-off performance at a party hosted by industrial shock rocker Marilyn Manson lured bassist Rudy Sarzo back to the fold. With their classic lineup intact once again, a re-energized Quiet Riot hit the road playing clubs across America. Public response was less than enthusiastic, however, and the band usually couldn't get arrested -- except for DuBrow, who spent a night in jail after a tour stop in Charlotte, NC, where an irate fan had sued him for injuries sustained at a previous show. This and other roadside misadventures were captured on 1999's optimistically named Alive and Well live album, and 2001 saw the release of Guilty Pleasures, the first recording by the band's classic lineup in 17 years. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, said album wasn't able to capture lightning in a bottle for a second time, and Quiet Riot quietly broke up shortly thereafter. Unwilling to put the band to rest, DuBrow and Banali recruited guitarist Neil Citron and bassist Tony Franklin for the recording of Rehab in 2006. Sadly, at age 52, DuBrow's singing career was cut short. His body was found in his Las Vegas apartment on Sunday, November 25, 2007.
Wikipedia:
Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet Riot in May 1975. The original line-up featured Rhoads and lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow, Garni, and drummer Drew Forsyth. Their current lineup features no original members from the Randy Rhoads era, and consists of lead vocalist Scott Vokoun, drummer Frankie Banali, bassist Chuck Wright and guitarist Alex Grossi. They are ranked at No. 100 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
In a radio interview given by the band in 1979, DuBrow said the band's name was born of a conversation with Rick Parfitt of British band Status Quo in which Parfitt said he'd like to name a band "Quite Right". With his thick English accent, it sounded like he was saying "Quiet Riot".
Kevin DuBrow, lead singer of the band for the majority of its existence, was found dead in his Las Vegas, Nevada home on November 25, 2007. The cause of death was ruled a cocaine overdose. Quiet Riot temporarily disbanded after his death, and was revived by Banali in 2010.
History
Early years (1973–1982)
Quiet Riot were one of the more successful hard rock acts in Los Angeles in the mid to late 1970s. They often opened for Van Halen in several L.A. clubs including the Starwood and KROQ's "Cabaret" nightclub, before either act had a record deal. The co-influence can be heard between Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen since both their bands played together often. Nonetheless, Quiet Riot was unable to procure a US recording contract. By 1977 they were able to secure a deal with Sony, but their records would be released only in Japan. The original four members recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QR I, in 1977. The second album Quiet Riot II, or QR II, was recorded at The Record Plant and released in Japan in 1978. Once recording was completed, bassist Kelly Garni left the band. Although Garni's replacement Rudy Sarzo was pictured and credited on QR II, he did not join before its recording. In 1979, guitarist Randy Rhoads auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's new band (the Blizzards after the editors of a small, Los Angeles based magazine, Raw Power, asked future Slaughter bassist Dana Strum to contact Rhoads to see if he would be interested. Osbourne himself has stated that he hired Rhoads immediately. Kevin DuBrow and Drew Forsyth tried to keep the band together following Rhoads' departure, with the addition of guitarist Greg Leon and former Suite 19 bassist Gary Van Dyke. During this period of 1980-1982, the band changed its name to DuBrow and also played shows with former Gamma drummer Skip Gillette.
Sarzo was holidaying in LA when he received a phone call from Kevin asking him to play on a track called Thunderbird, which had been recorded as a tribute to Rhoads. It turned out the band Kevin had formed included two other members of Quiet Riot: guitarist Carlos Cavazo and drummer Frank Banali. They had so much fun together recording the track they wound up recording half of their album in the process. In order to bring Sarzo back into this current line-up, they sacked their bass player.
When Sarzo returned to the group they were unsure as to whether to call the band DuBrow or Quiet Riot. In the end they decided on Quiet Riot "because 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, they were signed to CBS Records in America. On March 11, 1983, their American debut album Metal Health was released. Their two previous albums, QR I and QR II, have still not been released in North America, despite the band's subsequent success.
Since they weren't expecting to reform again, 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." He went on to say that the song Suicide Solution in demo form was called Force of Habit.
Success with "Cum On Feel the Noize" (1983)
On August 27, 1983, Quiet Riot's second single "Cum On Feel the Noize" was released. Their cover of the 1973 Slade hit spent two weeks at No. 5 on the Billboard chart in November 1983 and was the first heavy metal song to make the Top 5 on Billboard's "Hot 100 singles chart" (a.k.a. "Pop Chart"). The success of the single helped carry Metal Health to the top of Billboard pop album charts, making it the first American heavy metal debut album to ever reach No. 1 in the United States. It reached No. 1 on November 26, 1983, making Quiet Riot the first heavy metal band to have a top 5 hit and No. 1 album the same week, which was unheard of in 1983 for a heavy metal band. Their success was aided in no small part by the "Cum On Feel the Noize" video's heavy rotation on MTV.
Metal Health paved the way for a new, stronger commercial viability for heavy metal. The album displaced The Police's hugely successful Synchronicity album from No. 1 and stayed there for just a week until Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down took over the No. 1 spot for three weeks before being surpassed by Michael Jackson's Thriller, which returned to the top after a long hiatus. Metal Health's title song, which was released as a single on March 11, 1983, finally charted in early 1984 and peaked at No. 31. This could be attributed to the song's appearance in the 1984 movie Footloose, as well as another heavy rotation video on MTV. It was No. 41 on the VH1's Top 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. The Metal Health album would ultimately sell over 6 million copies in the U.S.
In support of Metal Health, Quiet Riot toured North America as the opening act for Black Sabbath on their Born Again tour from October 1983 through March 1984.
Condition Critical, QR III and departure of DuBrow (1984–1989)
The group's follow-up, Condition Critical, was released on July 7, 1984. Though successful, it was a relative disappointment, critically and commercially, selling only 3 million units. This release included yet another Slade cover, the single "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". Reportedly frustrated over the sophomore release's failure to duplicate the success of its predecessor, DuBrow outspokenly began expressing his opinion in the heavy metal press that many bands on the L.A. metal scene owed their success to what he saw as the doors opened for them by Quiet Riot. He went as far as comparing his band to The Beatles. DuBrow's verbal assaults angered many of Quiet Riot's musical contemporaries, and alienated fans. Despite this, in 1985 all four Quiet Riot members participated in Hear 'n Aid, a charity project headed by Ronnie James Dio to raise awareness for the starvation situation in Africa.
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 January 1985. He resurfaced in Whitesnake two years later, in time for their hugely successful 1987 tour. Sarzo was replaced in Quiet Riot by Chuck Wright (formerly of Giuffria) and the group temporarily added a keyboardist, John Purdell, for their 1986 tour. The same year Purdell appeared on their next release, QR III, another commercial disappointment. Fed up with DuBrow's antics and pressure from band management and the record label, the rest of Quiet Riot fired him from his own band in February 1987 and replaced him with former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino, leaving no original members. Ironically, Shortino had also performed on the Hear 'n Aid project with DuBrow, marking the only time that the two vocalists sang together on the same track. Chuck Wright left the band soon after Kevin DuBrow was fired and Sarzo was invited to return. Sarzo agreed but then committed to Whitesnake instead. 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. It failed to return the band to its commercial glory. After a tour that ended in Hawaii in April 1989, the band members went their separate ways. A show from the tour was documented and later released on a DVD entitled '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 ironically replaced Chuck Wright, the bass player that he also replaced in Quiet Riot. Kevin DuBrow subsequently fought in court to keep control of the band's name.
Reunion and later years (1990–2007)
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 to tour under (the name Rhoads and DuBrow were using in the 1970s before settling on Quiet Riot) to avoid any adverse publicity, Dubrow and Manning compiled songs for a new album, which would eventually become the 1993 album Terrified. The band played venues throughout the United States until 1990 when Manning left to join the band Hurricane.
As the nineties began, tempers had cooled between former bandmates Carlos Cavazo and Kevin Dubrow, and they started to communicate again. They eventually formed the band Heat in 1990 with bassist Kenny Hillery and drummer Bobby Rondinelli. They reverted back to the Quiet Riot name the following year and released the aforementioned Terrified in 1993 with Banali rejoining on drums. Quiet Riot, with Chuck Wright again on bass, toured in 1994 in support of Terrified with Wisconsin's Slam I Am.
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 Down to the Bone in 1995 and a Greatest Hits album in 1996. Greatest Hits covered only material from the CBS years, including three tracks from the 1988 Shortino album and two previously promo-only live tracks. Former bassist Kenny Hillery, who had left the group in 1994, committed suicide on June 5, 1996. After that, Rudy Sarzo joined up again in 1997, and the band continued touring.
During the 1997 tour one angry fan sued DuBrow for injuries she claimed were sustained during a show. The group, now featuring the Metal Health lineup again, released Alive and Well in 1999, which featured new songs and several re-recorded hits. They followed this up with Guilty Pleasures in 2001, with the same lineup.
In late 2002, the band teamed up with director Jack Edward Sawyers to shoot a concert video. Live in the 21st Century was shot on September 26, 2002, at the Key Club in Los Angeles and 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. That line-up included DuBrow, Banali, Wright, and new guitarist Alex Grossi. The band was featured on the 2005 Rock Never Stops Tour tour along with Cinderella, Ratt, and FireHouse. In December 2005, guitarist Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns briefly worked with the Quiet Riot lineup. Guns left less than a month later after one rehearsal due to musical differences.
In early 2006 Chuck Wright and Alex Grossi left the band. Other members of Quiet Riot during this era have included guitarists Billy Morris and Neil Citron , and bassists Sean McNabb and Wayne Carver. Ex-The Firm and Blue Murder bassist Tony Franklin has worked in the studio with Quiet Riot.
Quiet Riot released Rehab on October 3, 2006 with a lineup of DuBrow and Banali, with Tony Franklin and Neil Citron. Former Deep Purple bassist and singer Glenn Hughes made a guest vocal appearance on the album.
In 2007, Quiet Riot were featured in radio promos for ESPN Radio, parodying their status as dated rock and roll icons. Dubrow mentions that they are not completely dated, since they're still touring, to which Banali replies "Yeah...in your minivan."
DuBrow's death (2007–2009)
On November 25, 2007, The Vegas Eye website reported that Kevin DuBrow had been found dead in his apartment earlier that day. Banali confirmed the death in an email 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."
On December 10, 2007, media reports confirmed that Dubrow was pronounced dead on the afternoon of November 25, 2007, and was later determined to have died of a cocaine overdose approximately six days earlier.
On January 14, 2008, drummer Frankie 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."
Post-Dubrow: New lineup (2010–present)
Despite his previous insistence that Quiet Riot could never return as a live performing entity, Frankie Banali announced a new version of Quiet Riot in September 2010: himself on drums, Chuck Wright on bass, Alex Grossi on guitar and newcomer Mark Huff on vocals (formerly of Van Halen tribute band 5150 ). The band has sought the blessings of the DuBrow family (DuBrow's mother encouraged Banali to revive the band), has recorded new versions of classic hits with Huff singing, and is seeking to do a full US tour. In July 2011, Quiet Riot toured Germany as support band for Slayer and Accept.
In January 2012, singer Mark Huff had to undergo brain surgery, but was fired by Quiet Riot prior to this. Huff found out about his firing online. The band released a statement on January 12, 2012, announcing that Quiet Riot had "parted ways" with Huff, and replaced him for upcoming dates with Keith St. John formerly of Montrose, who was hired to fill in for the concert commitments. In March of 2012, Banali hired new unknown vocalist Scott Vokoun, his third vocalist in a year and a half.
Original bassist and founding member Kelly Garni announced the release of his long-awaited autobiography, due in October of 2012. The book is slated to cover the beginnings and early years of Quiet Riot, as well as details of Garni's friendship with founder Randy Rhoads.
