Kelly Garni

In the 1970s, Quiet Riot developed a friendly but intense rivalry with Van Halen before either act had signed a record deal.

Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni.

The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though that version of the band was mired in turmoil that would eventually see Garni fired for making death threats towards DuBrow.

Formed in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, Quiet Riot became one of the more successful hard rock acts in Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 1970s.

Originally known as Mach 1, the name was soon changed to Little Women before the name Quiet Riot was finally settled upon in May 1975.

The band's name was inspired by a quote from Rick Parfitt of the British band Status Quo.

Parfitt stated that he thought the name "Quite Right" would make a good band name, and DuBrow amended this to "Quiet Riot".

Drew Forsyth, who had previously played with Rhoads and Garni in a band called Mildred Pierce, was hired as the new group's drummer, and a Los Angeles photographer named Kevin DuBrow was hired as lead vocalist.

DuBrow was not at all what Rhoads had in mind for his new band, and he was not well-liked by his Quiet Riot bandmates, a situation that caused a great deal of tension within the band.

Rhoads had envisioned a frontman in the vein of Alice Cooper or David Bowie, but Dubrow was persistent and would not take no for an answer.

In the end, Rhoads and Garni decided that if nothing else, DuBrow shared their enthusiasm and he was hired.

Rhoads became the focal point of the band, both musically and visually.

The "polka-dot theme" he incorporated onstage became Quiet Riot's visual signature during their time on the L.A. club circuit, with many fans showing up at the band's shows wearing polka-dot bow-ties and vests in emulation of what the guitarist wore on stage.

Musically, Rhoads' talent as a lead guitarist began to spread by word of mouth, and hard rock fans from across Los Angeles began frequenting the band's gigs to hear what the fuss was about.

While Van Halen signed to Warner Bros. in 1977 and released a debut album that would achieve Gold certification, Quiet Riot's contract with Sony would see their first two albums released only in Japan, albums that to this day have never been released in the US.

The band recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QR I, in 1977.

Coupled with their inability to secure an American recording deal, tensions between vocalist DuBrow and bassist Garni began to tear the band apart.

According to Garni, "I was on a constant quest to get him out of the band and get a different singer. I hated him, he hated me and we could not find any way whatsoever to get along which caused a lot of tension in the band and it put a lot of stress on Randy to try to be neutral."

Their second album Quiet Riot II, or QR II, was recorded at The Record Plant and released in Japan in 1978.

As Quiet Riot II was being recorded, the relationship between Garni and DuBrow finally reached its breaking point.

After robbing a bar the previous night and stealing liquor, a drunken Garni unsuccessfully attempted to convince Rhoads to replace the vocalist.

Garni drunkenly fired a handgun through the ceiling and a fistfight between him and Rhoads ensued.

Garni then hatched a plan to drive across town to the Record Plant and kill DuBrow, who was there recording vocals for Quiet Riot II.

Garni was arrested for drunk driving before he reached the studio, and the plan to kill his bandmate waned after he sobered up.

Nonetheless, Garni's time in Quiet Riot came to a swift end.

Future Mötley Crüe founder Nikki Sixx auditioned to replace Garni, but Sixx "didn't know the names of the notes and couldn't play the instrument" at that point, according to DuBrow.

Rudy Sarzo, an acquaintance of DuBrow's, was hired and was pictured and credited on the album QR II, though it was actually Garni who performed on the album.

Though he downplayed the inner conflict within the band, DuBrow would confess years later that this period of the band's existence had been extremely frustrating: "We had one of the best guitar players ever in our band and we couldn't get arrested!"

By 1979, Rhoads began to tire of the turmoil within Quiet Riot as well as their failure to sign a US recording deal.

Although there are no original members left in the band, Banali (who had been a member on and off since 1982) reformed Quiet Riot in 2010, and by 2020, it had consisted of himself on drums, lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl, bassist Chuck Wright and guitarist Alex Grossi.

The band has continued to record and tour following DuBrow's death.

Their most commercially successful lineup consisted of DuBrow alongside guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Frankie Banali, and in 1983 released their breakthrough album Metal Health, which is known for being the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard album chart.

The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Cum On Feel the Noize", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" (both cover songs of the glam rock band Slade), and "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)".

The band is ranked at No. 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

Despite several lineup changes and brief breakups, Quiet Riot continued to record and tour until DuBrow's death from a cocaine overdose in 2007.

In 2014, they released their first album in eight years, titled Quiet Riot 10, which was followed by Road Rage in 2017 and Hollywood Cowboys in 2019.

Banali died in August 2020 following a sixteen-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

About three weeks after his death, the surviving members of the band announced that they would move forward without Banali, who wished that they continue by keeping the Quiet Riot name alive; he was replaced by Johnny Kelly.

In August 2021, Quiet Riot released a statement saying that bassist Rudy Sarzo would be rejoining the band, as well as announcing the departure of Wright.

The new lineup plans to release new music and tour throughout 2022 and 2023.