The legendary Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo (Also played with Ozzy, Dio, Whitesnake and more) gave his opinion in an interview with Ultimate Guitar on Greta Van Fleet and Rival Sons, relatively “new bands” that are praised often in the business.
Bassist Rudy Sarzo gives his opinion on Greta Van Fleet and Rival Sons:
“I really like the Rival Sons. I really like their uniqueness and everything about them. That’s the first one that comes to mind. They aren’t a clone or trying to imitate other bands. They might be influenced by the consciousness of what the band is about.”
“Greta Van Fleet with Led Zeppelin – that’s a consciousness they’re embracing. They really don’t sound or play like Led Zeppelin. But they tapped into that frequency and that energy of what makes Led Zeppelin so great.”
Rival Sons was formed in Long Beach, California back in 2009 and already toured with bands like Black Sabbath in their Farewell tour. The band consists of Jay Buchanan (lead vocals), Scott Holiday (guitar), Dave Beste (bass guitar) and Michael Miley (drums).
Greta Van Fleet was formed in 2012 in Frankenmuth, Michigan and already won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album back in 2019.
The bassist returned to Quiet Riot
Bassist Rudy Sarzo announced his return to Quiet Riot after 18 years, becoming the only member of the band that played with the group on their classic line-up back in the 80’s. Since the passing of drummer Frankie Banali back in 2020 the band was active with musicians that didn’t played on the classic albums.
“I am returning home, going home to Quiet Riot in the beginning of 2022, next year. Next year marks 50 years of my journey with Quiet Riot. To me, that was a turning point [for me] as a musician. After Frankie told me in 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer, and then he started his fight, it was a daily fight. I mean, he would be taking multiple treatments to fight it, and he would be touring.”
“And so it was really an exhausting thing. So we stopped kind of hanging out as much because, obviously, he was too tired. So we would text each other a lot, every day, and stay in touch. He let me know in April of 2019 [that he was diagnosed with cancer], and COVID happened in 2020. That really made it impossible for me to be in his presence. It wasn’t until a couple of days before he passed away that I was able to go to his house.”
He continued:
“Regina [Frankie’s wife] requested it, and I spent time with him. And then, the following day, when he was taken to the hospital, Regina made it possible for me to be with Frankie for his last hours.
“So, after Frankie passed away, I went over to Regina’s house, and we talked. She expressed to me that Frankie wanted me to come back to the band, that he wanted to have a founding member there in the band. So, we talked about that.”
“I was already traumatized by Frankie’s passing, so it was a decision that I had to take a lot of time to think about it – let the mourning period [pass]. I had to do that. So, the time came when I was ready to accept the reality, that it’s our responsibility, of us left behind, to carry on with the legacy and celebrate it. So that’s when I decided. I said, ‘OK, it’s time for me to come home.’”