Then you also were in Heavy Bones.. (which by the way is in my 10 ten favorite cds EVER).. how did that come about?
 Glad you liked it! The band was initially put together by Joel Ellis the singer, and Gary Hoey on guitar. They had a bass player at that time but was later replaced by Rex Tennyson. I knew Joel from his Cats & Boots band. They were looking for a drummer and I auditioned like everyone else and they asked me to join. Gary Hoey is a brilliant guitarist. One of the best I've had the opportunity to work with. Besides Heavy Bones, I recorded two of Gary's solo records, as well as bits and pieces ending up on several other of his releases.

What happened to that band?
It fell apart for all the usual reasons with all the usual suspects.

Still talk to any of those guys.. or know what they are up to?

No, I haven't seen Rex since the band broke up, ran in Joel for about a second about a year or so afterwards and haven't really had any exposure to Gary since recording his second solo record in 1998.

You also played with alot of side bands, and studio sessions... Billy Idol, Julliet, etc. any of them really stand out as some of your best work.. or that someone should check out that hasn't?
If you check out the discography section on my Website  you can see some of the sessions I've done.

If I had to choose one largely unknown record that I participated in it would be the classic "Hughes/Thrall" record. I got a call to audition for the band. I was very excited at the possibility of just auditioning for a band that had Glenn Hughes in it. I was already for many years a fan of Glenn's since he was in the English group "Trapeze" and I knew all their songs. I was excited about Glenn. Glenn Hughes is the best singer in the world, period.  I already knew all about Pat Thrall because of my love for progressive music. I went down with my big sized Ludwig green sparkle 26" kick drum set and the first song we played was "Hold Out Your Life" which came so easy to me that the parts I played that first time were pretty much what ended up becoming the drum parts for the recorded version. Right after they got over the sound of my drum set and realized that I could actually play, we just started running down songs. I didn't get the position right away. I had to come back and play two more times before they offered me the position. I think it was a combination of not knowing what to make of me or my style. My involvement with the band and the Hughes/Thrall record is something I am still very proud of.

What was your favorite package tour through the years? any good road stories....
I think the dates with did in the UK with Judas Priest in 1983 were great as were the dates with Iron maiden in the US the same year, but we were never really part of what has become "package tours" other than the Poison tour which was fun to do.

Least favorite? and why...
Opening for Black Sabbath on the "Born Again" tour was unpleasant because we were given very little stage room.

Favorite video or videos you made through the years.. ?
Probably "Metal Health" and "The Wild and the Young."

and Least favorite...
 "Twilight Hotel."

Now onto the present time... you are back in Quiet Riot.. again, with yet another line-up.. Tell us how that came about again... and where is Rudy and Carlos?
Like most bands, QUIET RIOT has had a lot of member changes over the years and change is inevitable. Rudy is playing in Dio and Carlos is working with Vinny Appice.

Touring plans?
We begin the 2005 tour year with dates in England in early February, followed by additional dates in Europe including a festival in Spain, then off to Mexico, Latin and South America. We will tour this summer in the Rock Never Stops  package that includes Cinderella, Ratt and Firehouse as well.

Your also releasing a new cd... or old rare live tracks... tell us about that release?
 While QUIET RIOT was on hiatus I was approached by Cleopatra Records wanting to know if he had any live and studio demo material for a release. I contacted all the "Metal Health" era members to let everyone know of the offer to release some of the archival material. My thinking was that since there was no active QUIET RIOT at that time, it would be an interesting retrospective release for QUIET RIOT. I had no idea that it would be released just at a time when QUIET RIOT had been resurrected by Kevin and I as well as giving "new" product for us to promote and tour. It was not a premeditated release based on our getting back together musically. It turned out really well but Cleopatra added a gap delay between each song which was not how the masters were delivered. They were supposed to recall the incorrectly manufactured discs so that the gap delay between songs can be corrected, but the first pressing has already sold out, so the new pressings will be corrected. This CD will also be released in Europe and Japan sometime in 2005.
 

Any "new" music planned to be recorded this year?
We are all currently writing collectively and individually to that end. We hope to record new material this year for release late 2005 or early 2006.

Any other new bands or side projects your working on currently?
The odd session here and there. One for a future record with guitarist Neil Citron and another for guitarist Steve Fister.

Do you have a website people can keep up with you on?
Come one, come all to www.frankie-banali.com

How do you feel about Mp3 sharing?
I think it's OK up to a point. I understand how the fans feel when they buy a record that only has one or two good songs, it's not fair. At the same time, if bands are putting the energy and expense of recording and can't even get their expenses back through sales due to file sharing, the industry will die out because of loss of income. A tough issue on both sides.

How do you feel the internet has changed how bands are promoted these days?
It's a wide open promotion medium because it reaches far more people than any other communication technology to date. Almost everyone has a computer and everyone is on them day and night.

Any new bands your into?
Not really......

What would be in your cd player right now?
 Led Zeppelin

How do you feel about what happened to Dimebag? Where you guys friends?
I was fortunate enough to play a song live with Darrel at a Randy Rhoads memorial concert years ago and he played wonderfully. Darrel was one of the nicest people in music and a great guitarist. He was always great to me each time we saw each other, as was Vinny. Such a waste and so disturbing. My thoughts and prayers are with Darrel and my sincerest sympathy to Darrel's family, loved ones and all of his fans and the fans of Pantera and Damageplan. No one deserves a violent death, and certainly not Darrel. God bless him.

Do you think it will change how people will feel about going to hard rock concerts.....?
 Possible at larger events, but at the club level it will probably change little if at all.

Thanks so much Frankie.. is there anything you would like to say to your fans reading this?
I hope that if you are a fan of QUIET RIOT, you will come out to see us when we are on tour and I thank you for your years of support!

Good luck.. and hope to see you on the road soon!

Quiet Riot "Cum On Feel the Noize" Live in Germany

Heavy Bones "4am T.M." Video

W.A.S.P. "The Real Me" video

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and chat about what you thought of the interview.