Former QUIET RIOT Singer Discusses The Band's Breakup

Former QUIET RIOT singer Kevin Dubrow recently spoke to Classic Rock Revisited about the group's decision to split up and his future plans. Asked about the band's breakup, Dubrow said, "Everyone always asks, 'Why did you break up?' The question they should be asking is, 'Why did you stay together so long?' Considering the dynamics of the people involved, it lasted a lot longer than it should have. These are four dynamically different people.

"When you first start a rock band when you are young, you try to get with people you like and respect musically. When you get to the age that we are — late 40s and early 50s — you grow in different directions. It really is amazing that it lasted as long as it did.

"I will give you a basic idea of what happened without getting into too much detail. I think what goes on in a band is like what goes on in a marriage. It is personal and none of anyone's business.

"I love QUIET RIOT. I love everything about the band except for one situation that I could no longer tolerate. It had been in existence for a number of years and I had put up with it.

"We would do these fly-outs where we would leave on Thursday and come back home on Sunday. There was this situation that existed that I really didn't like. I would come home on Sunday night and I would start drinking and I would not stop drinking 'till I was getting back on a plane. I was that angry about this situation. It got harder and harder for me to get on those planes and sometimes I missed shows.

"Let me tell you something, QUIET RIOT is an easy gig. [Drummer] Frankie Banali did all the work. The rest of us didn't have to do dick. All we had to do was to show up at the gig. For me not to show up really gives you an idea of how unhappy I was with this situation that existed within the band.

"I love singing. It is not just what I do — it is part of who I am.

"I love Frankie. He is my best friend and a great drummer. As much as I love singing, it shows how much I was unhappy to not show up at a gig. This situation was affecting my musicality, my health and my hearing.

"The rest of the guys just figured since I wasn't showing up anymore that it was over. They called it a day. No one called me. I got an email. Since I didn't show up at gigs the guys thought I was flakey and they decided not to do it anymore.

"I would have gone on with the band if they had made a change. They all know what it is. I don't want to get too much into it. I don't want to air dirty laundry in public. This one particular thing ruined the whole thing for me. It is that simple. I would be back in a heartbeat tomorrow if they would change that one thing.

"I love QUIET RIOT. I started the band with Randy Rhoads. It was my band, really. It is an easy gig with Frankie doing all the work.

"It came to a head after a show we did in Detroit on September 18th. Had I shown up for the next batch of gigs — I will give you this explanation but I am not going to get more specific than this — had I shown up, it was going to get really ugly." Read the rest of the interview here.