Friday
Aug212020
Farewell Frankie Banali
Friday, August 21, 2020 at 03:05PM
Frankie Banali, drummer for Quiet Riot, has died. He was 68. You may recall he was battling pancreatic cancer. He was recently hospitalized and had a stroke. Cancer sucks. This year sucks.
Reader Comments (12)
As for 2020, I wholeheartedly agree Allyson. This year has just completely blown mule nads, from the start right to the present. Quite frankly, even when this pandemic hysteria finally blows over, I truly don’t see shit getting any better here in the US,until people realize the moderate middle far outweighs the knuckleheads in the far left and right. They basically have us “ fiddling as Rome burns”,IMHO. EVERYTHING gets politicized. Until that stops, we as a nation are “coitally enhanced”. As we fight amongst ourselves, they quietly rape and pillage the village... Sorry for the rant. It’s been a long time coming. Lol. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Chaos. 🤟
He caught h*ll from “The Hair Metal Cognicenti” (haha!!) when he kept the band going after DuBrow checked out. But it really does seem like the band was his passion after all is said and done. Besides, he had the blessing of the Mother of Randy Rhodes (QR’s original guitarist) and DuBrow’s Mother.
Sure, Quiet Riot was his livelihood, but he was no slouch. Let us not forget, he has played on 8 consecutive W.A.S.P. albums starting with 1990’s “Headless Children”, as well as playing tours with Dokken, Faster Pussycat, Billy Idol, even Steppenwolf.
I was fortunate to see the reunion of the “classic” line-up in 1997 (Point Blank!) at Network up in The ‘Dena (local slang for Pasadena, Maryland, haha!!) and they were KILLER!
After the concert was over and the people were let out of the venue, I realized a bit later that I left my jacket at my seat. I went to the front doors and explained to the security guard that I forgot my jacket. I showed him my ticket as to where I was sitting and asked him if he could go retrieve it for me. He said that he couldn't leave his post, but he allowed me entrance to go get it. The place was empty except for the clean-up crew; sweeping up, stacking chairs, etc....
As I was walking down the aisle, I saw a side view of Frankie Banali. I walked over to him and said, "Hey, could I get a picture?" Frankie turned his head toward me when I realized that he was on a phone call. He told his caller to wait and said to me, rather annoyed, "I'm on the phone doing business, don't bother me". I apologized profusely. I said that I didn't realize he was on the phone and that I just came back inside to get my coat. I walked away a bit deflated.
I located my jacket and was walking back up the aisle past Frankie Banali when he held up his index finger to me and mouthed to me wait for him. I sat down on a chair and couldn't help but eavesdrop on his phone call. He was very upset that his band members still had not gotten paid for tonight's gig but they played nonetheless after being promised that the money would be transferred to his bank account. I remember thinking, ""Wow, he doesn't have an accountant to sort through these messes. Why was the "drummer" making sure everyone got paid". He was going on and on (professionally, not rudely) that his band members have mouths to feed, mortgages to pay and employees to support. Quiet Riot had lived up to all contract requirements and he was demanding payment by midnight. It was around 11;30pm. I was sitting there a bit stunned and thinking hyperbolically to myself, "Wow, the life of a 'rock star'".
Frankie ended the phone call, walked over to me, clasped his hands and said with a smile, "What can I do for you?" I was kinds stunned, but asked, "Could I get a picture with you?" He said sure and called someone over to take our picture. We shook hands and I thanked him for a great performance. He thanked me for coming to the show. I left the building elated. I had the picture of us in my cubicle for years and whenever I looked at it, I would be reminded how a true "rock star" treats his fans.
May your friends and family find peace, comfort and healing during this difficult time.
And for those who have not seen it, Blackie lawless wrote a touching tribute to his decades long friend. Here it is:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsleazeroxx.com%2Fblackie-lawless-pays-touching-tribute-to-his-deceased-and-long-time-friend-frankie-banali%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0zQjRztYFh8Jpq-Gxg3tS0l3eL9xHQrXrNHhZmViM2t7B07HIb-v9IJsY&h=AT0TX_a3NGNpLx1XBLZjqSf4gLOjuWjfOOqlSXbeeGoyj6zuyyIrqNxFdQRDM-WB-G4p6pZ8O9bf0AfN604k4c57teOaA1yTQ7pGGhzU3p0VfbUpmlP6CSH6PE6UuD1YHA&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1Uaa1qv8R96UBzbgvgbpyMSyPPmNk3dQxM_VS6TSDhEYr0qftlN_YOj_sHNSl_gqbXnFlXi3v5PsaIc_l1yx9XY8wAccPVk4w_9VcSPykDxbImtjpKep9egNwsXTnV2fFDzEqPPvnCcMYeDQ5xE2mJ5SraYSyCeiXMYZkX7sburQHzz0_lW3Nf9Eio
RIP Frankie!