The Fire Still Burns

03/22/1999 6:00 PM, LAUNCH
Bryan Reesman

"There's a difference between being trendy and having a style," observes Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow. "I don't believe in trends, I think they're ridiculous, because you know if you follow one it's going to change. But your style will always be your style. Whether or not it happens to be the trend at the moment is another thing entirely. If nothing else, we're an honest band musically. All the other styles that exist out there--alternative, hip-hop, all this stuff--are great, but we're not trying to embrace them for Quiet Riot. We're just trying to be honest and organic."

Back in 1983, Quiet Riot took the mainstream by storm with their nearly septuple-platinum album Metal Health, which sported the hit singles "Cum On Feel The Noize" (a cover of the Slade classic) and the title track. Despite the decrease in widespread attention to their style of rock 'n' roll, the L.A. metal quartet has stuck with it during the '90s. With the release of the new Alive & Well (Cleopatra), the QR lineup that catapulted the group to stardom--DuBrow, guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Frankie Banali--has recaptured the sound that made the band famous 16 years ago, from the energetic, Who-like assault of "Don't Know What I Want" to the slow grind of "The Ritual" and the melodic singalong anthem "Against The Wall." The record also includes their cover of "Highway To Hell" from the AC/DC tribute album Thunderbolt, not to mention six re-recorded hits from QR's '80s heyday.

"I think this new album goes back to being a straight rock 'n' roll record," says DuBrow as he reflects on the band's two other '90s releases. "Not that we weren't rock 'n' roll before, but on Down To The Bone we really indulged our musical desires. And Terrified was just something we put together for a B-movie soundtrack [Dollman Vs. Demonic Toys]. It was basically used as incidental music." For Alive & Well, Quiet Riot recorded with producer Bob Marlette, who recently worked on another metal comeback collection, Black Sabbath's Reunion. Marlette has stayed true to the band's style while refusing to pay obeisance to that big '80s sound.

In an odd way, working with Marlette has brought the band back full circle. It turns out that in 1979, when QR were recording their first demos, their current producer did a session as a keyboardist with the band, which then included DuBrow and original guitarist Randy Rhoads. According to the QR frontman, Marlette has no recollection of this. In fact, many fans may not even know that Quiet Riot released two pre-Metal Health records with the late Rhoads that only saw the light of day in Japan. (Rhino released a compilation of the two discs in the mid-'90s.)

Even though Marlette is a high-profile producer, the band has had the advantage of feeling less pressure in the studio, as they're not expected to sell millions of records. But DuBrow confesses, "I'd rather have the pressure. I like playing arenas better than clubs. I'm a tall guy, I keep whacking myself everywhere. I come out with bruises at some of these shows. I mean, I try to do the best show I can anywhere I play, but by the same token, I prefer playing bigger places. I dare you to find anybody who wouldn't rather be big."

DuBrow knows all about mega-success, and its pitfalls. Following their phenomenal rise to the top early in their career, Quiet Riot fell victim to typical record industry shenanigans. The singer remembers he had a premonition in the mid-'80s that the band would soon run into trouble. But by 1986, he'd gotten wrapped up in sex, drugs, and money and became a thorn in the side of his bandmates. Though his intentions were good, his stoned state made his warnings seem less credible. He actually quit for a time, and the group did one last record with Rough Cutt singer Paul Shortino before going on an extended hiatus that would end in the early '90s.

"In essence, I was right about how f--ked the situation was, because to this day we're feeling the repercussions of that," remarks DuBrow. "We sold over 130,000 records last year of our back catalog, and we do this every year. That's a lot for a band that hasn't had a hit record in 13 years. And we haven't received record royalties since 1986. There's something wrong with that, and everybody claims that they're not the ones that owe us the money. Suddenly out of the clear blue sky we're supposed to owe money, when we recouped years ago. I can't say that I foresaw that happening, but I knew we were gonna get f--ked."

The band has forged on in spite of the sleazy music biz tactics that have kept them from even owning the publishing to their '80s material. But Quiet Riot are still passionate about their music, and they've been invigorated by their recent tours. "They're great. They're the most high-energy they've ever been," DuBrow exclaims. He attributes this partly to the fact that he focuses just on performing and avoids dealing with the business aspects of the band (Banali is now the group's manager). He admits that "I have always had an anger management problem," prone to easy aggravation by unsavory business dealings. Then again, metal has often been about venting, hasn't it?

A recent run-in with the law helped to focus DuBrow even more sharply on his music. At a show in North Carolina that kicked off their most recent tour, DuBrow was arrested and thrown in jail. "Some girl claims I threw somebody from the stage on top of her and broke her leg in three places. But she's an absolute liar, because in the court documents she said she was 20 feet from the stage, and the Olympic long jump record is 18 feet," he chuckles. "But they got a default judgment against me for $100,000 when they arrested me, with $200,000 bail. They have cheaper bail for murderers. Anyway, being in jail is no good. I was only there for 22 hours, but it was one of those defining moments that refocused me on Quiet Riot."

Fans new and old can check out the band this summer on the second annual Rock Never Stops tour. Last year, the touring festival--which featured QR, Warrant, Slaughter, L.A. Guns, and Firehouse--played everywhere from 1,500-seat clubs to 15,000-seat arenas. The tour did well with the fans, DuBrow declaring that their reaction was "amazing. They're starved for this kind of stuff, especially in the Midwest. You know, anything that gets a lot of publicity in Rolling Stone, that doesn't necessarily mean it's what people want." This year, DuBrow expects a stronger show; QR will go out with headliner Ted Nugent as well as Night Ranger and Slaughter.

DuBrow is quick to point out that he doesn't want to live off of nostalgic memories. "I'm not one of those people who says, 'Aww, the '80s were this or that.' I enjoy myself today. That was then, you can't constantly look at the past, you have to learn from the past." With Alive & Well, Quiet Riot seem determined to make that point and not look back.