Intervju - Frankie Banali, Quiet Riot Quiet Riot har funnits sedan mitten av 70-talet och består idag främst av Kevin DuBrow och Frankie Banali. Senaste plattan "Rehab" (06) är en tillbakagång till det lite mer bluesiga och rockiga soundet och faktum är att det låter bättre än på väldigt länge. Bandet nådde stora framgångar med "Metal health" (83), men har mycket på grund av ändlösa medlemsbyten tappat en hel del av sin popularitet. Hur som haver, vi här på Metal Shrine.se tycker fortfarande att bandet har en hel del att erbjuda och tyckte att det kunde passa med en liten uppdatering sedan vi sist hade kontakt med Frankie. Bland annat var det lite kul att få veta att Frankie är på god fot med Carlos Cavazo och Rudy Sarzo, medan Kevin DuBrow alldeles nyligen i en intervju visade sin avsky för den senare. Hi Frankie! FB: Hi and thank you for taking the time to ask the questions! Congrats on a really good album! FB: Thank you very much. It was a fun album to make and I'm really glad to hear that you like it! What´s the story behind the title, "Rehab"? FB: Kevin DuBrow asked me if I thought it was a good title for the record. I told him that I thought it was perfect because anytime anyone would read the word "Rehab" next to "QUIET RIOT" they automatically want to find out if there was some kind of trouble. It gets people interested for all the wrong reasons, but it gets them interested! When did you start working on the album and were all the songs new creations or are some of them old ideas that´s been lying around? FB: We started writing in early 2005. All the songs are brand new with the exception of Kevin's song "It Sucks To Be You" which he had for a while, and of course the 1969 cover of the Spooky Tooth song "Evil Woman". Why did you choose to produce it yourselves? FB: Because both Kevin and I knew how we wanted the songs to be recorded, how we wanted the production and sound to represent the songs and how we wanted the album mixed. We wanted to make our record, not some producer's version of our record. Who were the main song writers on this album and did Tony Franklin or Neil Citron bring entire songs to the table or just ideas? FB: I wrote the music along with guitarist Neil Citron for the songs "Blind Faith" "Old Habits Die Hard" "In Harms Way" "Don't Think" and "Wired To The Moon." Kevin wrote two songs with guitarist Alex Grossi, and two with Michael Lardie, as well as writing on his own. Tony Franklin brought his magical bass playing to the songs but was not part of the song writing process. Tony is a marvelous bass player, my favorite bass player to work with and a wonderful person. Neil Citron I love to work with. His is a uniquely talented musician and a first class recording engineer. What did Glenn Hughes bring to the songs "Blind faith", "Old habits die hard" and "In harms way"? FB: Glenn Hughes wrote and co-wrote lyrics and melodies to those songs. Glenn is the greatest singer known to me, no one is better. He is also an amazing bass player. We were very fortunate to have had him be a part of the writing of lyrics and melodies for those songs but he did not write any of the music. Who´s idea was it to record the Spooky Tooth song "Evil woman" and why that particular one? FB: Kevin and I have been longtime Spooky Tooth fans and particularly of the song "Evil Woman" and had wanted to record it for a number of years and finally had the control, the opportunity and more importantly the right combination of musicians to do so. Was it an easy or difficult album to record, compared to previous releases? FB: No record is easy or difficult to make. Everything is based on how well prepared everyone is musically, how good the songs are, having the right chemistry between all the musicians and how organized it is. I've been managing QUIET RIOT for 12 years now, so I am very good at budgeting, organization and scheduling. Like anything else in life, you think things should go in this direction or that direction and all of a sudden you have to make a musical left turn or a right turn, or stop and turn around and find another way, but you adjust and keep going. Just like driving a car in Europe! Any fun stories from the recording sessions? FB: Not really, it was all based on working efficiently, taking the time to do it right but not wasting time because time is money and Kevin and I paid for everything. There is always time for fun and games on the road....... How does it work these days, did all of you record individually or were there times when you recorded live in the studio with all guys present? FB: Well, no one really records everything together. It hasn't been that way for decades for the most part. We were all in the studio together playing at various times, but the drums were the only thing that was kept and everything else was overdubbed over time and in different sessions. The exception was Tony Franklin who did all his tracks at his own studio and Glenn did his vocals and bass on the day we worked on "Evil Woman" which at that point was musically complete except for the bass track. Going back to Glenn Hughes again, what was it like working with him again after all these years? FB: It was very natural. Glenn is very professional, very together, a consummate vocalist and bassist, extremely nice and very, very funny. Any chance that I get to work with Glenn I would happily do so. I actually had Glenn sing for me on one song for a Led Zeppelin tribute CD that I have already completed and should be released sometime this year, which has a lot of great guest guitarists and vocalist as well as also having Tony Franklin as the bassist along with me on drums for the entire record. The Hughes/Thrall album is coming out remastered with 2 bonus tracks. As far as I understand they are new recordings of old songs. Were you part of the original versions of "Still the night" and "Love don´t come easy"? FB: No, those two songs both have drum programs on them, not acoustic drums as far as I know. Glenn and Pat did those in Pat's studio in Las Vegas. Have you kept in touch with Carlos and Rudy? FB: I still see Rudy fairly regularly when we meet for coffee, like we have been for thirty years when our separate schedules allow. I will see him this Saturday at the NAMM music convention. I ran into Carlos at a club a few months ago and we chatted and caught up on what each of us is doing. I wish both Rudy and Carlos the best. I always have and I always will, even though that combination of musicians cannot possibly work together again as a unit or as QUIET RIOT. Is there any chance of us Swedes getting to see you guys live this year? Sweden Rock Festival perhaps? FB: I heard that there may be interest in QUIET RIOT playing in Sweden this summer, but I've yet to hear anything officially. I truly hope that I can play in Sweden with QUIET RIOT because we never have and the last time I played in Sweden was in 1989 with WASP on "The Headless Children" tour. Also, the girl that trains my two horses is Swedish and told me I have to play there! Thanks Frankie! FB: My pleasure! Keep warm! Frankie Banali - Official website
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