Frankie Banali does not foresee a future version of Quiet Riot without him
Frankie Banali does not foresee a future version of Quiet Riot without him
Quiet Riot‘s long-time drummer Frankie Banali was interviewed by Bobby Caughron of XS Rock and was asked whether he could foresee Quiet Riot continuing without him.
Banali replied: “No. I don’t think that’s going to happen. Once you put into perspective the fact that I am the only member of Quiet Riot that has been on every Quiet Riot record from Metal Health to Road Rage. The fact that I’ve managed the band since 1993, so not only am I a musician in the band but I’m also the business entity in the band. Kevin and I were always the two people who believed the most in Quiet Riot and now that Kevin’s gone, I continue to be the one that believes the most in Quiet Riot. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Listen, it hasn’t been easy since the band became successful with Metal Health. But, I am more than up for the task. I’m here for the duration.”
Although Banali is currently 65 years old, he apparently plans on playing as long as he physically can as he stated: “I always tell people that I’ll retire when they put me in a box and I’ll pretty much guarantee that as they are lowing me into the ground, you’ll hear me tapping from the inside, Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks”. As long as I’m healthy and as long I still enjoy it, which I do, I’m going to continue as long as possible. Quiet Riot is a machine. Right now, we’re booked all the way through February of 2018. I see no reason not to continue as long as the fans continue to support us. I’m a realist. I owe my career to two things…hard work on my part and the support of the fans. Without the support of the fans, no band is a real band. As long as the fans are there, I’ll be there for them as well.”
In terms of whether he considered bringing back former Quiet Riot singer Paul Shortino into the band, Banali advised: “No. The reason that I proceeded the way that I did… I didn’t see bringing Paul back into the situation. I loved the fourth record. We called it the QR record. I think Paul is a phenomenal singer and he’s still a dear friend. But, It was definitely not a Quiet Riot sounding record. I think it had more in tune with Whitesnake than it did with Quiet Riot. And the only reason that I did the fourth record after we had to part ways at that time with Kevin because of his substance issues, was because we owed the record company another album. My position was that maybe after three records it was time to call it a day. But, I was immediately reminded by the attorneys from the record label that we had signed a contract and had to do a fourth record. As the only key member still involved at that time, I was being held responsible for it. I completely stand behind the record. I think it’s a phenomenal record and I still listen to it from time to time. Also, you have to understand that psychologically, Kevin was not on that record. I refused to let the artwork go through that would have the mask on it. It was the only record that didn’t feature the metal mask. What I wanted to do for the new singer was,….wouldn’t it be great if I could find a guy that didn’t have the opportunity to make it in the 80’s and give him the opportunity to have at least, a little bit of his dreams come true. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way because I came to find out, time and time again, that there was a reason some people didn’t make it. So we moved on.”
You can read the rest of the interview with Banali at XS Rock.