 to the metal voice once again, you know, a professional. I don't even know how many bands this guy has been. He's been in every band. And not only has he been in every band, but this guy is a true gentleman, loved by all the fans, great musician. I don't even know what more I could just spend all day sort of like patting you, patting you back there, Rudy. Thanks for joining us. Oh, I felt somebody else was gonna be on the show. It's been too long, Rudy. And it's always a pleasure to have you on the metal voice. Yeah, I mean, you guys said so many nice things that I thought it was you talking about somebody. Who's this guy? I like to meet this guy. I'm going to start things off just by saying that, you know, we interviewed you a few times, but like seven years ago, I went back to an interview and I go, I was really, I don't know if the word is aggressive with questions, but man, you handle every question with such ease. You are such a pro, a gentleman. Like, I don't know. I guess it's the experience. It's just the experience. Yeah, well, don't expect that today. I am really mad as hell. The other side are Rudy's side. That's right, that's right, that's right, that's right. All right, here we go. I want to promote this. So off the rails, you know, pick it up, everybody. Still get it. And me and Alan love, love this book. And we loved it for as long as we've had it. Yeah, because here's the big news. Here's the big news that it's not news anymore. It's old. But Rudy Sarzo is the new member or the oldest member of quite a right. And he's back in the bag. Tell us about being the newest member. Well, I am the oldest new member of the band. You know, I first joined the band in 1978 and it was the first band that I experienced a collective consciousness, meaning that we all listen to the same music. We all wanted to attain the same goals with the recording industry and our careers and everything. And usually that happens in your garage band. You know, when you're a kid, you're 16 and you listen to your favorite bands and you get together with your buddies because that's what, you know, this is like, okay, you know, I'm either gonna be in a baseball team or football team or being a rock band, you know. And so you have all these things in common and somehow somewhere you grow up and you go to college and you graduate and you go separate ways but always that garage band you had, there were so many aspirations and so many dreams, you know, unfulfilled. Now, in my case, choir riot was basically that consciousness of that first band that you get into. Everybody feels the same thing about, you know, what we want to do with music, you know. In my case, I had gone to Los Angeles to find people like that, to find a band like that. And I found it in choir riot. And so we were talking about 1978, you know, with Kevin DeBrow and Randy Rose. And then 79, Randy leaves Ozzy. I mean, at least choir riot to join Ozzy. And then a couple of years later, you know, after they finish recording Blizzard of Oz and Dario of the Mad Men, I get the call from management. And I mean, that's a long story, but, you know, it's in the book, but I'm gonna go into, I join Ozzy. And once I join Ozzy, again, I'm playing with choir riot consciousness. Randy Rhodes, you know, the area, again, you know, we are in tune to the same frequency as we were raised with music and also our environments where, you know, he grew up in California. I grew up in Florida, both sunny places. We like, you know, we like heavy, but still not gloom and doom music, you know, especially back in the seventies. And prior to that, after Randy left choir riot to join Ozzy, I kept playing with Kevin in his own band called Dubrow. And, and I was living with him right up until the time that I joined Ozzy. So I always, you know, maintain some sort of the choir riot consciousness with either with choir riot with Randy, with Randy, Kevin, with Dubrow, and then back with Randy and Ozzy Osborn, you know. And so what happens is Randy dies. He passes away. And I lost that consciousness. I lost that contact, but that familiarity, my family, you know, of that everything we were, you know, it was all copacetic. And then I get a call while I was still a member of Ozzy from Kevin to come down and record one track for a possible future record, you know, and we're talking about 40 years ago this year, you know, the making of Middle Hell. Yeah, yeah, the making, yeah, the making of Middle Hell. There you go, thank you. This is the original dressing, by the way. Yeah, yeah. And I was, yeah, I said, sure, you know, I'll come down and record Thunderbird, which actually, I used to play that song with Kevin in Dubrow, you know, because he wrote it for Randy after he left choir riot to join Ozzy. And then after he passed away, Kevin rewrote the lyrics at the end a little bit to fit more of what it was, a tribute to Randy's life, you know, and their friendship. And so I recorded that song. And then what I had lost with Randy passing, I found again in that recording session, you know, I walk in and there's Frankie, who I had been playing at that time in 1982. I met him in 1972 on my birthday, on my birthday. And we started playing together right after that. So I have been playing with Frankie on and off for 10 years. We went to LA together, we lived together in LA and the whole thing, I told, you know, when choir riot was looking for a drummer towards the end of that Randy Rose version of the band, I recommend to Frankie, he came down and you know, that's another story. But anyways, they were aware of him. As a matter of fact, when Ozzy, right before he went to England and he already had Randy and he had Dana Strom in the band, Frankie was the drummer that Randy recommended. So they rehearsed. Wow. Ozzy, Randy, Frankie and Dana Strom, they did rehearsals and then they, that's another story, buddy. We got like five other stories going on here, but go ahead. They're doing a big story. I know, I know. Actually, I recently did one of my 60 years of stars at Manchester Rock Radio shows with Dana Strom. And he talks about that. And so it was really great to share with the listeners what Dana was very instrumental in putting the whole thing together for Ozzy. You know, bringing Randy in, you know. And so I walk into the room and there's Frankie, you know, my best friend, there's Kevin and Carlos, I had known casually from the circuit. But anyways, we go in and we lay down Thunderbird. I was still a member of Ozzy. And then they ask, you know, the producer and the guys, hey, you know, we have like three hours left in the session. See, we track very fast because I used to play Thunderbird in Dubro. So I, you know, that was my baseline. I knew the song very well. So we tracked the fast two takes and then it's like, oh, do you remember Slick Black Cadillac? Well, it's been a while. Let's go there a couple of times and we track that again, we track Slick Black and a couple of other songs that are on metal health but were songs from the Dubro period of Kevin's songwriting. Slick Black Cadillac is the only song that made it from the Randy Rhodes choir, Raya version of the band into the metal health record. And that's a song that Kevin wrote that song. It fits you like a glove, right? You were used to all these songs and... Yeah, yeah, but most important, I found my familiarity again, my family, my consciousness, my collective consciousness, you know, yours is Frankie. I've been playing with him for 10 years. He wasn't a mentor. And, you know, being a rhythm section, you know, he taught me how to be a part of the rhythm section and because he was way more experienced when we met in 1972 than I was, you know. I was basically playing in the Miami Cuban Party Circuit. Well, Frankie was already opening up for major bands. And by the fact, when I first saw him the day before, his band was opening up for David Bowie. See, you start this tour at Pirates World and that's how I first got to see him. And I was blown away. I mean, there's a whole story of how we met, but anyways. So, yeah, so, you know, to me, it's coming home. You know, every time I play one of those songs, it's like, you know, it's like the essence, the spirit of how those songs came about, the story behind the songs, you know, who they were about, what they were about. It all comes back. It's not that it even comes back, it's still there. It's been there all along. It's just kind of like tuning into it, you know. Rudy, I want to point out, and I want people to understand this, like there was Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoadsira. Then there was Dubro, which played up to 100 shows as Dubro rotating musicians. And then there was the Quiet Riot classic era, we'll call it, right? Yeah, yeah. And the first two albums, this is your history. This is how far back you were involved in Quiet. I want people to understand. From Quiet Riot too, there's a bootleg version, by the way, did appear on it, but you didn't play on it, but that's when you were in the band. That's how far back, by the way, what was Quiet Riot too originally called, you know? That's trivia for you, I know. That's, you know, that's way before me, when I joined the band, it was Quiet Riot. I mean, you know, you can name. I can tell you what it is. I'll give you a tier right now. Was it Little Women? No, it was called Second and Ten. You mean the album cover? No, no, no, no. That's Second and Ten because of their name. Yes. I thought you meant the band, Quiet Riot. No, no, no, no, no. Oh, no, yeah, yeah. It was called Second and Ten, but in Japan, there was no football, so they go, this is not going to work. I know, I know, yeah. Second and ten, you know, second record, ten songs, yeah. And, yeah, we were supposed to be, you know, second, what is it, in football, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Second and ten downs, yeah. Like in ten years to go. Hence the reason why the football players. Yeah, exactly, it's that, yeah. You know, I had just joined the band, and when you joined the band, you were going to ask a whole lot of questions, you just kind of like go with the flow, you know. So there was a lot of questions in my mind regarding that album cover, you know. And, you know, a lot of stuff. It's like, it was basically the only time that I asked as to why am I doing the album cover if I'm not in the band? And they gave me enough information that actually is revealed in Kelly Garnes, who actually played on the record, on his book, information about the incident that led to him, yeah, that led to him. Yeah, it was basically, yeah, yeah. So I'll tell everybody, like I've interviewed him many times. Yeah. It was a gun that was fired in the air, you know, just claimed, you know, and that's kind of what got him kicked out of the band. You know, he was drunk, he's fired up in the air, and his big thing, it's all in his book, great book, by the way. Wonderful book. Yeah, great book. Oh yeah, no, no, Kelly Garnes remains in front of the band, he remains very close with us. So, matter of fact, when we played Vegas, I was at New Year's Eve, yeah. He got to a place like Black Cadillac with us. It's probably somewhere out there in the, in the, in the interweb out there, in your YouTube. So like, no, no, no, he's, you know, we'll get along with the whole family, and way, way before Kevin passed away, and Kelly and him had made things up, and they were friends, and hung out together. So, matter of fact, it was Kelly who actually, after Kevin was not seen for a few days, he's the one who went to Kevin's house and discovered that he had passed away. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, now you said Jimmy was saying earlier, you know, you've played thrift everybody, White Snake, Dio, Manny Keaton, Project Driver, everybody understand why we joined Choir Riot now? Besides... Oh, it's very simple. Every single band that I've ever been, including Ozzy, there's always a little bit of Choir Riot that I bring with me. So, matter of fact, if you look at Ozzy, it's two guys from Choir Riot, and then Ozzy, we got from Brooks, that was in the move, you know? I mean, from that period, you know, from the, from the performances that we did, Blizzard, Ozzy and Dari of Mad Men tours. And so, why? It's, first of all, the main reason why I'm back in the band is because Frankie invited me. He says, before he passed away, to return to the band. So, when your best friends asked you to do something, you know, I needed to honor Frankie. I need to honor. I need to be that guy on stage who honors the legacy and the memory of the band members who have passed on. It's my responsibility. This is the first time that actually leaves the house to go on the road every weekend. We're booked solid through the rest of the year every single week. Wow. Thank God for that. Oh, thank God for that. Yeah, that is wonderful. But now I leave with a mission. I'm not just going out there, you know, to just to play a bunch of songs and, you know, and whatever financial gains. No, I have a mission. My mission is to celebrate the legacy and the memory. That's amazing. That's awesome. Of my bandmates. So, it's a holy, you know, I deal with things easier on the road now. Things, you know, like delays, planes, okay, don't worry because I'm on a mission and we're going to get there and we're going to make it and we're going to get up on stage and we're going to kick ass and celebrate while you're right. So what's this Tory lineup? Well, who's in the band right now? Oh, it's in the band. Well, it's actually pretty much the same band except for Chuck Wright as when Frankie was there, you know, when he was alive and leading the band. It's Alex Grossi, who was actually picked by Kevin DeBrow when the reunite a choir riot ceased to exist in 2003. He played on rehab, right? He played on rehab. Well, I don't know when that was released, but we did two records. We did A Life on Well and the second one, that has like Adam and Eve. Realty pleasures. Realty pleasures, that one. Right here. I got everything here. I got everything here. There you go. What do you need? What do you need? OK, I'm here. Very soon, I'll ask you for something. OK, and so what happens is the band broke up. I didn't leave the band. The band just ceased to exist at one point. And then, you know, we went off separate ways. I did a tour with Invay. Kevin did some touring with like the voices of rocks, things. And then he put something together and band together. He puts a band together and Alex Grossi began his guitar player. So Alex has been part of this whole family for over 20 years now. He's actually the third choir riot guitar player. First you got Randy, then you got Carlos, and then you got Alex, you know. Gizzy, Gizzy, the band, our band, choir riot, were fans of Love Hate. Kevin loved Gizzy's voice. And I know that because he would tell me, and there's plenty of photos out there on the internet with the two of them together. So they hung out in Hollywood. And Gizzy's been in the band for a long time. He left for a little while, then he came back, but he's been there. And Gizzy is an amazing singer. Not only that, but he gets the whole choir riot consciousness because coming from the Sunset Strip just like we did, he gets it. He understands, he's part of that. So it's very important to have people who understand what we're doing here and how this whole thing came about because he walked the same Sunset Strip as we all did with his band, Love Hate. And then we got Johnny Kelly, who Alex knew from, well, Johnny Kelly, okay, he's formerly the drummer for Typo Negative. We talk about this, Johnny and I, having been in the band Typo and then losing a band member, a brother. And we talk about it a lot. Because we understand that. And also with Johnny, he was handpicked by Frankie. Yeah, he was asked by Frankie to come in. And especially when Frankie was going through chemo and alternative medication for cancer. So these are people that just, they're supposed to be here because they were asked to be here by members of the band. And we all go out there, we understand what this whole thing is about and we feel blessed to be playing together. Frankie is not here, Kevin's not here, Randy's not here, but the people who are here really care about what we're doing. And you said you've known Frankie for a very long time and the rhythm section is so important. How would you describe Frankie's playing in cryo riot when you're during your time there? That's a really good question. And I knew this from the very beginning because if you listen to the metal health record, you'll see that even though Randy's not there, somebody else takes over that spot, the focus. And in most bands, it's usually the guitar player or the singer. And in this band, the metal health version of cryo riot was Frankie Benelli. A lot of the songs begin with drum intros, all of that. So I think Frankie was definitely for the metal health version of the band, he was the signature sound, style that he brought in. He really great arranger. I mean, I know all of this about Frankie because I've worked with him for such a long time, even prior to cryo riot. And he always brought certain qualities about his playing that really would take any band to the next levels. As a matter of fact, when I was touring in the city, the Chicago area in the seventies. And I kept saying, we got to get Frankie up here and sooner or later we did. Yeah, we got Frankie joined the band and then we exhausted all the possibilities of playing in Chicago. And then we went to, it was my second trip to Los Angeles. But this time I went there with basically a full band. And we kept playing, we had a band, we lived together in Los Angeles. Yeah. Do you find that, and I love Chuck Wright, you know, in his work that he did, do you find that there's this rejuvenated excitement over cryo riot since you joined? You know, like I got excited. I heard that you're rejoining. I got excited. It's like an original, it's kind of almost an original member joining the band, right? Okay, when you say almost original member. Well, I mean, I'm just trying to say, you know, I mean, you replaced Kelly Garni, right? Yeah, but then again, that would be saying that Frankie Bonnelli is not an original member of the cryo riot, mental health, you know? You know, it is the classic and you know, the Randy Urso, yeah it is. You could dispute it, you could dispute it. Yes, go ahead. Yeah, you know, well, let me give you my perception because everybody has a perception. This is the way I look at it. There were two albums that were released only in Japan. And the reason why bands used to do that in those days, it was basically kind of like releasing an independent EP. You know, 40 years ago, actually 45 years ago when those records were released, the Randy Rose version of Quiet Riot, Billboard magazine, they didn't even have a chart for that for, you know, imports or things that were released in Japan. They didn't care. Billboard is about the United States. But this way, if you don't have a record deal in the United States, you got nothing. You're not a recording artist. Yeah, it's kind of like, you know, the old joke or yeah, we're here in Japan, you know, you know. I mean, that's 40 something years ago, right? As a matter of fact, the punchline of the Spinal Tap movie is that, that they were huge. They can put the band together and they were huge in Japan, right? 40 years ago, now it's a whole different scenario because Japan has their own Japanese domestic heavy metal band and they are tremendous. I mean, in their world-class musicians, you have Loudness, which was the pioneer of that. You have the bees, you know, pioneers of that. And so it's not the same scenario as it was 40 years ago. So technically, the clock starts with metal hell because that's when a band under the name Quiet Riot got signed to a, we were Pasha Columbia. I got a contract that I signed along with Carlos and Kevin and Frankie that disputes the fact that I am not an original member. There you go, Kevin. And your place, baby. All right, all right. Geez, geez. And then again, that's my perception. Yeah, like, you know, maybe I think you mean it more like they're a garage band when they released the first two albums and they really became a professional band when you guys signed with Metal Health, right? No, not really. See, when I spoke about garage bands, I spoke about the consciousness of a garage band with Randy Ross. No, I mean, that band was a local band, huge local band, huge, big, but could not get to the next step was just to sign a U.S. record deal. Gotcha, okay. So your book for the rest of the summer, you're saying, well, for the rest of the year, it sounds like, is there anything else going on besides your commitment to the Quiet Riot? No, he's booked. Colin, he's booked. I mean, he's booked. What else is it gonna do? Nobody else is calling. Hey, Rudy. Who are you? Well, what about an album? What about a new album, Quiet Riot? You're the ultimate pro, like we said, so. Yeah, they have called and I graciously tell them, you know, I'm devoted to Quiet Riot. This whole of my energy and focus is, just like it was. See, every time I was in Quiet Riot, that's all I did. Okay. I didn't do other stuff. So why should I start doing that again now? You know, again, I mean, you know, I've been doing projects. Gotcha. See, to me, Quiet Riot is not a project. That's your home. It is my home. Yeah. What about new music in Quiet Riot? I hear there's some new music on the way. Yeah. What's happening there? You know what? It's so good that you're gonna have to wait to hear it. Because you're not gonna believe it. But there is new music. There's new music. You're not gonna believe how good it is because you're gonna think it's a hype. So I'm gonna say, okay, I'm not gonna tell you how good it is because you're gonna think I'm lying. I don't think you're lying. You're anxious to hear it. Well, how about this? Is it gonna come out with it in the next year or is it gonna be like? We are planning on, yeah, hopefully the sooner the better. Okay. That's a good answer. Okay. I hear even Kevin Dubrow is gonna be a guest appearing on the track. In a quantum reality, everything is possible. Multiverse. Multiverse. And again, Rudy, you're a very spiritual person. I'm watching TV the other day and here's Teresa from the Long Island media. I'm gonna go see my friend Rudy. Rudy, who is she talking about? You, Rudy Sarzo. Yeah, Teresa, I love to listen. Have you ever had a reading with her? Is there anything? Interesting enough, yeah, I knew Teresa for a while. I mean, maybe two or three years before she then gave me an unexpected reading was at her home with her then husband, Larry. Larry and my wife, it was just finally dinner, sitting around and then as we're having dessert, it just happened. It was reading. It was very, very, very beautiful. And I follow her, I believe in her, in her readings. I've seen miracles at her events that I see people just like reconnecting with their, with their family, with their, they have passed on and it's really a moving experience. And it's amazing. I mean, okay, I am a musician. I grade up on stage with a bass and I got amplifiers and I get three, you know, depending on the band, three or four other guys with me to share that whatever stage fright you might have or like, you know, that performance, right? The eyeballs, the eyeballs are distributed evenly or whatever, you know, with that, from the audience to with other people. With Teresa, it's just her. It's just her and microphone and there's a camera crew that follows her around. So they get in an arena, her image is projected on screen. And she's just waiting to receive. And it's just, you know, and it's exactly the same person on stage, that's off stage, it's her. She's, what you see is what you get. And TV show, that's her, you know? And it's just amazing. You see, she's a pure, pure human, pure meaning her soul is pure, you know? She's wonderful. She's a dear friend. Nice. So I guess sort of to come full circle here, the tour is in May. Then we got June dates and July dates with choir, right? It's just non-stop all the way through. Yeah, you know what? Yeah, a lot of stuff that you're reading, we have a lot of dates that we're sharing with other groups that they might be, you know, the headliners, so they have priority as to when the dates are gonna be released. So there's a lot of dates that are not even posted yet. So like I said, we're playing every week. Every week we're out there doing, yeah, it is amazing. It's really a blessing, you know? But I really thank you for sharing that information with your watchers. Yeah, mm-hmm. Yes, watchers. Watchers. Watchers. Is there anything you want to promote, you know, from a quiet, right perspective or anything else, you know? You have so many fans, Rudy. They just always love hearing from you. Yeah, you know, the fans, to me it's, you know, I am, we are so appreciative of the fans, you know, coming to the shows and sharing with us the experience of celebrating the legacy of the band. And, you know, I mean, I see a lot of fans that I've known for decades who were original fans, you know, back in the Metal Health Days, you know, as we tour America. And it's so wonderful to see them, you know, supporting what the consciousness of quiet riot is all about. Right. Great. I'm glad you're home in both senses of the word, home in the band and the home where you are today. And man, it's just great news to see you back. And with this beautiful mission, you have to honor the three fallen heroes in the quiet riot's history. So. Mm-hmm. Thank you so much. Thank you. Rudy, it's been a pleasure, you know, when the music comes out, we'll do this again. Yeah, absolutely. And then we can, you know, I want to hear your opinion about the songs, which is, you know, at the end of the day, that's the most important thing. It's all about the listener, you know. Bad, bad. Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks, Rudy, always a pleasure. Thank you. God bless. Take care. Bye-bye.