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His band was one of the most popular of the Eighties era, and gave birth to a rock guitar legend. His band sold millions of albums, climbed to the top of the Billboard charts and then tore itself apart. This is the chronicle of the rise and fall of Quiet Riot, and the eventual rebirth of vocalist Kevin DuBrow.
Born on Oct. 29, 1955, young Kevin DuBrow grew up in Hollywood, California, before eventually settling in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys at age thirteen. By the time he was in his mid-teens he had developed an appreciation for a host of British rock and roll acts including the Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, Rod Stewart and Humble Pie�s Steve Marriott. It was the latter of those influences that would leave the biggest impact on DuBrow and act as a compass in his burgeoning music career. In 1975, Kevin caught the attention of guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, who were looking for a singer to form a band. At the time, Kevin had a garage band with Stan Sobol, later to make a splash himself with punk rockers The Dickies. The chemistry between Rhoads, Garni and DuBrow was not immediate; Rhoads was already quite proficient on guitar, while Kevin had not yet come to �own� his voice. However, persistence paid off - the three made a concerted effort to get the ball rolling, and the search was on for a drummer. Drew Forsyth rounded out the band.
Quiet Riot was born in 1975, and immediately set themselves the task of working their way up through the Los Angeles club scene. But the clubs were seen simply as a means to an end - The L.A. Forum was the Promised Land. Joining the band�s cause in February of 1976 were managers Warren Entner and David Joseph of the Toby Organization. They put Quiet Riot into a recording studio, and the band emerged with its first album. Entner and Joseph secured not one, but two separate deals with Casablanca Records, only to see them fall through in the eleventh hour. While the group continued its search for a record deal, it was invited to open shows for the likes of Angel and Black Oak. On the strength of guitarist Rhoads� firepower and DuBrow�s Rod Stewart swagger, Quiet Riot claimed L.A.�s Starwood in 1977 and became the biggest drawing club band in L.A.
After being turned down time and again by various American record labels, it was decided to pursue a deal with the Japanese division of CBS/Sony. The Japanese had an insatiable appetite for hard rock, and the label was very enthusiastic about the young band. Quiet Riot was signed to a two-record deal, the first of which - 1977�s simply titled �Quiet Riot I� - appeared shortly thereafter. The record split the difference between the sounds of bands like The Sweet, Alice Cooper Group and Humble Pie, and although just a shadow of what Quiet Riot would later become, the music showcased Kevin DuBrow�s head for melody, and Randy Rhoads� creative approach to guitar. That approach was even more evident on 1979�s �Quiet Riot II� record, on which Kevin and Randy graduated from material like the ponderous �Mama�s Little Angels� of the first record to the street-wise sophistication of �Slick Black Cadillac�. One of the album�s strongest tracks, �Trouble�, was also a good indicator of where the band was headed - in more ways than one.
By the time �Quiet Riot II� came out in late 1979, the band had already bid adieu to bassist Kelly Garni and drafted Cuban bassist Rudy Sarzo into the band in his place. Furthermore, DuBrow was crushed to see his longtime band mate and songwriting partner Rhoads defect to the as-yet-unnamed Ozzy Osbourne band. With most of Quiet Riot�s momentum lost, the group disbanded. Sarzo enjoyed a short stint with Angel, and eventually reunited with Rhoads when he replaced Bob Daisley as a side man in Ozzy�s band. Kevin DuBrow went on to form a new band, DuBrow, with shit-hot drummer Frankie Banali (himself almost a member of Osbourne�s band with Rhoads) and, eventually, ex-Snow guitarist Carlos Cavazo. Kevin piloted the band right into the arms of Pasha Records head Spencer Proffer, who signed the band to a record deal. This fortuitous turn of events was made rather bittersweet, however, by the tragic and senseless death of Randy Rhoads in a plane crash in March of that year. With Sarzo having completed his touring obligations in Osbourne�s band, he rejoined Quiet Riot, replacing the outbound Chuck Wright, and consolidating a formidable band lineup. With a new album in the can for Pasha Records, Quiet Riot prepared for its major label debut.
�Metal Health� was released in March of 1983, charting at 186 on the Billboard album chart. The album began a slow and steady ascension; by November 26, 1983 Kevin DuBrow and the band found themselves sitting on top of a million-selling album, and with a single, �Cum on Feel the Noize�, breaking the top five on Billboard�s singles chart. The group won legions of adoring fans, as well as a fair share of detractors who saw the band as nothing more than a modern version of Seventies rockers Slade, whose song �Cum on Feel the Noize� played a large part in Quiet Riot�s newfound popularity. To be fair, while there are certainly some similarities between DuBrow�s gravelly, shouted vocals and those of Slade�s Noddy Holder, Quiet Riot shoved most other comparisons aside with metallic fare like �Love�s A Bitch� and �Breathless�. �Metal Health� went platinum several times over, buoyed by heavy rotation of videos for both �Metal Health� and �Cum on Feel the Noize� on MTV. The band hit the road in America in early 1983 as a support act for bands like Scorpions, ZZ Top, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Loverboy. They crossed over to Europe for a jaunt with Judas Priest. And they opened Heavy Metal Sunday at the US Festival, playing before more than 350,000 people. In no time at all, Quiet Riot was itself a headliner, ensuring the metal health of America with a seemingly endless string of tour dates.
Pasha decided it was best to strike while the iron was hot, and rushed DuBrow and the band back into the studio for 1984�s follow-up to �Metal Health�, �Condition Critical�. In many ways the album was �Metal Health, Pt. 2�, right down to the inclusion of another Slade cover, �Mama Weer All Crazee Now� as the first single. While DuBrow was initially against the decision to include �Cum On Feel the Noize� on the �Metal Health� record, he was all for the inclusion of �Mama Weer All Crazee Now� on the �Condition Critical� record - until Irish band Mama�s Boys beat them to the punch and rushed their own version to record stores prior to �Condition Critical�s release. In the end it was essentially the label�s call to make, and it appeared to be the right decision after all. The new single was receiving radio play, and videos for �Mama Weer All Crazee Now� and �Party All Night� were in regular rotation on MTV, as well as USA network�s Night Flight program. DuBrow even found himself in the studio cutting background vocal tracks for Starship�s 1985 hit album �Knee Deep in the Hoopla�. But audiences soon tired of Quiet Riot�s formula for success, along with the obnoxious antics of Kevin DuBrow - whose excessive alcohol and drug consumption strained the relationships he�d built not only with audiences, but with the Pasha label and within the band. With the cracks starting to show, bassist Rudy Sarzo jumped ship. DuBrow and the band wasted no time bringing back Chuck Wright, and began plans for the next studio album.
�QR III�, technically Quiet Riot�s fifth record, was released in 1986. The lead single from the album, �The Wild & The Young�, was right out of the Quiet Riot songbook of big drums and choruses. But the rest of the album was dramatically different, from the prominence of keyboards to the subdued guitars and the inclusion of guests like Toto�s Bobby Kimball. The songwriting had also taken a dramatic turn, both lyrically and musically, and reflecting little of the muscle evident on the more guitar-heavy album demos. DuBrow�s voice was the most marked change - while it had only been hinted at on songs like �Thunderbird� or �Winners Take All� in the past, it suddenly became apparent - the guy could sing! �Still of the Night�, �Main Attraction� and �Twilight Hotel� were perfect vehicles for this revelation; however, the record-buying public didn�t necessarily buy it. The music scene was beginning to shift its focus onto new bands like Europe, Cinderella and Danger Danger. Furthermore, DuBrow's behavior hadn�t improved by any measurable degree, and the band soldiered on knowing its days were numbered. By the time their 1987 tour was over, the remaining members of Quiet Riot had left the embodiment of all of the band�s problems - Kevin DuBrow - behind. In a final attempt to hold open a quickly diminishing window of opportunity, the band hired former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino for 1988�s eponymously-titled album. While the album was ok on its own merit, it was not a Quiet Riot album. The songs lacked the same spark, and the voice was unfamiliar. The band was missing what it needed most. The departure of Kevin DuBrow cost Quiet Riot its identity.
The Shortino-era Quiet Riot quietly bowed out in 1988, when Frankie Banali accepted an invitation to join WASP. Quiet Riot was no more, until 1991 when Kevin rekindled his friendship with guitarist Carlos Cavazo, and the two made plans for a new band, tentatively called Heat. Eventually the group reverted to the Quiet Riot name, and with ex-Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli and new bassist Kevin �Kenny� Hillery on board, the four hit the road to rebuild Quiet Riot�s reputation. It took two years to do it, but the band made enough inroads to return to the studio for 1993�s Moonstone Records release �Terrified�. Gone was the kinder, gentler Quiet Riot of the late 80�s. In its place was an angrier version of the band, as songs like �Cold Day in Hell� and the title track attested to. One of the most eyebrow-raising tracks on the album was a wonderful acoustic treatment of �Itchycoo Park�, by DuBrow�s hero Steve Marriott. Although five songs from �Terrified� were featured in the low-budget Full Moon film �Dollman vs. Demonic Toys�, in the end, Moonstone�s negligible promotion caused the album to flounder.
Following the disappointment of �Terrified�, Kevin DuBrow�s tenacity kept the Quiet Riot name in the spotlight when he coordinated the October, 1993 release of �Quiet Riot: The Randy Rhoads Years� with archival label Rhino Records. In the days before the internet and eBay, Randy Rhoads fans had little, if any, opportunity to hear Rhoads and DuBrow together in Quiet Riot�s earliest incarnation. �The Randy Rhoads Years� made available both live and studio tracks - some not even released on �Quiet Riot I� or �Quiet Riot II� - and enabled fans to hear the original riffs that would later be cherry-picked for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums.
1995 saw the rotating bass guitar position filled once again by Chuck Wright, who rejoined Quiet Riot for the Kamikaze Records album �Down to the Bone�. The disc picked up where �Terrified� left off, continuing a darker, more modern sound for the band. �Down to the Bone� would be the last studio release from Quiet Riot for several years - save for a 1996 greatest hits compilation released by Columbia Records, and a 1998 tribute to AC/DC, for which Quiet Riot covered �Highway to Hell� - until the 1999 release of �Alive & Well� cemented the official return of the �Metal Health� lineup of Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali, Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo for the first time in fifteen years. �Alive & Well� was an encore by the more mature �Metal Health� lineup, and a return to the lighter themes of earlier records. Not only was there more levity in the songwriting, but Deadline Records asked the band to revisit six of their best known anthems, which were presented as bonus tracks on the disc. Kevin DuBrow also appeared on tributes to Guns N� Roses and Led Zeppelin, a trend he would continue into 2001 with further tributes to Scorpions, Van Halen and Def Leppard.
Quiet Riot stepped into the 21st Century with the 2001 release of �Guilty Pleasures�. The album garnered even more praise than �Alive & Well�, and exhibited some of the best songwriting from DuBrow and company in years. The inspired nature of the music seemed to be an invitation to apathetic fans to come down off the fence and rejoin the party. Quiet Riot hit the road to support �Guilty Pleasures� as part of the 2001 Glam Slam Metal Jam tour with Poison, Warrant and Enuff Znuff - a successful jaunt that echoed 1998�s Rock Never Stops tour with Firehouse, Slaughter and Warrant. Plans were made to record for posterity the 20th anniversary reunion of the band, and in September 2002 Quiet Riot was captured on film, onstage at the Key Club in Los Angeles. Exactly one year later - and two months prior to the release of the long-awaited 20th Anniversary DVD - dissention finally tore the band apart. Kevin DuBrow walked away from Quiet Riot, and the band had no other choice than to fold. While the band had been experiencing a renaissance of sorts, the problems behind the iron mask became irreconcilable.
Kevin DuBrow reemerged in the Spring of 2004 with a solo album, �In for the Kill�, released by Mike Varney�s Shrapnel Records. The album was recorded in almost no time flat, and featured a dozen covers of DuBrow�s choosing - from Deep Purple, Nazareth, The Faces and other staples of classic British rock. Backing him was a firecracker of a band including guitarist Kevin Curry, bassist Gunter Nezhoda, ex-Great White keyboardist Michael Lardie and former Badlands drummer (and Racer X vocalist) Jeff Martin. While the apple certainly doesn�t fall far from the tree as far as the cover is concerned - it�s a garish, Terminator-inspired image of DuBrow�s face, torn to expose the �Metal Health� mask - the music offers much more funk and blues than fans have heard from Kevin DuBrow up to now, without losing the signature style that appeals to his fans. As of this writing, DuBrow is preparing to support �In for the Kill� by embarking on a month of summer tour dates with members of Bang Tango, Warrant and Guns N Roses.
No one can say, at least for now, whether Quiet Riot will make another appearance at some point. They certainly had a good run - better than most bands can ever hope for. The various members of the band will surely reappear on other projects. Meanwhile, the unmistakable voice of Quiet Riot has already returned to the scene of the crime. Kevin DuBrow has several exciting projects in the works, and if he has his way they�ll be quite a riot.
