They Were the #1 Rock Band in the WORLD...1 Interview RUINED Them OVERNIGHT! | Professor of Rock

Poll: What is your pick for the GREATEST Heavy Metal or Hard Rock record of the rock era?

I was a kid in high school, writing for my high school newspaper...I told the teacher in charge of the newspaper that I wanted to interview a rock act. He said there was no way I could do it...challenge accepted! I used the school phone to call New York, home of their label. They directed me to their publicly people in LA. I called LA and they directed me to people in San Francisco. I got ahold of them, and put me on the guest list for backstage access in Salinas, CALIFORNIA! I interviewed Quiet Riot just weeks after Metal Health came out. It was glorious. I received an award from the local newspaper for journalistic excellence...much to my teachers dismay. I love Quiet Riot.

I was 34 and a restaurant manager in Denver in the mid 90s. Of course we had quite a few young people working there. There was a young guy, 19 years old, who was a bus boy. He was a good kid, but he came from a troubled family. He had moved out from his parents’ house at 17. The only way he could make ends meet was to have a roommate and he and his best friend shared an apartment. His best friend got in trouble and went to prison for 5 years. This young man was going to lose his apartment and become homeless. As his boss, I told him he could stay at my place until he found another roommate. He was rough around the edges. He had long hair and hadn’t finished high school, but he always seemed to be a good kid at work. Well, he wound up being an amazing house guest. One day when he was off, I came home from work to find him cleaning and listening to music. I was surprised to find him listening to a mix tape he had made and it included Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Van Halen and more bands from the 80s. He said he couldn’t stand rap and wasn’t into grunge. I let this kid live with me for six months while he tried to figure out his life. One day he came to me and said he enlisted in the army. He would be leaving in less than a month. I was happy for him, but was a little sad that he would be leaving. He thanked me for giving him some stability and a chance to get on his feet. He went to boot camp in August of 1996. He still stays in touch. He emails me often and texts weekly. He’s married and has two kids now. He did so well in the army he went through officer training school and is currently a captain, planning a retirement from the military. He recently shared a music playlist and Metal Health was on it.

In 1983 I was 18 a Metalhead and managing a small indie Record Store. "Metal Health" was a big seller at the time. While I found the album OK I thought it was a bit Cheesy. Fast forward 10 years and I'm sitting at a booth in a bar with my girlfriend across from my girlfriends friend and her new boyfriend. The guy looked familiar but I couldn't place him, about 20 minutes later it came to me "He's Kevin DuBrow". We became friends that night and everything I had perceived about him was wrong. I had always thought he was some know it all blow hard, but he wasn't. Never once in all the times we hung out did I ever hear him say "Don't you know who I am"? Or pull any "I'm a Rock Star" crap. Yes, Kevin had some Demons but we all did back then. He was a genuine good guy and I miss him.

Halloween 1983, I was nine years old. I was such a huge Quiet Riot fan. My mom had a cool black leather motorcycle jacket, the real deal. And so that sparked the idea I could wear it backwards as a straight jacket, like the album cover. I didn't stop there. I cut up some cardboard into the shape of the iconic metal mask, complete with cardboard straps exactly as they were shown on the music video, so I could wear the mask. All I had to go by back then was the album cover, but then got to see different angles from the music video so I could get all the details right. Like the little chain that hangs down on one side. I made that chain out of paper clips haha! So that was my Halloween 1983 costume. I thought I was the coolest nine year old on the planet, destined to meet the band and go on tour!

Whenever I hear about Quiet Riot I think of that Simpsons episode: Dick Clark: "And that was Whitesnake!" Guitar player: "We're not Whitesnake, dude! We're Poison!" Bassist: "I thought we were Quiet Riot?" Drummer: "It says here we're Ratt!"

One of the greatest 18 months of my life: Pyromania, Metal Health, Shout at the Devil, Stay Hungry and VH's 1984.

Actually, Judas Priest was the band that broke 80's metal with the release of Unleashed in the East in late 79, followed up with British Steel in 80, Point on Entry in 81, and their mega hit metal album Screaming for Vengeance in 82. QR was just the lucky band that broke huge first on the LA scene as an American metal band.

1983! What a great year for Metal, Along with Quiet Riot. Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil" Ozzy's "Bark at the Moon" and Dio's "Holy Diver" among others ruled my walkman.

I met Rudy Sarzo and Randy Rhoads brother & sister at an RR Remembered event and what a class act Rudy is, truly amazing person. Kathy Rhoads is an absolute sweetheart and Kelle has amazing stories about growing up with Randy… I’m honored to have met all of them!!

Quiet Riot's success story really owes much to Slade. Slade was about 8 or 9 years to early, but had some real melodic gems. I still watch Slade's videos every now and again.

True story, I went to high school with Kevin DuBrow, Grant high in Van Nuys, CA. He was my nemesis, he was a shag haircut, with platform heals and a big mouth. We had a few run-ins, but we were all cool. But, I was friends with the Porcaro brothers, Jeff, Mike, and Steve. They didn't play a lot of hair music. Eventually, they would become Toto. We were all in school at the same time, and music was everywhere. I was fortunate to have seen Jeff Porcaro play with Steely Dan and meet the band. It's good to know the drummer. And go figure, Kevin DuBrow becomes a metal icon, life can be very strange. It wasn't the water.

In 1983, I met (I was 14 years old btw) Kevin Dubrow, Carlos Cavazo, Rudy Sarzo, David Coverdale and Neil Murray one night at a Holiday Inn in Pocatello, Idaho. They were staying there because they were playing the next night at The Mini Dome (now The Holt Arena). Everyone I mentioned was exceptionally kind to their young fans, my friend and I. Coverdale asked if we were going to see the show? My friend said that we were both broke, which was true. David Coverdale asked us to hold on a minute and went into I presume his room. We talked with Rudy Sarzo and when Coverdale came back, he gave us 6 tickets and told us to bring our friends and enjoy the show! Blew our young minds for sure! All of these guys were VERY nice to us except one.... Mr. Dubrow. I'll just leave it at that. He was awful.

I was 14 in ‘83… What a time it was!

Metal Health was the first metal cassette I ever bought.

When I was 17, I was driving some friends to a nearby town. We wrecked and ended upside down. This tape was in the player and was still going when we stopped.

Mental Health was the first song I learned to play in 1983. Playing the guitar created an entire career for me that I still work in today.

I saw the reformed band in the early 2000s in a small bar venue. They hung out with the fans afterwards and took pictures and signed autographs. Even Kevin DuBrow was friendly and humble. It was a great show.

It seemed like for months on MTV’s Friday Night Video Fights (I’m old), had Quiet Riot vs Def Leppard…Cum on feel the noise vs photograph, metal health vs Rock if ages etc. I always voted for Def Leppard, and my parents were like “What are all these .25 charges on the phone bill!” …ahh the 80s

A couple of years before Kevin Dubrow died, I was excited to go to a meet-and-greet for several bands. The members of Firehouse were really nice and friendly, and I enjoyed chatting with them. The members of Quiet Riot seemed like they didn't want to be there. They seemed burned out, and after Kevin died, I had the feeling he was disappointed with his life as it had turned out.