On the 100th episode of the 80’s Glam Metalcast, host Metal Mike talks to bass legend Rudy Sarzo. He discusses return to Quiet Riot, his time with Randy Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne, and they talk a little Whitesnake as well.

About getting back in Quiet Riot and the influence drummer Frankie Banali had on him 

Sarzo: "It’s been in the works for a while. It was just a matter of doing it with the right timing. It had to be a smooth transition with me coming over from The Guess Who, and for Chuck Wright who’s currently there. We just had to do our best with it and we had to make all sure all the commitments we made were met. In 2020, we faced a lot of difficulties with COVID and it made it almost impossible for Frankie and I to get together. Regina made it happen that I was able to be with Frankie in the hospital hours before he passed. Shortly after he passed, I went to visit with Regina and she asked me to consider returning to Quiet Riot. It wasn’t a decision that I was going to immediately make right there. Here we all were dealing with Frankie’s recent passing. We gave it a lot of thought, and here we are. 

Next year marks 50 years from when I first met Frankie. I played with him off and on for 10 years before we recorded Metal Health. Frankie was my mentor into rock and roll. I grew up in a Cuban culture. We had musicians and we liked rock...but it was not performed in a traditional anglo-British Invasion kind of way. I wanted to play British Invasion music properly and Frankie was the first person I met in South Florida who actually played drums in a John Bonham style. There were no Cubans that I knew that played that way. It was not part of our culture. I didn’t want to be in Santana.....I wanted be in Led Zeppelin, and Frankie was the one who taught me the fundamentals of playing in that style." 

On Whitesnake and Steve Vai’s guitar work on Slip Of The Tongue

Sarzo: "My roots with Whitesnake go back to 1984 with Quiet Riot on the Condition Critical Tour. Whitesnake was the opening act. I met everybody and became close with the members. I had been a fan of Whitesnake since the '70s and of David (Coverdale) with Deep Purple; Burn was one of my favorite records. When I left Quiet Riot in 1985, I got a call from Whitesnake’s management. I was in the middle of putting a band together with Tommy Aldridge. We went over to their managements office and they made us an offer to join the band. Since I toured with Whitesnake, I knew about the inner conflicts that were going on within the band, so I knew there would be a new band shortly. I passed on it then because I was just getting out of one 'situation' and I didn’t want to join another 'situation.' I believe if I would have joined them in 1985, I would have never made it past the recording of the record. Nobody from that record survived! 

Slip of the Tongue is an interesting record. There was a certain vision for that record, but Adrian Vandenberg got injured during the production. Then Steve Vai was hired and he brought in a beautiful vision. He was very aware of being able to fit in the music that was already created. He brought in his own flavor though as well. It would have been a growth from the previous records even without Steve, but Steve made it growth and almost a quantum leap into the future. If you listen to that record now, it’s very contemporary. Thirty years ago when it came out, it was ahead of it’s time."

Quiet Riot is set to welcome Rudy Sarzo back into the band after an 18-year absence. Rudy was one of the original founding members of the legendary Metal Health lineup. He played bass on the Metal Health album, which sold over ten million copies and spawned the hits "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Metal Health" and on the follow-up record Condition Critical.

He appeared in the most notable music videos in the MTV age and toured with the band until 1985 and again from 1997 to 2003. During his years out of the band, Rudy Sarzo was a member of Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio, Blue Oyster Cult, Queensryche, and The Guess Who. Rudy is looking forward to recording and touring with Quiet Riot beginning in 2022.

With the move, longtime Quiet Riot bassist Chuck Wright is graciously stepping aside to continue his recent solo efforts while heightening his role with his award-winning residency show, "Ultimate Jam Night" at the legendary Whisky A Go-Go which all the members of Quiet Riot fully support.

The band and their management would like to formally thank Chuck Wright for his many years of dedication and perseverance and, most importantly, his distinguished talent. Wright has served off-and-on with Quiet Riot for nearly 40 years, appears on nine albums, and is known as the bassist for Quiet Riot's mega-hit "Metal Health" (Bang Your Head) and "Don't Wanna Let You Go". He was a contributing songwriter on 1986's QRIII and appeared in the band's video for "The Wild And The Young," among others. Wright has been one of the band's longest touring and recording members and will continue touring with the band through the end of 2021. Chuck is and will always be an invaluable member of the Quiet Riot family.

Rudy Sarzo said, "I'm excited to be back home and celebrate the Quiet Riot Legacy, which began 40 years ago next year with the recording of Metal Health, the first heavy metal album to reach #1 on the Billboard top 200 albums chart."