FRANKIE BANALI Says JAMES DURBIN Quit QUIET RIOT 'Almost Immediately' After 'Hollywood Cowboys' Was Delivered To Record Company

In a recent interview with the "Brutally Delicious" podcast, QUIET RIOT drummer Frankie Banali explained the circumstances around singer James Durbin's abrupt departure in September, as well as his health status after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.

Durbin reportedly left QUIET RIOT "to concentrate his time and efforts on his solo career" and was replaced with Jizzy Pearl, who previously fronted QUIET RIOT from 2013 until October 2016.

"James quit almost immediately after the [new QUIET RIOT] record ['Hollywood Cowboys'] was delivered to the label and the filming of the video was done," Frankie said (hear audio below). "It put me in the interesting position of having to promote a record with a singer that's no longer with the band, but once he made his intentions aware to me, within 24 hours, I had replaced him with a fellow previous QUIET RIOT alumnus, Jizzy Pearl."

He continued: "Jizzy's great. Like I said many times before, I like him. I respect him. I think he's a great rock singer. I think he's got a great persona and he's a great live performer. And he's his own singer and I think he brings a lot to the table that is respectful to the QUIET RIOT legacy without trying to copy or repeat some of the things that the late, great Kevin DuBrow had done with the band. To me, it's a win-win situation. It's respectful to the legacy, but at the same time it's fresh."

Banali played his first show with QUIET RIOT after revealing his cancer diagnosis on October 26 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Earlier in the year, QUIET RIOT performed several times without Banali, who was replaced at the gigs by a couple of different drummers, including Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE).

"I think I'm going to get greenlighted from my medical team to finish the other two shows after the Whisky for this year," Frankie told "Brutally Delicious". "I have every intention to go back out on the road in 2020. We've already have dates for next year, so I'm going to keep QUIET RIOT moving forward regardless of what the situation is."

Banali resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of founding member DuBrow.

QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of "American Idol" finalist Durbin.

"Hollywood Cowboys" will be released on November 8 via Frontiers Music Srl.