Showing posts with label Van Halen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Van Halen. Show all posts

KISS, Queen, Bowie and Van Halen Memorabilia Headline The Rock and Pop 2019 Auction Event




This years Rock and Pop 2019 Auction is an event unlike any other auction we have done in the past. With over 1,200 auction lots this is a true celebration of music memorabilia in every imaginable way. Every decade from the 1960s on-wards is represented with mementos from all the genres; Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Punk, Grunge, Pop, Rap, Jazz, Blues, Country and R & B.


This auction is a parade of highlights and historic collections of David Bowie, KISS, Van Halen, Queen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sex Pistols and The Rolling Stones that will resonate with fans and collectors for years to come. It covers main festivals from Woodstock 1969 through Monsters of Rock, the California Punk scene from the 1980s and the early days of Rap with artists such as Run-DMC, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys.

 

KISS 1976 Destroyer Stage Model
You will have a chance to own Queen’s first ever American demo reel or the actual stage models built for David Bowie and KISS. But there are plenty of historical memorabilia to choose from.

Featured Items


  • Original Queen American Demo Recording
  • Alice Cooper 1974 Recording Reel
  • LL Cool J 1987 Tour Worn Suit
  • Elton John 1976 Tour Worn Helmet
  • Paul Stanley 1978 Guitar
  • Gene Simmons 1981 Bass Guitar
  • Jackson 5 Tour Jackets
Eddie Van Halen's 1993 Custom Converse Sneakers

Special Collections

  • Van Halen Memorabilia spanning 12 years,
  • Collection of 1980s West Coast Punk Memorabilia
  • 1969 Woodstock Memorabilia
  • KISS Original RIAA Record Awards from the 70s
  • Original Stage Models from the 70s & 80s featuring KISS and David Bowie Tours
  • British 80s & 90s Tour Memorabilia
  • David Bowie Collection of Tour Memorabilia
  • Vintage Stevie Ray Vaughan Crew Memorabilia

With a dazzling depth of collectibles ranging from the AC/DC through ZZ Top, you will find gem after gem. Loads of autographed memorabilia, rare concert jackets and shirts, beautiful record awards, hard-to-find posters, impressive film and photo lots, unique picks and passes, it's all here!


Original Queen American Demo Tape

And as always, the provenance is rock solid with the majority of memorabilia coming from the private collections of musicians, managers, photographers, record company executives and crew members.

Fans and collectors worldwide can participate in the auction online, the bidding will run from October 19, 2019 through October 27, 2019. 


For more information and to register for your VIP All Access Pass for The Rock and Pop 2019 Auction visit:  www.backstageauctions.com 






The Noel Monk Collection Auction

Van Halen 1978 Tulsa OK
Backstage Auctions, Inc. is proud to present their upcoming auction event which will feature the personal and private collection of Noel Monk, music industry veteran and most notably manager for Van Halen and tour manager for the Sex Pistols. The auction will go live on October 13, 2018 and feature hundreds of pieces of rare music memorabilia, including early day Van Halen, Sex Pistols and Fillmore East collectibles from the personal archives of Noel Monk. A special VIP All Access Preview of the entire online catalog will be available beginning September 26, 2018.
Van Halen 1978 Fully Band Signed Card
Van Halen 1978 Fully Band Signed Card

Noel Monk’s career reads like a storybook – and one that we all wish we could have been part of. His first and formative years took place under the wings of Bill Graham as the production/ stage manager at the Fillmore East in New York. From pouring Southern Comfort for Janis Joplin, fixing Chuck Berry’s broken amp to working the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival, Monk quickly learned the ropes of the music business. The early 1970s brought new experiences for Monk as he continued his career on the road with The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Tom Waits, David Sanborn, GO, Gasolin, Trapeze and Blue Cheer – to name just a few.


Sex Pistols 1977 - 1978 Crew Itineraries
Sex Pistols 1977-78 Crew Itineraries

Monk’s career took a pivotal turn in 1978 when he took The Sex Pistols on their first U.S. tour. His recollections and experiences were published in 1990 in the critically acclaimed book ‘12 Days on the Road: The Sex Pistols and America’, which is still in print.  Having barely recovered from his Sex Pistols gig, Monk was asked to go back on the road with another newly signed Warner Bros. Records act; Van Halen.


Van Halen 1978 First Tour Itineraries
Van Halen 1978 First Tour Itineraries
Monk took over as the manager for Van Halen in early 1979 and in the span of six years was instrumental in making the band one of the biggest rock acts in the world. Under Monk’s guidance, Van Halen ruled virtually every imaginable chart; from record and merchandise sales to concert attendance and good ol’ rock ‘n roll debauchery. Following brief stints as manager for David Lee Roth, Glenn Hughes and Prophet, Monk eventually retired from the music business in the ‘90s. In 2017 he published the best-selling ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’ memoir of Van Halen.

Backstage Auctions owner Jacques van Gool comments “we could not be more excited and honored to host this event, which is a true reflection of Noel’s impressive career. This once-in-a-lifetime auction offers predominately rare and one-of-a-kind items. Fans and collectors of Van Halen, Sex Pistols, Fillmore and vintage music memorabilia will not want to miss out on this opportunity”.

Van Halen 1978 Debut Album RIAA Record Award
Van Halen RIAA Award Debut Album 1978
Among the many highlights are gold and platinum Van Halen and Sex Pistols RIAA record awards, original artwork, never-before-seen photos, historic documents, personal correspondence and a deep selection of tour specific memorabilia. More than half of the nearly 800 auction lots are related to the Van Halen years and include anything from some of the oldest Van Halen tour t-shirts and backstage passes to signed Christmas cards and an array of prestigious RIAA record awards.  “I don’t believe there has ever been this much original and historic Van Halen memorabilia offered in a single auction”, comments van Gool. “There are itineraries for virtually every single Van Halen tour, molds for Van Halen jewelry, a Vox dressing room amp used by Eddie Van Halen, original photos from Helmut Newton…the list goes on and on and on”.

Glenn Hughes Owned and Used 1981 Bass Guitar
Glenn Hughes Owned/Used 1981 Bass Guitar
Sex Pistols collectors will find gems such as buttons worn by Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, signed photos, original rooming lists and even Sid’s favorite Reggae cassette tape that he gave to Noel Monk. Fillmore aficionados will be thrilled to find a host of Bill Graham correspondence, BGP Presents posters and an amazing collection of over 100 hand-drawn stage diagrams from concerts the Fillmore East. Other stunning auction lots include a Glenn Hughes owned bass guitar, an one-hour interview cassette with Joe Strummer, vintage Hells Angels mementos, Johnny Cash soundboard tapes, rare Alice Cooper posters and a most impressive collection of Gasolin memorabilia; the biggest band to ever come out of Denmark.

Jeff Beck Owned and Used Guitar Slide Fillmore East 1960s
Jeff Beck Guitar Slide Fillmore East 1960s

The Noel Monk Collection Auction event starts October 13, 2018 and will run through October 21, 2018. A special VIP All Access Preview of the entire auction catalog will be available online beginning September 26, 2018 and is open to fans and collectors worldwide. 



For information and to register for a VIP Auction Pass visitBackstage Auctions

NOEL MONK began his career helping stage-manage Woodstock, served as Bill Graham’s right-hand man at the legendary Fillmore East, and worked with rock musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols and Van Halen. He is also the author of ’12 Days on the Road: The Sex Pistols and America’ and ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’ both are available for purchase directly from Amazon.

BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS is a boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia and exclusively representing legendary musicians and entertainment professionals directly. Every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career. Backstage Auctions has represented dozens of notable and very talented musicians, producers and managers in the music industry.

August 29, 2018


John 5 and his monster's ball

Rob Zombie guitarist ready to hit the road with The Creatures, Doyle
By Peter Lindblad
John 5

John 5 has always had a thing for monsters.

His youthful infatuation with old horror movies continues unabated to this day, and the kid in him still worships at the clawed, platform-soled feet of KISS, whose Kabuki-inspired make-up and carnivalesque stage theatrics never fail to amaze and delight the ex-Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist, known for creating his own creepy facial masks.

In a matter of days, John 5 and his band The Creatures – with Rodger Carter and Ian Ross – will kick off the "Mad Monster Tour" with a special show in Ramona, Calif., on Nov. 4. To get tickets, go to www.john-5.com. Some of the dates will be supported by Doyle, the band led by former Misfits member Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein.

Remarkably versatile, with audacious fluency in a variety of genres – having recorded everything from bluegrass and country to Flamenco music and metal, rock and pop – John 5 is a demon on guitar, an incredibly smooth player whose speed is almost supernatural. Along with scoring the Rob Zombie film "The Lords of Salem," John 5 has collaborated with a wide range of artists, working alongside everyone from Ricky Martin to Rod Stewart, David Lee Roth and Lynyrd Skynyrd, in addition to his more well-known gigs with Manson and Zombie.

Since 2004, John 5's burgeoning solo career has yielded eight diverse studio albums spotlighting his virtuoso skill. On "The Mad Monster Tour," John 5 and company will be promoting an upcoming greatest hits album, paired with a live DVD of John in concert. Three brand-new singles will be released, a series that began this month. Recently, John 5 took time out to talk about the tour, how the new Rob Zombie material is coming along and a career that has taken him further than he ever thought possible. (Tour dates follow the Q&A).

How did the tour with Doyle and his band come about and what are you looking forward to most about it?
J5: Well, I always thought Doyle was like a real-life superhero, and I just really think he’s amazing. He looks like a real-life superhero, like he could fly over a building and knock it down. You know, he’s got the guitar and he grabs it, and he’s a great, great musician. So, I always wanted to do something with him; he was my first choice for someone I wanted to do a tour with. And I just said, “Hey, are you available around this time?” And he said, “Yes,” so it came together pretty easy and we start the fourth in Ramona, Calif., which is the San Diego area. And then it’s the Whisky in L.A. So it’s going to be a blast running through these shows, because it’s all my crazy instrumental stuff and it’s crazy and it’s fun, and we’ll just go nuts.  

Mad Monster Tour poster
When were you introduced to the Misfits and what were your initial impressions?
J5: Well, it was, like for everybody, just a natural thing. Everybody loves the Misfits and punk rock. Everybody was just into them. It was just the thing. It was just how it was. And I loved the horror-rock thing. I’m so into that as well. So it’s just the perfect fit and yeah, with Alice Cooper and The Misfits and Ozzy, I love that stuff. It’s fun. It’s a blast. And KISS, of course. KISS, yeah. It was like monsters with guitars, and when I was 7 years old, I was just blown away. This was just the greatest thing ever.

Reading your bio, you talked about where you grew up and being the lone rock kid, but did you have friends who felt the same way?
J5: Oh sure. I was always the one that had the stuff. Like, I had the first Van Halen when it came out, KISS Love Gun … I was that kid that had the stuff. So I think I showed it to a lot of people, but I remember someone bringing over Kill ‘Em All by Metallica. I listened to that, and I go, “Oh, wow!” I remember having times in my life where friends brought over music, and I remember it. I remember it so vividly, because it made such an impression on me.

Was there one that made the biggest impression?
J5: Well, obviously, KISS and Van Halen, because I remember I got the KISS album in the early years when I was super young. I think Love Gun had just come out. And I was shocked because I loved that Monsters of Filmland magazine. And then I loved The Monkees and “Hee Haw,” but when I saw the monsters of guitars in KISS, I was blown away. I was just like, “Oh my God. Here we go.” So it just changed my life, and then I remember my guitar teacher brought over Van Halen I, and it was just another epiphany. It just changed my life completely.

Kirk Hammett I know has a massive horror collection. Do you collect horror movie memorabilia?
J5: No, mostly I just collect guitars … Telecasters. I’m really into that kind of thing, really into loving my “Teles,” but there’s so much. I mean I have a lot of horror stuff, but it’s mostly stuff people have given me. And I like that stuff from the early- and mid-‘60s and ‘70s, when the monster boom really, really happened. So I like a lot of that stuff. And you know fans give me stuff, so I have quite a collection, but nothing, nothing, nothing in the world of Kirk Hammett, of course.

Have you ever seen his collection?
J5: I haven’t, but me and Kirk talk, and he’ll tell me stuff, and I’m like, “Jesus,” you know? And he always says, “You’ve got to stop over and check it,” and all that stuff. Hopefully, one day I’ll get there.     


I wanted to talk about other stuff going on with you, and you have a greatest hits album coming out. Did you ever think you’d have a greatest hits album and what goes into making one? Is there more to it than people think?
J5: Well, yeah. What it is really is just a collection of my favorite songs. Not one of them was a hit, but it’s a collection of my favorite songs that I’ve recorded over my catalog of doing instrumental stuff and the fans’ favorite songs. So I put them all together, and then I put a DVD with it, which is so cool. The DVD’s really great, and I’m going to be selling that at the shows, so people at the shows will be able to get the CD and DVD. And then after the tour you’ll be able to buy it on my website, and also it’ll be on iTunes, but you won’t be able to get the DVD, obviously.
  
So much has happened over the span of your life to bring you to this point, but I wanted to ask you, where does the open-mindedness with music come from? Because you do country, you do all kinds of things. Does that come from your family?
J5: You know, for some reason, I’ve always appreciated someone who does something really, really well. And it could be someone that rides a bike and is a bike expert, or juggles or … I just always appreciate someone who does something so well, because I know how much dedication and practice it takes. So when I hear some Western swing music or bluegrass music or great, great, great, great horns, I’m like, “Wow! That’s amazing.” So I appreciate all of that stuff. I’m so inspired by anyone who does something really, really well and who is an expert and at the pinnacle of what they do. And I totally, totally appreciate that. So that’s where I think a lot of that interest comes from, that they can actually … you know, the greats. I just am really influenced by people like that.

Is there a style of music you haven’t worked with yet that maybe you’d like to?
J5: You know, jazz is such a huge thing, but I’ve never really studied, studied, studied jazz. I don’t know why. It just hasn’t bitten me yet, but it will. I will get into it. I think I really love the really super, super fast, aggressive stuff. Like the bluegrass stuff is so fast, you know. It’s like Slayer with no distortion. It’s crazy with bluegrass. And then the same thing with flamenco music, it’s a Spanish style of music. It’s so fast, you know? It’s like Slayer on acoustic. It’s that kind of thing, and I really enjoy that stuff, but also I’d like to get into jazz at some point, I believe.

Could you do a bluegrass version of “Welcome to the Violence”?
J5: Well, that might be tough (laughs). Yeah, that’s possible.

What impresses you most in a guitarist or a live performer?
J5: Someone that is fluid and clean and no effort. It’s just like drinking a bottle of water. It’s effortless, and there’s a small amount that are really effortless. If you ever see a classical violinist or piano player, it’s just effortless, you know? I appreciate that, but I also appreciate any guitar player also getting up there on the stage and doing a great job, because it’s a lot of work and a lot of stress and a lot goes into it.

What goes into your live performances? You’ve got the makeup and everything going on. What’s the day of a performance like for you?
J5: Well, the whole day is about the performance. The whole thing is prepping. It’s getting your fingers warmed up, it’s doing meet-and-greets and meeting people, and making sure everything is right. Sound checks … the day all leads up to the show. It’s very important. I just want to give fans the best show we can, so it’s just playing, warming up, making sure the playing is right, getting ready and giving the best show we can. It’s very important to us with Rob just getting just a great show together, and then we always talk about the show after the show – make sure this is right, that is right, how we could make it better. So, it’s great. It’s a great life. I cannot complain. 

I was reading about your history and you were robbed in L.A. when you first moved there. Did you ever come close to giving it up?
J5: No, no … never did. I was so determined and I was so driven and determined. Just imagine, you get to L.A. when you’re young. I was so young. I didn’t know anything, and then the first night I got all my money stolen. I didn’t know what to do. I was lucky I knew one other person, and anybody else; most people would have just gone home and said, “Let me try this in another couple of years.” But no, I was so driven.  

By the same token, was there a moment when you felt, “I’ve finally made it”? Or were there many moments like that?
J5: I mean, yeah. You know, I’m just happy to be playing guitar and making a living, but I never wished to be a known guitar player. I just wanted to be a session musician, and this is all just an incredible, incredible gift, because it was too far away. I never really thought I’d be able to do this, because it was just so like wishing you were Superman or something. It just seemed so unbelievable. So I really appreciate it and love it, because it just happened. I’m so happy it happened, because it was never my goal, it was never my thing to become a famous rock guitar player.

What influenced you most as far as stage shows and how you make up your face? Was it a love of KISS or was it more than that?
J5: I use myself as the audience and what the audience would like to see. I think the audience wants to see a show, they want to see a … it’s called entertainment. So they want to be entertained, and it’s just if you put on a show like that – meaning you’re not going to walk around the streets like that, but if you’re onstage, you’ve got to give them something to look at. And when we go into our dressing rooms, we’re in our normal clothes, there’s a couple of camera flashes and stuff like that, but when we come out of our dressing rooms, when we’re all made up, you can hardly see where you’re walking because there are so many flashes, because we’re all made up. Would you want a picture with Ace Frehley with his make-up off or in his whole get-up? You’d want it in his whole get-up. So that’s why. It’s just a couple things I think about to say, “Okay. This is what make sense,” because some people take a different course about it.

Why does it work so well between you and Rob?
J5: I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I really look up to him a lot, because he does so much. Now a lot of people can do a lot of things, but to finish them and to make them really great, that’s the hard thing. And that’s what he does. Whatever he starts, he finishes, and I really like that. He’ll start something and then he’ll finish it. And that’s what I really like. He’s always finished it, and I really respect that. We really enjoy the same things. We love the Universal Monsters. We have such a love for those Universal Monsters, those monster movies, so that’s a great thing. We both have the same hobbies. We love music and movies, so it’s just like being in a band with your best friend. It’s amazing.   


In what ways were your experiences with Marilyn Manson and Rob similar?
J5: Well, they’re both two different animals, of course. With Manson, it’s different every day and every night, so you never really know what’s going to happen. With Rob, everything is scheduled – we’re going to meet here, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that, and we’re going to be on the bus and here we go. So, with Manson, you don’t know if we’re going to be backstage until three in the morning and if we’ll make it in time for the next show. It was that kind of thing. You know, both are amazing artists, both are amazing performers, so that’s how they’re similar.

Did that chaos with Marilyn translate to the live show and make that a different experience?
J5: Absolutely. Sometimes, we’d play only three songs and we’d be done. Sometimes you wondered how long you were going to play. 

What was your greatest moment with Marilyn and then with Rob?
J5: Well, that’s really, really tough. You know, the greatest moment between those two, there’s some many, great, great, great moments that have happened with both bands. Getting a No. 1 record with Manson, that was a great moment. Doing the "MTV Video Music Awards," that was a great moment. That was my very first gig with Manson. Getting awards and getting to play all these great places, and then having your friends at these great moments, and getting to travel the world and playing the greatest venues, having great records that come out and having these great friendships that will last forever. There are so many great moments, you can’t just limit it to one, because there are so many and I’m lucky for that. 

Of all the projects you’ve done, was there ever one you went into thinking, “I don’t know about this,” and then it turned out to be a better experience than you thought?
J5: Well, no, because I tend to be pretty careful about what I take on. You know, I’m very, very careful about the reputation of my name, so it’s not like I’ve ever gotten into a situation where I'm like, ”How am I going to get out this?” No, I’ve never done that. 

I know so many people have helped you along the way. Rudy Sarzo played a big role in helping your career. What do you remember most about meeting him that first night?
J5: Well, meeting Rudy helped me tremendously. He introduced me to Irving Azoff, who is a master in the music business, and a manager of record people and taught me this, that and the other thing about the business ... He let me into his home. He helped me out, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful talent, and taught me a lot of things. So I owe a lot to Rudy Sarzo.

And you’ve stuck with people and worked with them over your entire career, like your producer Bob Marlette.
J5 : Yes. You know, it’s funny. Everybody I’ve worked with I’m pretty much still in contact with. Everyone … because they’re good people, and I never leave anything on a bad note, where it’s like, “Screw you!” So it’s good, because you see everybody because it’s such a small, small world, and you don’t think you being in this world of, “Oh, I’ve seen this person. I’ve seen this person. I’ve seen this person.” It’s wonderful, and I’m so happy that I don’t have any bad blood.

You’ve worked with some amazing guitar players, too, including Lita Ford. That must have been a blast for you.
J5: Yeah, it was a blast. I see her every once in a while and she’s such a great, great, great talent. And she’s a great songwriter, great performer and singer … luckily, I had the privilege to play with her and play some songs with her. I really respect her. She’s great.

Probably underrated as an artist …
J5: Oh sure, she’s great. And she’s been doing this forever. I mean, The Runaways? Come on … just awesome. She’s so great. And then all of her solo stuff – what a career.

How did you get this band The Creatures together?
J5: Well, I was recording my instrumental stuff. I had recorded so many records, but I never played live shows. The drummer that I use said, “You should do some live shows.” And I said, “Well, it’s tough. The Zombie schedule is so busy,” but I said, “I’d love to do it. We’re going to have to get somebody. Let’s do it. Let’s do some shows.” I was really nervous because I’ve never done these kinds of shows. I didn’t know if people would show up, I didn’t know if people were going to care, I didn’t know anything about it. But we went out there, and it was such a huge success, and I was so happy. It just really changed my life, and we just said, “All right. Let’s do this.” And it’s so much fun. I’m so happy that the drummer, Rodger Carter, kind of pushed me to do this. And it was wonderful. It really changed my life.

Does it continue to evolve, this project you’ve got?
J5: Yeah, absolutely. We’re doing another tour starting in November … we’re just going to keep doing it, keep doing it, and whenever I have time away from Zombie, I’ll be able to do this.

What did you enjoy most about working on the last record working with Rob? Was it different from any other records you worked on with Rob? Or did you like the songs better and do you think he’s underrated as a songwriter?
J5:  Well, the record we have coming out with Zombie now, that will come out next year, it is so good. We went up to his place, and it is very secluded, and there’s nothing out there. There are no distractions – really, really a great place to make great music, and you really have the time to live with it. And that’s what I think is very important, because you have the time to say, “Oh, let’s change this or make this better, or I can play it like this.” And I think that’s important, because a lot of bands they do these records and they have to deliver them at a certain time. We took our time and this record that’s going to be coming out … I mean, the songs are amazing. It’s great, it’s heavy and it’s just … you know, I was a Zombie fan before being in the band and this one’s going to be great that’s coming out.

Do you remember hearing White Zombie for the first time? What did you think of them?
J5: Well, yeah, it was seeing the video of “Thunder Kiss ’65” … yeah, that was rad. It was the look, it was the sound and it was just cool. It was just something that you saw that made you say, “That’s got something special to it.” So, yeah, it was just a great, great, great thing.

"The Mad Monster Tour" dates:
Nov. 4 – Ramona, CA @ Ramona Mainstage
Nov. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Whiskey A Go Go**
Nov. 6 – Las Vegas, NV @ Count's Vamp'd**
Nov. 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater**
Nov. 8 – Ventura, CA @ Discovery**
Nov. 10 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge**
Nov. 12 – Orangevale, CA @ Boardwalk**
Nov. 13 – Fresno, CA @ TBD
Nov. 18 – San Antonio, TX @ Sam's Burger Joint
Nov. 19 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
Nov. 20 – Tyler, TX @ Click's
Nov. 21 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar

** Dates with Doyle

Album Review: Cactus – Live in the U.S.A./Live in Japan

Album review: Cactus – Live in the U.S.A./Live in Japan
Rocker Records LLC
All Access Rating: A-

Cactus - Live in Japan 2013
Around for only a short while in the early '70s, Cactus never quite lived up to the expectations that come with being called the "American Led Zeppelin." Still, they left their mark with a greasy. blues-infused mix of hard-hitting proto-metal and full-throttle boogie-rock that served as an archetype for the likes of AC/DC, Aerosmith, the Black Crowes, Montrose and Van Halen to follow.

Always a scintillating live act that attracted big crowds during their 1969-1972 run, despite the lack of a hit album or a smash single, Cactus was one of those bands that everybody figured called it quits too soon. And maybe they're right, considering the searing rock 'n' roll heat coming off two live releases – available separately as digital downloads from drummer Carmine Appice's new label, Rocker Records LLC – from a reunited Cactus that, sadly, did not include deceased singer Rusty Day.

Cactus - Live in the U.S.A. 2013
Revived in the mid-2000s, Cactus played B.B. King's in New York in 2006 – captured on Live in the U.S.A. – as a warm-up for their triumphant appearance at the Sweden Rock Festival. It being the first time Jim McCarty, Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert – with a new lead vocalist in tow – had performed as Cactus since 1972, Live in the U.S.A. documents their return in gloriously ragged fashion. 

It's a rough-and-tumble recording, lending a sense of closeness to a sweltering atmosphere that seems as hot and sticky as any down-South juke joint – one guy can even be heard yelling out, "I can die now." Cactus does not disappoint him. This is raw stuff, with some of the nastiest guitar licks McCarty has ever produced, as Cactus, propelled by the rhythmic rumblings of Bogert's bass and Appice's drums, struts like Mountain through "Muscle & Soul" and "Evil" with a rugged bluesy drawl that's also evident in the huffing and puffing they do in the harmonica-laced "Brother Bill." They kick out the jams with "Let Me Swim," this version sweating bullets and exploding like Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." Expressed with the confident swagger of men who realize they have nothing left to prove to anybody, their gnarled, slowed-down readings of "Long Tall Sally" and "Rock and Roll Children" are tantalizing, allowing them to mop their brows before diving headlong into the frenzied, blustery boogie of Mose Allison's "Parchman Farms," where Cactus lets it all hang out.

Bogert had retired by the time Cactus played Japan in 2012. Pete Bremy, his replacement, fills in admirably on a Live in Japan set that has a cleaner, more professional sound, but is no less combustible. "Swim" is just as feverish here, and throughout the performance, Appice's drums are punishing, McCarty's guitars are blazing and Bogert thunders away on the bass. A little bluesier, as Cactus indulges in classy renderings of "Alaska" and Willie Dixon's "You Can't Judge a Book (By Looking at the Cover)," Live in Japan finds Cactus exploring stoner-metal moods and sounds on a particularly hazy "Electric Blue" and then gnawing on the bones of a simmering pot called "One Way or Another" that threatens to boil over but never does.

Two rollicking concerts, captured at different points in the Cactus reunification, Live in the U.S.A. and Live in Japan see this reinvigorated band, which once arose out of the ashes of Vanilla Fudge, scratching and crawling its way toward fully realizing what they set out to do. The journey isn't over.
– Peter Lindblad


Vanilla Fudge in Rock Hall? Cactus, too?

Carmine Appice thinks his bands aren't getting a fair shake
By Peter Lindblad

Carmine Appice 2013
Like so many others, Carmine Appice has a bone to pick with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voters. 

And he's not shy about doing a little politicking for his own bands.

In a recent interview, the drumming guru, who just started his own record label, Rocker Records, made the case for both Vanilla Fudge and Cactus.

"Why neither one of them are ever even mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I’ll never know, especially Vanilla Fudge," said Appice. "We took out everybody with us. Frank Zappa opened up for us. I mean, Cactus had Bruce Springsteen open up for us. You know what I mean? It’s just crazy."

Having Zappa and Springsteen as support acts is pretty impressive all right, but does that alone qualify Vanilla Fudge and Cactus as Hall of Fame material? Appice takes another tack in his fairly good-natured, but still passionate, argument.

"And then they worry that Alice Cooper didn’t get in (that was before he actually got in, of course)," said Appice. "Okay, they’re right. Alice Cooper should be in there. Certainly the freaking rap artists shouldn’t be in there. If they throw those kinds of acts in there, they should call it the Music Hall of Fame, not the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But then Jeff Beck is in there twice. I mean, the Yardbirds are in there. Why are the Yardbirds in there and Vanilla Fudge isn’t in there? The Yardbirds were never that big here. Is it because they spawned the three guitar players? Vanilla Fudge spawned me and Timmy (Bogert) (laughs)."

While there isn't a great push among rock fans to get Fudge or Cactus into the Rock Hall, like there is with other hard-rock heroes Deep Purple  or KISS, maybe they do merit strong consideration.

Mixing up a heavy psychedelic and soulful rock brew, Fudge re-imagined a host of popular songs in the late '60s, including The Supremes' hit "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Fudge's tripped-out version, with vocalist/keyboardist Mark Stein's baroque organ making the track a warped little aural funhouse, went all the way to No. 6 on the US Hot 100. That's also where their 1967 self-titled album landed on the US Top 200.

A weird sophomore effort, titled The Beat Goes On and filled with sound collages rather than actual songs, derailed Fudge, although the record went all the way to No. 17 on the charts. Fudge's third album, Renaissance, was more in line with their first album, and it did well, hitting No. 20. In all, the prolific Fudge, often cited as the missing link between psychedelia and heavy metal, put out five albums between 1966 and 1969, and in the process, probably helped paved the way for the stoner-metal movement.

Appice and Bogert, Fudge's bassist, left in 1970 to start Cactus, leaving Stein to forge onward with Fudge. Known as the "American Led Zeppelin," Cactus stuck around for only two years, but their brand of high-energy boogie-rock influenced a number of high-profile artists, including Van Halen, the Black Crowes, Montrose and the Black Keys. 

But it was Fudge that made Appice and Bogert, who later formed a trio with guitar god Jeff Beck called Beck, Bogert & Appice, household names. And it was Fudge that sparked a reaction by reworking Beatles' songs like "Eleanor Rigby" and "Ticket to Ride," not to mention Donovan's "Season of the Witch," with a thick, lugubrious kind of soul approach that was more glassy-eyed than blue-eyed.

They were not playing by anybody's rules.

"The Rascals were big at the time, and we sort of blew them away with what they were doing to the extreme," said Appice. "And it’s just like Led Zeppelin took everybody else who influenced them, from Hendrix to Vanilla Fudge to the Cream and everybody else, and took what they were doing – especially The Jeff Beck Group – to the extreme. And that’s why they were so big, but 'You Keep Me Hangin’ On,' it was such a shock, because nobody really did covers in those days. If they did, they were doing them the same way as the original. But the way we did it, we shocked so many people."

Count some of the biggest names in rock among those stunned by what Vanilla Fudge was doing.

"I remember reading things that Eric Clapton and George Harrison and Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and all these people knew exactly where they were the first time they heard that, because it left such an impression on them," said Appice. "And why? Because it was a white group playing really heavy, but soulful – so heavy soul wasn’t really in yet. White, blue-eyed soul was cool. That was what The Rascals did and the Righteous Brothers did, but nobody did it heavy – with big amps and the big drums, the powerful drum sounds."

These days, both bands are back touring, and Appice's new label is just itching to put some Cactus and Vanilla Fudge product that Appice has just sitting around collecting dust. Visit www.rocker-records.com for more information.

And stay tuned for more from our interview with one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock 'n' roll.


Randy Rhoads, Quiet Riot come into focus


Photographer releases new book, DVD on the original Quiet Riot

By Peter Lindblad


Randy Rhoads - The Quiet Riot Years
Red Match Productions
Kevin DuBrow took a liking to Ron Sobol right from the start. The Quiet Riot front man, now deceased, was a Humble Pie fan, and so was Sobol.

They were both budding photographers, although DuBrow would give up the camera for a chance at rock ‘n’ roll glory. Sobol, on the other hand, stuck with it, even going so far as to study film at the University of Southern California.

Before going to USC, though, Sobol was having the time of his life hanging out with Quiet Riot in the 1970s, taking behind-the-scenes photos and live video of the band whenever he had the chance. Randy Rhoads was in the band then, and he was already developing a reputation around Hollywood and Southern California as an unparalleled guitar slinger, an axe man of incredible dexterity, expression and imagination. His only competition: Eddie Van Halen. Yes, that Eddie Van Halen.

Unfortunately for Quiet Riot, it was Van Halen that scored the American record deal they coveted – though they did sign a Japanese deal for CBS/Sony. It wasn’t for lack of trying that Quiet Riot – at least the version featuring Rhoads, DuBrow, Kelly Garni and Drew Forsyth – failed to get that contract. Everyone around Quiet Riot tried to get the labels to notice them. Their management company, the Toby Organization, had connections. Warren Entner, one of the partners, had been in the Grass Roots, who had a number of hits in the 1960s. And the Toby Organization already had Angel, a band on the Casablanca label.

Despite their frustrations, that edition of Quiet Riot had a good time. And Sobol was part of it, serving as the band’s photographer, its lighting director and their friend. Now, Sobol has released a coffee table book that is packed to the rafters with tons of amazing images of the group and its wunderkind guitarist, who resembled Snoopy from the “Peanuts” cartoon. Titled “Randy Rhoads – The Quiet Riot Years,” it takes readers on an incredible journey back in time, providing a colorful pictorial history of that era of Quiet Riot’s existence.

From the early rehearsals to the backstage parties, the electrifying concert performances at clubs like The Starwood, the Troubadour and other Sunset Strips institutions and the photo shoot for Quiet Riot II, Sobol captured it all. The boys liked to have fun. Mischievous and delightfully devious, they enjoyed playing pranks on each other. They were young and energetic, having the time of their lives in Southern California, and they had no idea what life had in store for them. Sobol reveals that side of the band, as well as their more serious issues – such as recollections from those closest to Rhoads and DuBrow, talking about how they felt about those two shooting stars and what it was like when they found out both had die – in this extravagant biography.

Relying less on words than he does on pictures, Sobol presents a fully realized portrait of four ambitious young men who wanted to make it all the way to the top. Real life would get in the way, however, as Rhoads left to join forces with Ozzy Osbourne in one of heavy metal’s most incredible reclamation projects. Hurt by Rhoads’s decision, DuBrow nevertheless carried on, and eventually, he experienced success beyond his wildest dreams when Quiet Riot’s Metal Health hit No. 1. Sobol stuck around for that, too.

In addition to the book – which also includes sketches for the band’s flamboyant stage clothing, various business documents, concert ephemera and newspaper articles – Sobol has also crafted an insightful and revealing documentary film that features more still images as well as his super 8mm films of Quiet Riot tearing it up in concert. Interviews with the likes of Forsyth, fan club president Lori Hollen, Rhoads’s guitar tech Brian Reason, Rhoads’s guitar tech, and the one-time Jodi Raskin, the girlfriend of both Rhoads and DuBrow who also functioned as their stylist, along with clothing designer/artist Laurie MacAdam.

Together, the two releases offer the most exhaustive and lively history of the original Quiet Riot that’s ever been packaged. Sobol talked about the book and the DVD, as well as his experiences with Quiet Riot, in a recent interview.

The amount of photos in the book is unbelievable. Do you have anything left?
Ron Sobol: I’ve probably got a few left, but not much.

Maybe you’ve got another book in mind?
RS: Well, originally, it was going to be a book with all of my rock pictures, and just a little bit of Quiet Riot. But then there was so much Quiet Riot it looked like it would be more interesting as a book about Randy Rhoads, the Quiet Riot years, and so it became that. I used to shoot for Japanese magazines, so I shot Led Zeppelin, I shot Queen, I shot Journey, Aerosmith … a lot of bands. And they ended up in magazines in Japan. So we were going to use a lot of those pictures, but, like I said, we decided to concentrate on Quiet Riot, or Randy with Quiet Riot.

It seems like that’s the story that’s closest to your heart, being so involved with Quiet Riot.
RS: Yeah, it is. I did their lights, and I took their photographs. I took their first promo picture … I did everything. I designed the logo that was on the drum set. It was like the most fun … those 10 years from ’75 to 1985 were the most fun years of my life. And I think I said this in the movie, but I’ll say it to you for the interview: After Randy passed away, that’s when Quiet Riot pretty much broke up, because he left, [and then] Kevin resurrected Quiet Riot, and I was still working with him so I got to go on tour, doing lights for the “Metal Health” tour, and the tour after that, “Condition Critical.”  

What struck me about the book and the movie is that it seemed like there was such a family atmosphere around Quiet Riot and how everybody around Quiet Riot was pulling for this version of the band to make it big. Was that the case?
RS: Yeah, it was exactly what you said. It was all for one and one for all. The record deal was always just around the corner and it never quite happened. They did get to put out two records in Japan, but that was all that happened.

What do you recall about meeting Kevin DuBrow for the first time? You had that shared interest in photography. What did you think of him?
RS: (laughs) He was a character. My brother [Stan Lee, guitarist for the punk band The Dickies] introduced us, because of our mutual interest in Humble Pie. So Kevin said, “Why don’t you come over and bring your stuff, and I’ll show you what I’ve got.” And I went over to his house and he was living – he was 17, I think – with his parents. And he’s living in this tiny little bedroom with his brother. I don’t know how many people might be interested in this, but his brother [Terry] became a plastic surgeon and did this TV show called “The Swan.” And his wife is on the “Real Housewives of Orange County” – sometimes he’s on the show. So anyway, he’s living in this little room with his brother, but basically, it was Kevin’s room, because Kevin’s drum set was in there, the wall was plastered with rock pictures – clippings from magazines. Kevin was really tall. He was 6-foot-4, and so he could be a little intimidating to little ol’ me at 5-foot-7. But he was just a great guy. And actually, after I left his house that day, I never thought I’d necessarily see him again, but he'd called me up and said, “Hey, what are you doing? Let’s hang out.” And we became best friends.

And he was a really good photographer, too. Did he carry on with that at all, or was it something he abandoned when the rock thing took off?
RS: Yeah, once he started with Quiet Riot, he was done taking pictures. He was my biggest critic (laughs). If there was anything slightly out of focus, he’d say, “What’s wrong with you?”

He was like that, too, with Randy I suppose. He really pushed and prodded him to greatness.
RS: He wasn’t going to let anything stand in his way … not that Randy stood in his way. You know, if it wasn’t for Kevin, Randy might still be playing in a garage. Randy needed somebody to push him along. It was his mother that pushed him to go to the Ozzy interview.

You have a favorite picture of Randy in the book that’s kind of a portrait of him. How did that shot come about and why do you like it so much?
RS: Well, there’s a couple … I’m not sure if you’re talking about the one on the inside where I think he’s got a white jacket, and then there’s one on the back of the book. Okay, the one with the white jacket was taken in my parents’ backyard, and if you look closely behind it, there’s the swimming pool.

I think that’s the one …
RS: Okay. And why do I like it? It’s just Randy … here’s the thing about when I took pictures of these guys. Since I’d been taking photos of these guys, just about from the very first rehearsal, they were used to me being around, so their guard was always down and you’d see the real them in the pictures. They weren’t posing for me.

That’s what definitely comes across. They’re all very natural, as if they’re not aware of you at all.
RS: Right, because they were so used to me being there.

Along those lines, behind the scenes, it seemed that Quiet Riot was always cutting up and having a good time. Was that really the way it was?
RS: They were complete practical jokers always looking to get a rise out of someone. I was frequently the butt of their jokes.

Oh, is that right?
RS: However, one time, I was living with Kevin … he actually got me to move out of my parents’ house. He was roommates with – if you remember in the movie – Kim McNair, Randy’s friend. Kim was living with Kevin, and then Kim moved out, and Kevin said, “Why don’t you move in with me?” And I go, “Oh, I’m going to school. Living with my parents is a lot easier when you’re in school. I don’t have to think about paying rent and stuff.” He was relentless in saying, “You’ve got to move out. We’re going to have fun. There’ll be girls,” and as soon as he said that, I go, “All right. Okay.” So Quiet Riot was trying to get signed, and Van Halen was on the scene and they got signed first. And their record came out, and then their second record came out, and Quiet Riot still didn’t have an American record deal. Well, you’ve heard of Tower Records?

Sure.
RS: Tower Records would have all this promo stuff they’d always be giving away. And there was a postcard they were giving away, like the little pictures on the back of the second Van Halen album. You can actually see in the book this picture of David Lee Roth jumping with his legs spread, and I cut it out and stuck it on the head of Kevin’s … well, it was our cat, Larry the Cat. And I stuck it on the cat’s head and took a picture. And so then, I forget who actually started this running little practical joke, but one of us took the David Lee Roth thing and stuck it in the butter tub, underneath the lid so when the person opened the tub of butter, there it was. And it just kept escalating, where if it was my turn, ‘cause I found it, I would take it and … for instance, like I took the toilet paper roll and unrolled it part way, and then stuck it on the toilet paper roll so that when he was going to the bathroom, he’d see it while he was going to the bathroom … stuff like that. But that actually escalated to the shows at the Starwood, and I would tape the picture of Roth to the microphone, and Randy’s roadie, Brian [Reason], would do the same thing with pictures of Eddie Van Halen. Finally, they had enough and they just screamed at us, bloody murder, that “if you ever do that again, you’re fired.” And we stopped (laughed).

What were those early days like as they were gearing up to play clubs? Did they rehearse all the time? I know Randy was so dedicated to his craft, but were they really intent on honing their sound before getting out there?
RS: Well, Randy would teach guitar lessons in the daytime, and then at night, they’d rehearse. And they rehearsed probably four nights a week. They had a place where they could keep their equipment. First, they were rehearsing in the garage of their first manager, Dennis [Wageman], and he actually turned the garage into a rehearsal/recording studio. And after they left him, they got a place in Hollywood, and that was like, you know … that was the place to go. When they played, there were always people watching them rehearse – almost like a total party atmosphere. They could get a lot of work done because people were respectful that they had to rehearse, but afterwards, there would be this big row where people would be drinking and smoking and doing whatever. I think there are actually some pictures in the book of Kevin and some girls, where they’d take their tops off and … you know, more than that went on, but that’s the only documentation you could really put in the book without getting in trouble. And you know, it was total fun, camaraderie. You could just see how Randy was at rehearsal. The producers of [Quiet Riot's first two] records really didn’t capture him, because the difference between what we saw live and in rehearsal was incredible.

And Drew [Forsyth, Quiet Riot’s first drummer] talks about that in the movie, too. He was really disappointed that the producers couldn’t capture their live sound.
RS: I guess they probably needed more money behind the band to hire a producer that could really do the trick, but it just never happened.

Take me back to those days at the Starwood and set the scene for me. What were those shows like? I know [Quiet Riot fan club president] Lori Hollen would bus in fans she knew. The shows must have been electric.
RS: They were pretty much selling the Starwood out, or the Whisky or wherever they were playing. They would get great crowds. One thing we were trying to do was they were trying to bring an arena atmosphere into a club, where we brought our own lights in and our own fog. We brought in strobe lights. There was an intro tape, which in the movie you can hear a little of the intro tape, and I believe there’s a special feature where you hear the whole thing – I haven’t really played the [DVD]. I worked on the thing for two years, so it’s not like I can keep watching it (laughs). But there’s an intro tape with a lot of police lights and then we had police lights, strobe lights, fog … it was a whole big deal to make it a special experience, not just jumping on a stage and start playing. We wanted to create an atmosphere of fun.

It sounds like the crowds really took to the band, too. What was the band like onstage? I know from watching some of the live footage in the movie you get a sense of it, but they just had great charisma and personality.
RS: Yeah, they were all class clowns, and they knew how to put on a good show. If you watch the movie, like during Randy’s solo, you can see on his face how much fun he’s having. And I haven’t seen too many people who could play as well as he did while moving around like he did at the same time.

Going back to how good a time Quiet Riot liked to have, some of the funniest shots in the book – I think it’s in the movie, too – had to do with one particular show when they went backstage after they were done and put on all those dresses.
RS: That was at a show they did … actually, they opened for Van Halen. I believe it was Glendale College … yeah it was the college, because I remember it was backstage of the auditorium, where they store all the clothes for school plays. There were a bunch of dresses. They decided to put them on, and I took pictures of it, and it was one of those fun things they did, and I had great pictures. I took movies of them wearing the clothes; that’s in the movie. Anything that was around that they could use as a prop, they would do.

Talk about shooting the cover for Quiet Riot II.
RS: Okay, well, somehow the concept was thought of – I can’t remember it exactly. Kevin wanted to call the record – it was their second record – 2nd and 10 – 10 songs on their second record. It was a football term. And I said, “Can I shoot it?” Here’s what we’ll do: We’ll have you guys in a locker room, with these football players, and the juxtaposition of you skinny guys with these huge football players might make an interesting picture. Kevin said, “Okay, let’s do it, but it’s on spec. You’ve got to pay for it. If we can’t use it, I’m sorry.” To me, it was worth the expense to try to get it done. So I rented all this equipment, and I paid the football players … I went to this school. I was going to Valley College at the time. It’s a junior college in Van Nuys, Calif. And first, I got permission to use the locker room, and then I asked the football coach if I could use the players. And he said, “Yep, that’s fine with me.” So I offered them $50 to be models. Four of them jumped on it right away. They said, “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll do it.” And they were great. They did everything I wanted. And the band was great, too. So, we went to the locker room, and we spent about four hours in there that day shooting pictures. It came out great. And our concept was like the back cover has the baseball cards … football cards or baseball cards. That was our concept, too. Sent a mock-up of the thing to Japan, and it came back where they said, “Yeah, great.” The record comes back, like the finished copy, and it’s called Quiet Riot II. And we were going, “Why did they call it Quiet Riot II?” Well, because they don’t play football in Japan. So, 2nd and 10 meant nothing to them. It’s just one of those things that people don’t think about.

I particularly like the shot of that big lineman carrying Randy around.
RS: Yeah, everybody had a great time that day. It’s just like, hey, I never imagined when I was taking those pictures just for fun that they’d end up in a book. Kevin actually wanted to do a book with me, and he said, “Get your stuff together, we’ll write a book about the Quiet Riot years.” And then he called me back, and he goes, “You know, I found out it’s going to cost X amount of money to make these. I don’t know what we could sell them for. Plus, I have to go out on tour again with Quiet Riot …” You know, they were playing clubs. And so that idea got put by the wayside. And I got all the stuff together, and now it’s almost like Kevin was there with me doing this.

I was going to ask what it was that made you put out the book at this time.
RS: Well, you probably know about that other book [“Randy Rhoads,” by Andrew Klein and Steven Rosen]. I gave those guys pictures, and I called up Andrew Klein one day and asked, “What’s up with that book?” He said, “Oh, it’s done. Do you want to see it?” I said, “Yeah, okay.” So I meet him, and he has it on a computer disc. And I couldn’t believe it. I told him, “This is the best rock book I’ve ever seen.” Have you seen it?

Yeah, yeah. It’s great.
RS: Oh, you have it?

Yep.
RS: Is it one of the best rock books you’ve ever seen?

It was my rock book of 2012.
RS: Okay (laughs). I said, “Can you do that for my stuff? We’ll do ‘Randy Rhoads – The Quiet Riot Years.’” Because I still have more pictures. They thought I gave them all my pictures, but I didn’t. And they said, “Let’s do it.” And I think I already said this to you, we were originally going to do all my stuff. I mentioned that, right?

Yes.
RS: We were just going to do this, because there was so much stuff.

One of the really fun parts of the book and the movie has to do with the protests, where Quiet Riot supporters took to streets and picketed various record companies in an attempt to get them to sign the band. Talk about how that came about and what it was like to shoot that.
RS: The band was really frustrated about not getting a record deal, and they were sitting around saying, “What can we do? What can we do?” And Rudy [Sarzo, who had replaced Garni in Quiet Riot after Garni was kicked out for allegedly pulling a gun on Rhoads during an argument] says, “Well, maybe we can go protest at the record companies and picket the record companies. (laughs)” And Kevin goes, “That’s a great idea.” So we got the fan club president to rally the fans and we made t-shirts. Everybody got a t-shirt, so you can see this in the movie, where there are pictures from Kevin’s apartment where we were … well, it was mine and Kevin’s apartment. We silk-screened Quiet Riot t-shirts, gave ‘em out to all the kids, rented a flat-bed truck – which now we wouldn’t have gotten 10 feet on the street without getting arrested – piled all the kids in the truck, made a schedule to hit all the record companies, called local news to come out. But we kept missing the news, because when we went to Burbank to picket Warner Bros. Records, they said, “You can’t do this without a permit.” So, we had to leave and our whole schedule was off because of that. So, I decided, “Well, look. I’ve been taking pictures of everything else, why don’t I take pictures of this?” So I got those pictures.

Were you ever along for any of the [record label] showcases Quiet Riot played?
RS: Yeah, in the book there are pictures from those showcases. They would do a set, and then the guy would come in, so they would rehearse before they played for the record executive. So I think I had to leave the room. The pictures are from them doing it before the record executive came in, because they wouldn’t need me sitting there taking pictures and being distracting. I would take them before and then leave and find out later whether they got the deal or not. It was like a full dress rehearsal, where they would wear their stage clothes and do the whole show.

The DVD has such great live footage. What was your favorite live segment in the movie and was it difficult to edit that all together?
RS: Was it difficult to edit it all together? I think it was just like we started chronologically from the beginning. I guess it was difficult putting the music to the story – where to put which songs, but there was so much material that it just kind of organically … I kept giving the editor more stuff. Like, we had the interviews and we had the live footage, the Super 8 mm footage, and I had all this other footage. Like, there’s a part in there where Kevin was in a band with my brother, Stan Lee from The Dickies, before The Dickies started. The bass player in that little segment, if you remember in the movie, he was a member of The Dickies, and the drummer, his name was Danny Benair. He was in a band called The Three O’Clock. So, I shot that, and there are actually two movies, but for some reason, I’ve only got one. They were doing “Can’t Explain” [The Who] and then we had the tape of them doing it, and we’d sync it up, because back then there was no videotape – at least affordable videotape. And then they also did “Moonage Daydream,” but I don’t know where that is. So I had that, and I had all my films from when I went to USC film school, so you see a little bit of that. And then I have my “just joking around” films.

Yeah.
RS: For something like this, you need a really good editor, and we had a really good editor. His name is Matt McUsic. And he did a great job.

One of the really cool things I thought from the DVD was when Brian Reason [Randy’s guitar tech] was talking about Randy’s trademark solo. Was that planned or did he just start talking about it and it seemed like that would be a perfect thing for the movie?
RS: No, we wanted him to talk about the solo for the movie. That was definitely planned. We didn’t tell him what to say. We just asked him to describe being the guitar tech during Randy’s solo, and that’s my favorite part of the movie.

I think it’s mine, too. It’s amazing how meticulously thought out it was. Maybe sometimes we as rock fans don’t think about that when we're hearing a guitarist do a solo.
RS: Yeah, I mean he was obviously an improviser in the solo, and it was very night to night. But, you know, that was pretty much what he did – depending on the crowd, as it is with any other artist or musician, they feed off the crowd, but that was just an unbelievably great solo he did. I think it was better than the solo he did … he kind of took parts of it for the Ozzy solo he did, but I think this is way better and I’m pretty sure it’s longer.

I wanted to ask you, too, about Kelly Garni and the incident that happened where the two were arguing and he's alleged to have pulled a gun on Rhoads. Were people pretty willing to talk about that?
RS: Yeah, yeah. Even he talked about it. Kelly is not shy about talking about it.

It’s such a rough part of the movie seeing two childhood friends grow apart. It’s a really tragic part of the movie.
RS: Yeah, well, Kelly … you know, has that little problem, drinking. I would say that as far as Quiet Riot goes, that was his undoing. Stuff happens and people live and learn, and I’m sure he probably somewhere regrets it.

As far as the end of that stage of Quiet Riot’s existence, when Randy left, did you have any inkling that he was going to leave at some point?
RS: We had no clue. I didn’t think he was going to go do that. We couldn’t believe that he left. We couldn’t believe he took the gig because he wasn’t like a Black Sabbath fan or anything. And obviously, at that point, having been kicked out of Black Sabbath, somebody was probably considering him washed up and somebody believed in him, and it worked out great for Randy for him to go play in that band.

What about the day that Randy died? What do you remember about talking to Kevin about it and how he dealt with it?
RS: Well, I was driving in my car listening to the radio, and they played two Ozzy songs in a row, or Blizzard of Ozz songs in a row. Usually when they do that, at least back then, it meant something bad had happened. Nobody played two songs in a row and they said, “That’s dedicated to the late, great Randy Rhoads, who died in a plane crash today.” Well, I hadn’t heard of any airliner going down, so I called Kevin and I said, “What is this?” He goes, “There was a small plane crash. Randy’s dead.” I went over to his house and we were crying and hugging each other and tried to deal with it. I mean, who could believe something like that would happen? I’ve actually been up in a small plane. Now, I would never do it again, but when you’re young, you just do stuff and you don’t think about it. There’s no explanation for it. It’s just one of those crazy, weird life things.

Did you go to the funeral, too?
RS: Yes.

That must have been, as any funeral would be, an unbelievable scene.
RS: There were a lot of people there, and it was just tragic. I still can’t believe that happened.

What is your favorite memory of Randy? You talked about what a generous guy he was in the book, especially with his time in helping young guitarists.
RS: Well, I can give you a couple. One, like you were talking about, has to do with him teaching guitar. He was actually teaching me stuff on the guitar. He taught me my favorite Quiet Riot song, which was “It’s Not So Funny.” He taught me how to play that. And then when he came back from Ozzy, he taught me how to play “Crazy Train.” He was always teaching, like, “Yeah, sure. Here’s how to play that.” I would have to say a special memory was … it was pretty much a few months after I met him and the band had started, I got pneumonia. And I was in the hospital for a week and him and Kevin came to the hospital to cheer me up. I thought that was really special because who wants to go visit somebody in the hospital. So that was kind of a special thing, where it was like, “Yeah, we’re friends.”

During Quiet Riot’s Metal Health days, what was your favorite memory of that time? You got to see that band finally get the exposure that they deserved.
RS: Um, I would say the US Festival was pretty special. When John Cougar Mellencamp dropped out, and Quiet Riot got to fill his spot, they had to fly out special. I think we were in Minnesota or somewhere when they got the call to do it. I can’t remember exactly, but it was somewhere [around] the Mississippi, and they were going to play in the daytime, so they didn’t need me to do lights, ‘cause I was out on tour with them doing lights. But they took me anyways, so I got to go. And what was there – four hundred thousand, five hundred thousand people there watching that show?

One of the cool things about Quiet Riot was their look, too, with their clothes made by I believe Laurie MacAdam?
RS: Lori was designing the clothes, and then Jodi [Raskin, the one-time girlfriend of both DuBrow and Rhoads] would sew clothes.

How was that to work as their lighting director? I mean, they must been such a visually cool band anyway.
RS: Yeah, well, I got to bring in extra spotlights, and we brought in strobe lights and fog, so they let me do whatever I wanted, which was great. I knew the songs … here’s how I started doing the lights for them. What happened was, the lights would always be so dim or poor for photographs. I’m looking at my pictures and I didn’t like to shoot with a flash. I wanted to capture what they really looked like, but the lights were so poor for photographs that I said, “You know what? Let me start doing the lights. I know the songs.” And they said, “Go for it.” So that’s how I started doing the lights, because I knew all the songs anyways, so it was just natural.

What do you want people to glean from this book and the DVD?
RS: You can see what it was like to be an up-and-coming band in the late ‘70s and what it took to either make it or not. And you see the trials and tragedies and then eventual worldwide domination – two guys that had a dream who went their separate ways and got big in two separate ways. They had this one-for-all and all-for-one theme of everybody working together.

You can really get a sense of what it was like being young and living in California at that time.
RS: Yeah, it was great. I mean, that 10 years – I think I said it – were the best 10 years of my life and everything you’ve ever heard, when I got to tour with Quiet Riot during the Metal Health tour, everything you’ve heard about stuff that happens in a rock band happened. 

That’ll be in the next book, huh?
RS: Yeah. That’d be a good one: “Quiet Riot – the Metal Health Years.”

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