Review: Quiet Riot - Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back

Fans seeking the definitive Quiet Riot documentary that unveils even the tiniest of details about the band’s history will not find it in Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back. Those fans would be best suited watching the Quiet Riot episode of Behind The Music. However, for fans seeking an entertaining look at what happened to Quiet Riot after Kevin Dubrow’s passing, understanding why Frankie Banali continued on after he said that he never would again, and curious about why there have been several lead singers since Kevin Dubrow, this is the one to watch.

Frankie Banali is a man who understands loss. Over the course of just a few short years, this once on top of the world heavy metal drummer lost his best friend, his band, his wife, and his career. All that was left when the dust finally settled was Banali and his young daughter. Suddenly, one of the prince’s of heavy metal was a single Dad raising a teenage girl.

Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back is a terrific documentary that looks into the world of Quiet Riot---past, present, and future. The film begins by giving a brief but informative background on the start of Quiet Riot. It chronicles the band’s journey on the road to becoming the first heavy metal band to have a number one album. Metal Health launched Quiet Riot into stardom and the band’s career was flung forward at full force. Over a decade later, the music scene had changed, things were tough for metal bands from the 80s, and lead singer extraordinaire, Kevin Dubrow, had passed away. Frankie Banali was left to pick up the pieces and determine what to do. He decided to shut Quiet Riot down for good.

After a few years passed, he changed his mind. This is where Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back gets extremely intriguing. This is the chronicle of the band getting back together, the search for a lead singer, and bassist, Chuck Wright accepting that he is not the well known member of the band that he should be.

The history of the Mark Huff era Quiet Riot is fascinating, especially as it gives Frankie Banali’s view on what happened and why Huff was let go. Huff admits his mistakes as well and understands his firing from the band. There’s a moment in Huff’s interview, where I just shook my head. I can’t understand how the lead singer of Quiet Riot could forget the lyrics to “Cum On Feel The Noize.”

The rotating door of lead singers and how they got the opportunity to sing for Quiet Riot is extremely entertaining. But it is not just lead singers who have rotated in and out of Quiet Riot. My favorite moment of the documentary consists of Chuck Wright and lead guitarist Alex Grossi being asked to name every member of Quiet Riot. While they were unable to get very far, Frankie Banali, gives a white board history of band members that is just fantastic! I don’t think there is a band in the history of rock music that has had more members.

Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back is an exceptional documentary. It is a wonderful look behind the curtain and gives an insider view on what happens to a former number one band when they attempt to overcome tragedy and make a comeback with new members. It shares the doubt, hope, fear, excitement, and joy of a band starting over. If you are a fan of Quiet Riot, or rock music in general, this is a documentary that you are bound to enjoy.

Visit: www.quietriotmovie.com to see the film for yourself. 

Concert Review: M3 2015 Night One Featuring KIX

May 1, 2015 

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than two months since the M3 Festival. M3 2015 was another year of absolute fun had by all. Once again I met Rob Rockitt in Maryland and we geared up for our annual M3 Festival of rock and roll. There was a lot of food, drink, and fun to be had in the days leading up to the show, but on May 1^st it was all about the music. The opening night lineup featured KIX as the headliners and brought Quiet Riot, Dio Disciples, Trixter, and Dokken to the party. 

Trixter

25 years since their debut album landed, Trixter still has it going on. The band has kept busy and even released a new album on June 9^th, Human Era. It’s good to see that Trixter is still making new music and working hard. And while their M3 performance was short and sweet, Trixter managed to perform a new song, play a track from their last album, Tattoos and Misery, and pull out the obligatory classic hits. Trixter sounded terrific and the audience sing along for “One In A Million” and “Give It To Me Good” was in full effect, showing that Trixter still has their fare share of fans as well. It was a great way to kick off M3 2015. 

Dio Disciples

Dio Disciples are a band of rockers who have gathered together to keep the memory and the music of Ronnie James Dio alive. Some of rock’s greatest including Simon Wright, Vinny Appice, Tim “Ripper” Owens, and Oni Logan are in the lineup. Having never seen Dio live (a shame I will take to my grave), I knew this was the closest I was going to get. What I love most about this band is the fact that it takes two vocalists to match the late great Ronnie James Dio. Both Oni Logan and Tim Owens take vocal duties in this band, and neither of them disappointed. Dio Disciples was flat out excellent, performing all of the greatest Dio hits. I was extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to witness them in concert and do hope that they plan to take this show on an extended tour. They were sensational! 

Quiet Riot

When I heard that Jizzy Pearl was singing for Quiet Riot and that they would be performing at the M3 Festival, I was ecstatic! I love Jizzy Pearl. I was a huge fan of Love/Hate, and have followed Jizzy’s career through LA Guns, Ratt, solo material, and now Quiet Riot. He is definitely one of my favorite singers of the 80s era. Having the opportunity to see him front Quiet Riot was a delight. The band’s M3 performance was amazing showing that Quiet Riot is still a force to be reckoned with! Classic hits from the first two albums were performed and sounded as great today as they did in the early 80s. Jizzy Pearl fit in perfectly with the rest of the band and the end result was stunning. If this version of Quiet Riot were to come to a club near me, I’d have tickets in my hand immediately. 

Dokken

I will be completely honest---I did not see one minute of Dokken’s performance. I heard most of it, but I was not in my seat for it. I have never been a huge Dokken fan. They have some songs that I like and I own a couple of their classic albums, but I’ve never been all in with them. And without George Lynch, they are almost not worth seeing. Don Dokken is a shell of his former self, and the songs don’t sound the same without Lynch playing the leads and solos. So, when Dokken came on stage, I took it as an opportunity to get some food, drink, and hang out with Rob Rockitt and a few other guys that he knew. And they didn’t bother to play my favorite Dokken song anyway (“Burning Like A Flame”), so I really didn’t miss much. 

Kix

What can I say about this band that hasn’t been said thousands of times already? Every year when they give their performance at M3 it is absolutely amazing. I am always left stunned at how talented this group is on stage. This year was no exception. And as an added bonus, Kix had some new music to perform. Having purchased and fallen in love with their new CD, I was extremely pleased with their decision to play new material. Five songs from Rock Your Face Off were pulled out live. And while my favorite of the disc, “Rolling In Honey,” was not given a live performance, the tracks they did play were superb.

Kix has been rocking the masses for over 30 years and still bring the talent every time they perform. The Maryland crowd loved seeing their hometown heroes and everyone showed positive response to the new material, even singing along to the songs. That pleased me, because I hope that it encourages the band to consider another new album in the future. And if a new album doesn’t happen right away, perhaps it will encourage them to continue to include the new material in their setlist. 

The night was well rounded with familiar classics too. “Sex,” “Girl Money,” “The Itch,” “Cold Blood,” and “Blow My Fuse” were all performed. Each one of them sounded exceptional in their own right. Steve Whiteman still has amazing stage presence. Mixing in jokes and stories between the songs, setting the crowd up for the appropriate sing along, and dancing like a madman possessed on the stage, his energy is second to none. Bands with singers half his age would find it hard to keep up with his vitality and stamina.

When Kix closed out the night with “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” we were exhausted but satisfied. A grin filled my face. Kix had once again blown me away and already had me yearning for next year, when I can hopefully see them again. 2016 can’t come soon enough!

Kix Setlist

Wheels In Motion

Girl Money

No Ring Around Rosie

You’re Gone

Sex

The Itch

Midnight Dynamite

Mean Miss Adventure

Don’t Close Your Eyes

Get It While It’s Hot

Cold Blood

Love Me With Your Top Down

Blow My Fuse

Encore

Can’t Stop The Show

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Quiet Riot: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back

At this year’s M3 Rock Festival (review coming soon), Quiet Riot was all the talk. Not only is the extremely talented Jizzy Pearl singing for them now, but there were also many questions around their new documentary. When is it coming out? Has it been screened yet? And most importantly --- how can I see this film? Well, you have questions and The Guru has answers.

Quiet Riot will be releasing their documentary, Quiet Riot: Well Now We’re All Here, There’s No Way Back on DVD this summer. In anticipation of the release, the documentary will be screening at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14^th. The full press release follows.

THE YEAR’S FUNNIEST HEARTBREAKING ROCK DOC

“QUIET RIOT: WELL NOW YOU’RE HERE, THERE’S NO WAY BACK” SCREENS AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL ON MAY 14

“If you don’t carry on the legacy of your friend, nobody else will” - Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne)

“QUIET RIOT: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back”, the award-winning feature documentary about the seminal heavy-metal band Quiet Riot, screens at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, May 14 at 6 pm at the Hotel Gray d'Albion, 38 Rue Des Serbes, Cannes, 06408, France. For more information, and to see the trailer, visit www.QuietRiotMovie.com.  The inspiring and surprisingly relatable documentary is an inside look at Frankie’s road to recovery after losing his best friend and Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow to a drug overdose in 2007 as he forges ahead to conquer his loss, regain his life and put the band back together. 

The film begins in 2010, three years following the loss of Kevin DuBrow. Frankie Banali faces a crossroads in his life and finds himself talking to former Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo who said, “If you don’t carry on the legacy of your friend, nobody else will.”

At times both utterly tragic and downright hilarious, like an outtake from “Spinal Tap”, the film follows Frankie’s journey through the emotional feat of trying to fill the void left by his singer and best friend.

The 105-minute character-driven documentary looks beyond the guts and glory of the common getting-the-band-back-together tale. "QUIET RIOT: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back" reveals an unforgettable man who uses ambition, relentless determination and principle to navigate through the obstacles that attempt to control his fate.

Quiet Riot made history when they topped the Billboard Album Chart in 1983 with the first #1 heavy-metal album, “Metal Health”, that sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.  This paved the way for bands from Motley Crue to Poison and turned the 80s into the decade of heavy-metal rock.

Watch for cameos from Matt Sorum and Stephen Adler (Guns N’ Roses), Glen Hughes (Deep Purple), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne), Dana Strum (Slaughter), John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie) and Martha Quinn (Original MTV VJ).

“When Frankie told me he was planning to meet with Kevin DuBrow’s mother to get her blessing to go on with the band and find a new singer, I thought this would be an extraordinary story for a documentary,” explains director and producer Regina Russell.

Regina gained access to the private video and photo archives of the band. She followed Frankie for four years and interviewed many of the integral characters in the band’s history.

Quiet Riot rocks and I’m sure this documentary will too! Get some this summer!

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Spring Cleaning Edition

This weekend is one of my favorite weekends here at the Vie household. It’s spring cleaning weekend. Once a year, we go through the entire house and clean everything from top to bottom. We go around getting rid of the winter grime, throw out junk we haven’t touched in a year, and basically make the house shine.

While it’s my favorite weekend, it is the least favorite weekend of Mrs. Vie and our daughter. Both of them give me the same look when I profess my excitement for spring cleaning weekend as they do when I tell them I am going to see Iron Maiden. It’s not quite an eye roll, but it is certainly a look that says “we just don’t get you sometimes.” Well, too each their own.

To their credit, both girls pitch in and help, albeit very begrudgingly. Regardless of their attitude, I am excited for this weekend. I even plan on starting a room tonight so I have one room conquered before the “official” spring cleaning begins tomorrow.

Here’s what rocked this week:

Rockitt Rant Gets It Right
Over at Hard Rock Hideout, Rob Rockitt has blessed us with another wonderful Rockitt Rant. This time, he’s ranting about Poison needing to give us some new music. I couldn’t agree more!

Record Store Day Is Coming
In what is now considered an annual tradition, Record Store Day 2011 is coming up fast. This year it is scheduled to take place on April 16, 2011. This year finds another slew of releases that will only be available at these independent retailers. Most of them will only be available for a limited time. You can get the full list by clicking the link above. Be sure to visit your nearest local independent store on April 16th.

Quiet Riot Hitting The Road With Warrant And L.A. Guns
I’m not sure what to make of this. First, only Australian dates have been announced (so far). Second, should Quiet Riot really be touring? Perhaps it’s best to remember Kevin DuBrow by retiring the band. Last, it’s Warrant without Jani Lane and Phil Lewis’ version of L.A. Guns. If this show comes to the states, how much would you pay to see it? I’d give $10, but not much more than that.

Rolling Stone Magazine's Spring Music Preview
Over at Rolling Stone, they have been kind enough to share their spring music preview, to help us gear up for all the great music that is about to be released. It comes complete with the ability to listen to a song from certain albums. While there are some albums that I am really looking forward to, the one I want most of all is Pop Evil’s War of Angels. Last check, it was still delayed with no new release date.

For more news, reviews, updates, complaints, and tour announcements, you should follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/ryovie

Poison/Warrant - July 8, 2001

The Glam Slam Metal Jam. That was how the third Poison concert I ever attended was billed. And what a metal jam it was. With Poison headlining the night, they took Warrant, Quiet Riot, and Enuff Z’Nuff out on the road with them for one heck of a rock and roll party. I was seeing the concert with Tommy once again and we looked forward to a day of rock and roll in the hair metal vein.

Our seats were not as good as they had been the last two years we saw Poison in 1999 and 2000 but they were still pretty decent. We were in section 301, with a solid view of the stage. It was a warm July afternoon and sitting in the amphitheater with a cool breeze rolling through, set everything up for a perfect day.

Although I had not seen any of these acts live (with the exception of Poison), I was most looking forward to seeing Warrant. I had worshipped them as a teenager and to finally have the opportunity to see them live in concert was like a dream come true. Add in the fact that they were on the road with Poison and it made for a blissful double bill.

Enuff Z’Nuff took the stage first, and the thing I remember most about their performance was when lead singer Donnie Vie told us that the band had just released their tenth album. I was shocked and somewhat dumbfounded. I remember looking at Tommy and asking if five of those albums were “greatest hits.” How could Enuff Z’Nuff have ten albums?

I obviously knew their debut album, having owned a copy since it was released. I also knew that they had a second album titled Strength. After that, I lost track of the band. I would believe that they had released albums since then, but 8 more…? I was skeptical. Needless to say, when I looked it up at home the next day, they did have ten albums out.

Enuff Z’Nuff started the night off with some great rock and roll. For Now, Fly High Michelle, and of course New Thing, were all performed. The band also performed some songs that I did not know from their vast catalog of records. Enuff Z’Nuff sounded great and of course New Thing was the beloved song of their set. As a warm up act, they served their purpose and warmed up the crowd with a quick, intense, 30-minute set.

Quiet Riot was up next and I had never seen them in concert before. Sadly, this would be my first and last time as Kevin Dubrow would pass away before I ever saw the band again. Quiet Riot came onstage with a vengeance, and you would have sworn they were the headliners. Rocking from the moment they appeared, this band brought the rock.

Powering through hits from Mental Health and Condition Critical, these boys were on fire! Mama, We’re All Crazy Now, Mental Health, Slick Black Cadillac, and the ballad Thunderbird were all performed with an intensity rarely seen in live performances. Of course, their big closer was Cum On Feel The Noise, which is funny to every fan of the band, because Quiet Riot never even wanted to record that song.

Overall, Quiet Riot was amazing and they really set the tone for the rest of the evening. It was going to be extremely hard for Warrant and Poison to follow Quiet Riot’s set – they had their work cut out for them.

Warrant followed and they were up for the challenge! By this time the sun was just starting to descend over the horizon. Warrant would start their set in daylight, but end it in darkness. The band came out to Down Boys, which whipped the crowd into a frenzy. I was surprised to see them open with that song, as I thought they would save it for a closer.

Dirty, Rotten, Filthy, Stinkin’, Rich came next and although I was never a huge fan of that song, it sounded great in concert. Jani Lane sold the song to the crowd and the rest of the band made it work. We were all singing along by the time the chorus hit.

Some gems from Dog Eat Dog were played, much to my delight. I’ve always been a huge fan of that album and thought that it never got the attention it deserved. Warrant delivered with Hole In My Wall and Machine Gun back to back. The required ballads showed up soon after. Heaven and I Saw Red were played and the crowd ate it up (especially the girls). It was nice to see that Jani Lane and the band hadn’t lost their touch over the years. They performed each ballad note perfect.

Jani Lane looked great and sounded even better. He appeared to be having the time of his life, enjoying every second of being on stage and performing for the crowd. Jani has always been a great front man, and being reunited with his band certainly helped to lift his spirits. His was fit physically, mentally, and vocally. It was quite impressive and a bit of an inspiration.

The band closed with Uncle Tom’s Cabin prior to hitting the stage for the encore of Cherry Pie. Of course the amphitheater and lawn went bananas once they heard the opening notes to Cherry Pie. Jani Lane may hate that song, but the crowd never gets tired of hearing it. I thought it was performed with passion and I was one happy man after seeing Warrant in concert.



That left the big headliners of the night. Although we were winded, we were still ready for more. Poison would come out and deliver. Prancing onto the stage with Look What The Cat Dragged In, Bret Michaels and the band were in peak physical condition. They came to party, rock, and deliver the goods.

This was my third year in a row seeing Poison live, so I sort of knew what to expect. Bret came onstage in his leopard fur with his cowboy hat and quickly tossed both to the side by the end of the song. Look What The Cat Dragged In led to I Want Action which led to Ride The Wind. A pretty awesome three-pack of songs to get the evening started!

Cry Tough was the first surprise of the night, and it was a welcome one. Cry Tough is Tommy’s favorite Poison song and a song we spent many, many hours listening to as teenagers. To hear it live (for the first time ever) was an incredible feeling.

The requisite ballads of Something To Believe In and Every Rose Has Its Thorn were played, of course. However, Poison had some additional surprises. The first was to let CC Deville step up to the microphone and sing lead vocals on his very own song. I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine was a new studio song that Poison had released on their latest live record (Power To The People). It’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek, enjoyable tune that was more fun to hear in concert. CC and the band did a great job with it live.

The second surprise of the night came in the form of Rock Star a new Poison gem that had only been released as a single (at that point). It would later be included on HollyWeird (the last Poison studio album of original songs). A plethora of hits closed out the night. Fallen Angel, Let It Play, Every Rose, Unskinny Bop, and Nothing But A Good Time finished the main set. The encore, of course, was Talk Dirty To Me which got the loudest cheers of the evening.
Overall, Poison once again kicked ass. Adding new songs mixed in with the greatest hits was a nice touch and this was their strongest performance yet. The band was tight, the songs sounded great, and the setlist was near perfect. I don’t believe that Poison would play a better concert than this one and for that one night, I enjoyed every moment they were onstage.

Setlists

Warrant
Down Boys
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinkin’ Rick
Hole In My Wall
Machine Gun
32 Pennies
Heaven
I Saw Red
AYM
So Damn Pretty
Bed Of Roses
Sub Human
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Encore
Cherry Pie

Poison
Look What The Cat Dragged In
I Want Action
Ride The Wind
Cry Tough
Something To Believe In
Your Mamma Don’t Dance
I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine
Rock Star
Fallen Angel
Let It Play
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Unskinny Bop
Nothin’ But A Good Time
Encore
Talk Dirty To Me