Frankie Banali didn’t want to go on as Quiet Riot with Paul Shortino but had to deliver album or get sued

Frankie Banali didn’t want to go on as Quiet Riot with Paul Shortino but had to deliver album or get sued

Quiet Riot‘s long-time drummer and band leader Frankie Banali was recently interviewed by Big Music Geek and as asked how he felt about the group’s album QR that was done with Paul Shortino on lead vocals back in 1989.

Banali stated: “I think it was a great record. In fact, I know it was a great record. I knew that it wasn’t going to sound anything like Quiet Riot. The songwriting was different and the vocal styles were different. It had more in more in common with what Whitesnake was doing at the time. The reality of that situation was that after we had to part company with Kevin because of his issues with substance abuse, I didn’t want to continue on with Quiet Riot because I didn’t see how we were going to continue without his voice. But because I was then the point man, I was reminded by the legal department at CBS (Records) that we had a four record deal and if I didn’t deliver the fourth Quiet Riot record, they were going to sue me. So we did the record, but you also have to understand my mindset. Every single Quiet Riot record from Metal Health all the way through to Road Rage always featured the metal.”

In terms of a possible reunion with the surviving band members from the Metal Health album, Banali opined: “(Metal Health era bassist) Rudy (Sarzo, ex-Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake) has on occasion. As a matter of fact, Rudy and I live in the same neighborhood. Rudy and I have been friends since 1972, so he’s the oldest, closest and dearest friend that I have. He’s actually more of a brother than anything and we get along great. (Metal Health era guitarist) Carlos (Cavazo, ex-3 Legged Dog, Ratt, Snow) and I were never close even when things were going great. You have to understand that both Rudy and Carlos have been out of the band for fifteen or sixteen years since 2003.

Rudy and I have kept a relationship and our friendship is completely and totally intact. That’s not the case, really, with Carlos and that’s by his own choice. But then there’s also a danger of even doing a one-off where it would be the three surviving members and James or whomever singing because people romanticize what they think of the lineup. Once you do a show like that, everything else you do after that with the guys that I have in the band right now is going to be measured up to that one-off and that’s a dangerous proposition. When people say on my Facebook or Twitter pages ‘You really should get Rudy and Carlos back in the band’, I always reply to them by saying ‘Okay, so basically, what you’re telling me is I should fire Chuck, who has been in and out of the band since 1982, but more specifically has been a solid member of the band since 2004, and also fire Alex Grossi who has been the same, because you want to hear somebody else play their songs? Is that what you are suggesting? That I should not be loyal to the people that are loyal to me?'”

You can read the rest of the interview with Frankie Banali at Big Music Geek‘s website.

Quiet Riot‘s “Stay With Me Tonight” video (from the QR album with Paul Shortino):

– YouTube

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