Oct 7, 2015 6 min read

The first Cape Coral Bike Night is kicking off on a high heavy metal note Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Dixie Roadhouse, with rock legends Quiet Riot performing an all-ages outdoor concert starting at 8 p.m.

The Quiet Riot quartet will be performing their popular rock anthems, such as “Cum on Feel the Noize” and “Metal Health,” as well as a bevy of other hits such as “Mama We’re All Crazy Now,” “The Wild and the Young” and “Slick Black Cadillac.”

Dirty Skirty will be the opener for Quiet Riot, with gates opening at 6 p.m. Dirty Skirty will play at 7 p.m. and Quiet Riot will take the stage at 8 p.m. Cost is a $5 cover charge for the outdoor concert, which also enables 21-and-over customers into the Dixie Roadhouse.

With more than 30 years of rocking and rolling throughout the world, Quiet Riot has undergone many different transformations on and off the stage, with rock veteran drummer Frankie Banali experiencing the vast majority of them.

Quiet Riot stormed onto the rock scene in 1983 with their album “Metal Health,” which eventually held the No. 1 spot and went platinum five times over in the process.

Ever since then, Quiet Riot has been recognizable all over the world for two of their huge singles, one being a Slade cover of “Cum on Feel the Noize” and their own “Metal Health.”

“We are very fortunate to have the one-two punch of ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Metal Health (Bang Your Head),’ which continue to get solid air play nationwide, as well as being featured in numerous movies, multiple Super Bowl games and numerous sporting events, which has kept the music of Quiet Riot represented and alive and well,” Banali said. “I look forward to those two songs, which traditionally end the Quiet Riot set live. I still get a thrill from playing them and I never tire of playing them.

“They continue to be a lot of fun for me. I also know how much the fans love and appreciate those two particular songs, so I feed off their rock and roll energy and it gives me great pleasure to play them.”

Although the pressure of following up “Metal Health” was quiet intense, the band went into the studio the next year to record “Condition Critical” and it was released July 7, 1984, and featured another Slade cover in “Mamma We’re All Crazy Now.”

Banali said he hears plenty of times that “Condition Critical” was a failure, but he quietly disagrees with that assessment.

“The pressure was huge from the label when it was time to record the followup to ‘Metal Health,’ which at the time had sold over six million copies in the U.S. alone and a gold single for a million sales of the ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ single,” Banali said. “‘Metal Health’ has sold well over 10 million copies worldwide when I stopped counting 12 years ago in 2003.

“I always find it humorous when people say that ‘Condition Critical’ was a disappointment, because it ‘only’ sold two million in the USA. I always smile when I hear or read that and then keep moving forward.”

But Quiet Riot’s biggest challenge didn’t come in the chart battles, but in the form of consistency. The band has had many different members throughout its 30 years with changeover being prevalent.

It was in 2007 when Quiet Riot was dealt its hardest blow with the passing of longtime lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow, who’s high-notes and well-toned screams are heard on the band’s greatest accomplishment in “Metal Health.”

The 52-year-old DuBrow was on and off the Quiet Riot stage over the last 30 years before his untimely death. DuBrow and Banali were best friends and they each played important roles of keeping the Quiet Riot label alive.

So it was one of Banali’s most emotional and toughest decisions to go out and find someone to take over the lead vocals for his best friend, DuBrow.

“The current Quiet Riot lineup includes two members who were in the band when the late great Kevin DuBrow passed away in 2007,” Banali said. “Chuck Wright on bass, who has been a on again off again bassist for Quiet Riot for over three decades, along with guitarist Alex Grossi.

“Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate, Ratt, L.A. Guns) is in his second year with Quiet Riot and it’s been going very well. We have been on the road every weekend for the past seven months. There is no replacing Kevin, he was one of a kind and dearly missed. I took three years off from Quiet Riot after he died and when I decided to bring Quiet Riot back.”

Quiet Riot has been doing the tour grind for the last five years and have played venues of all sizes. Banali, who also acts as the band’s manager, has accepted numerous dates for 2016 already, which does prove the 1980’s bands are still in the forefront of live entertainment.

Just recently, Quiet Riot did a show with Twisted Sister’s lead singer Dee Snyder’s solo project in Montana in front of 20,000.

No matter what venue Quiet Riot does play, albeit a coliseum show in Mexico City or a more intimate setting of the Dixie Roadhouse, the band will put the same hard rock intensity wherever they are performing.

“I have a policy with Quiet Riot, that a smaller venue will get the same high energy set and songs from us that we do at festivals and arenas, because each and every fan deserves the best live show that Quiet Riot can give them,” Banali said. “Thirty years down the road, we are all very fortunate to still be able to perform live at any level, be it club dates, arenas and festivals. It keeps the rock and roll and metal scene healthy for the fans and the bands.

“And the touring will continue as long as the fans want to keeping coming out.”

People can expect the popular hits to be featured on the Quiet Riot lineup come Oct. 10, at The Dixie Roadhouse. There will be a healthy dose of songs off the “Metal Health” album, as well as some from the “Condition Critical” and “Quiet Riot III” albums.

“There also will be some surprises, as well,” Banali said of the Oct. 10, show. “It should be a hot time in Cape Coral at the Dixie Roadhouse on Oct.10! So, see you there to Bang Your Head!”