RUDY SARZO Reflects On Legacy Of QUIET RIOT

November 30, 2007

Debby Rao of KNAC.COM recently conducted an interview with bassist Rudy Sarzo (DIO, ex-QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE) about QUIET RIOT's enduring legacy and his relationship with the group's late vocalist Kevin DuBrow, who was found dead in his Las Vegas home on November 25, 2007. The following is an excerpt from the interview:

KNAC.COM: Rudy, how does it feel to be part of the legacy of QUIET RIOT?

Sarzo: "I am very proud. Not only the legacy of QUIET RIOT that the world got to know, but the Randy Rhoads version that was more of a Los Angeles legacy of that era. Of course, Randy had his own legacy with OZZY OSBOURNE. Kevin and I shared that too. We both got to play with Randy in the first version of QUIET RIOT. I am very proud. I've always considered myself to be one of the guys who is only as good as the people that I played with. I have been very blessed to have played with some of the best. Anything that can be said about me is pretty much due to the company that I have kept. I was very proud of every night getting up on the stage and being in the company with Kevin and course Frankie and Carlos and also the other version of QUIET RIOT with Randy and Drew."

KNAC.COM: What was your favorite memory of performing with Kevin?

Sarzo: "There were so many, numerous moments of playing with Kevin. The early QUIET RIOT shows were a little bit more bittersweet. We were very happy as a band but very sad because we were not getting the attention from the industry and we were struggling. We used to perform two sets a night at the Starwood regularly. The first set was considered the showcase for the record labels. The Starwood was a big club with a very high ceiling and to the left side of the stage was the balcony that was the V.I.P. section. We would reserve the tables for all these record companies to come down. Around that time, 1978-1979, the record companies were more interested in new wave bands. We would start the show with the hopes that somebody would come out and hear the new songs and new presentations and halfway through the set thou you were enjoying performing the show I couldn't help the feeling disappointed that VIP section was empty. Though you were enjoying what you were doing musically you still had the feeling that you were going nowhere at the same time. It was very bittersweet. The week that 'Metal Health' was released we performed our very first show at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip. That was in March of 1983 and that show was recorded for Westwood One, live at the Roxy. We did four sold-out shows in two nights at the Roxy and it was phenomenal. Shortly after, we drove up to the San Francisco area to do three shows with VANDENBERG in Berkley, Palo Alto and San Francisco. Basically, we were a bunch of guys just driving ourselves around in a station wagon. Then from the station wagon, we graduated to an RV. We drove a van up to Duluth, from Van Nuys, California to start the tour with the SCORPIONS. We did about a couple of week’s worth of shows leading up to the US Festival. During our performance in Denver the promoter for the show, Barry Fey, who also happened to be the promoter for the US Festival, offered us the opening spot on the US Festival 'metal day.' Of course we jumped at the once in a lifetime opportunity. Shortly after we got on the ZZ TOP tour followed by a tour with LOVERBOY. By then we had a tour bus. Subsequently, we went our own headlining tour before joining the IRON MAIDEN tour. That November while we were tour supporting BLACK SABBATH, 'Metal Health' reached No. 1 in the Billboard charts. It was an incredible climb to the top and were all a part of that, we were living it and going through it all together. That was incredible because can you imagine? We had to sell a million records that week to get to No. 1. While we toured with IRON MAIDEN, we got to perform at the Garden. That was spectacular. To walk as an opening act onto the Madison Square Garden stage and see that every single seat was filled was amazing and unforgettable. It was an amazing adventure. We experienced that all together… Kevin, Frankie, Carlos and me."

Read the entire interview at KNAC.COM.

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