QUIET RIOT To Play 'Socially Distanced' Concert In Arkansas Next Month

QUIET RIOT is scheduled to play a "socially distanced" concert early next month at Magic Springs Theme And Water Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas as part of the Magic Springs Summer Concert Series. Drummer Frankie Banali spoke about the gig during an appearance Wednesday (June 10) on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation". He said: "It's July 4th, is actually the date that we're playing. And I am told officially through e-mails that the city has approved the date and they've approved it for as much as a three-thousand capacity. So it should be interesting. I'm still waiting to see what's gonna happen, because you don't know if two weeks out, or a week out before the show, all of a sudden, that part of Arkansas gets shut down, locked down, the show is canceled or postponed to another date. And in the meantime, you have expenses — flights and hotels and all this kind of nonsense that you have to deal with."

According to Banali, who has been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer for the past 14 months, there are "two non-competing opinions in QUIET RIOT" regarding how to proceed with live performances during the coronavirus pandemic. "You have Chuck [Wright, bass] and I who pretty much read everything that has to do with coronavirus and listen to everything that's on the news, and then you have Jizzy [Pearl, vocals] and Alex [Grossi, guitar], [whose attitude] is, 'Put me in coach. Let me in now. I'll kick those Nazis' asses,'" he said. "They're gung-ho to get out there on the road. So the plan is to play [the Arkansas show], unless the powers that be tell me otherwise."

Banali said that QUIET RIOT has "quite a few more" shows booked for the coming months. "I think we only had one, possibly two cancelations [so far]," he said. " The rest of 'em were getting moved further and further into the year. So some of the stuff now is into August, September, October, November, and quite a few, actually, rolled over into the 2021 performance year. And God willing, I'll be around to play those."

Frankie also addressed the fact that cancer patients like him are among those at high risk of serious illness from a coronavirus infection because their immune systems are often weakened by cancer and its treatments.

"Early on [during the coronavirus crisis], my wife put us both on home watch, and we just really haven't been out of the house with the exception of going into my doctor's to get treatments," he said. "I have to be very, very careful, because I'm in the age group, and because of serious underlying conditions, I'm at the top of the list that if I did get coronavirus, I probably would not survive it. But since we last spoke, I ended up having two more trips into the hospital with blockages. There's always something — it's, like, one step forward, two steps back, kind of situation. But I'm willing to fight it out."

The Magic Springs Theme And Water Park web site is recommending that concert attendees bring blankets as social distancing guidelines of six feet will be enforced at the QUIET RIOT show. Due to these restrictions, reserved seating sales are continuing to be suspended.

Banali was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas.

He has been in treatment since the spring of 2019 and recently started his 21st round of chemotherapy with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer.

Banali went public with his diagnosis last October, writing in a social media post that the cancer treatment had forced him to miss several live shows with the band. He was replaced at those gigs by either Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE) or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.),depending on each musician's availability.

QUIET RIOT's shows last year with Kelly and Dupke marked the first time ever that the band performed without any of the members from its classic lineup: Banali, singer Kevin DuBrow, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Rudy Sarzo.

Banali played his first show with QUIET RIOT since he announced his cancer diagnosis in October at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

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

QUIET RIOT's latest studio album, "Hollywood Cowboys" was released in November via Frontiers Music Srl.