In a new interview with Wrestling Epicenter and Sleaze Roxx, former QUIET RIOT singer James Durbin was asked what he learned from the time he spent fronting the veteran hard rock act. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, I can sum that up quickly: nothing. I didn’t learn anything I didn’t know before.
“For the longest time, I thought that’s something that I really wanted, was to step into a band and sing for a band that had already been established over so many years and all that, and had several different brushes with that almost happening — different auditions and different things and connections; just really random ones.
“But it’s very interesting. I didn’t really learn anything,” he reiterated. “I had a ton of fun playing shows and the fun parts of touring and have good memories of it. But there was, of course, plenty of bad memories, but nothing that you need to hold on to. So I just kind of let go of that. There was a lot of stress there.
“I guess if I had to say that I learned something, it’s that if there’s a lot of stress in your life and you have the choice to not have stress, wouldn’t you choose to not have it anymore? I guess that’s the one lesson,” Durbin added. “And it’s not always the easiest choice to make. There’s a lot of things that were a lot of fun about it. But all in all, your life is your life, and you’ve gotta make the choices that you think that are appropriate for you and your family, and keeping your family first and your family most important.
“It was a tough decision and tough at the time, but in hindsight, it was the right choice. ‘Cause I wouldn’t trade all this time with my family for anything.”
Durbin recorded two studio albums with QUIET RIOT — 2017’s “Road Rage” and 2019’s “Hollywood Cowboys” — during his three-year stint with the group. In September 2019, QUIET RIOT parted ways with Durbin and replaced him with Jizzy Pearl. Pearl previously fronted QUIET RIOT from 2013 until October 2016, when he was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of “American Idol” finalist Durbin.
Drummer Frankie Banali resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of founding member and singer Kevin DuBrow.
QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before Pearl‘s first three-year run with the band.
QUIET RIOT announced in September that it would carry on touring following Frankie‘s death a month earlier. The band, which now features drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE), played a couple of shows in October and has a string of dates booked in 2021.
QUIET RIOT initially featured the late guitar legend Randy Rhoads and went through some early lineup shifts before securing the musicians that recorded “Metal Health”.
Durbin released the debut album from his solo band, DURBIN, “The Beast Awakens”, on February 12 via Frontiers Music Srl.
