HOTEL DIABLO guitarist Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT, ex-ADLER'S APPETITE) is featured in a new interview with Robert Cavuoto from GuitarInternational.com. An excerpt is available below:

GuitarInternational.com: Your new CD, The Return To Psycho, California is pure-driven rock and roll. Reminiscent of AEROSMITH and BUCKCHERRY, the music I grew up listen to and wanting to play guitar to.

Alex Grossi: "Good songs never go out of style. Same thing with a Les Paul through a Marshall, it’s really straight ahead. A lot of bands out here in LA are always chasing the trends. When I first moved out here in 2002, everyone wanted to be THE WHITE STRIPES, or THE HIVES, or THE VINES or THE STROKES. They call them the “The” bands. Then new metal took over and everyone was trying to do that. Aerosmith, GNR, and even Buckcherry are classic American Rock. I like the fact that we’re able to do that. I find that if you stay true to what you do, it always comes back around."

GuitarInternational.com: How do you bring your own style when playing with established band like Quiet Riot and Adler Appetite yet stay unique and shine?

Alex Grossi: "Obviously with Quiet Riot and playing the GNR stuff, the songs are so iconic and such big hits, that you gotta play them note for note. That being said, your tone’s important. I try and keep my tone pretty meat and potatoes, no matter what band I’m playing with. I always use a Paul Reed Smith.

I use a pedal board that’s got some MXR and Line 6 effects on it. And because it’s usually a fly-in day I have a couple of Marshalls. I always keep my setup the same so it sounds like me in whatever band I’m in. I think tone’s a big one and I just think stylistically, paying tribute and being respectful of the old classic material, but also just throwing a little thing here and there that makes it your own."

GuitarInternational.com: Quiet Riot has a tremendous legacy in heavy metal. They’re really one of the first bands to bring metal to mainstream radio. What’s it like to work with a band with such a big history?

Alex Grossi: "I’ve been in Quiet Riot now for almost a decade. I met Kevin Dubrow in 2003/2004 when he was on a solo tour, and he brought me in to play guitar. That ultimately led to me joining Quiet Riot. It was a tremendous honor. And you know Kevin was really like a big brother to me. He really mentored me and took me under his wing. And that guy knew his shit better than anybody. I mean you gotta remember this guy cut his teeth in a garage, singing next to Randy Rhoads. Those guys came up together. For him to mentor me was really surreal. I really miss the guy every day and I just do my best to pay tribute and pay homage to the legacy he created. Like you said, Quiet Riot knocked the door down for all the MÖTLEY CRÜEs, RATTs and POISONs. They were the first one to go number one and really bringing attention to that."

Read more at GuitarInternational.com.