Earlier this week, Jason Price of Icon Vs. Icon conducted an interview with QUIET RIOT guitarist Alex Grossi. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Icon Vs. Icon: Obviously, some of the biggest news out of your camp lately is James Durbin joining the band after the dismissal of Seann Nicols. What can you tell us about that situation, and was James the obvious person to bring in at this point? Alex: "James was their first choice to begin with. Basically, [Seann] had to be let go right away. It very clear he wasn't going to work out, so we cut it off at the knees knowing that it wasn't going to work. When we were initially looking for a singer, James wasn't available but when we had to get rid of our most recent singer he was and he fell into place." Icon Vs. Icon: You will hit the road with James in the coming weeks for a tour. How does this situation impact the upcoming release of QUIET RIOT's new album, "Road Rage"? Alex: "That's a good question. We will find out; we'll see what happens. It's really not up to us. It's up to the label. Either way, we are already working on new music with James, so it doesn't really matter. I mean, records come and go but bands stay forever, you know?" Icon Vs. Icon: Yeah, especially in the case of QUIET RIOT. Alex: "Yeah, it's another chapter. It's always a work in progress, so we will keep doing what we do. I always tell people that if Kevin DuBrow passing away couldn't stop this band, nothing will. Take your best shot. I tell everyone on the Internet who says we should hang it up, 'Dude, we're still going. I don't know what you are doing for a living but I'm playing music!'" Icon Vs. Icon: You mentioned working on new QUIET RIOT music with James Durbin. What does he bring to the mix? Alex: "He has a genuine love and knowledge of classic hard rock and heavy metal. With that comes an understanding of what we do. Given his age, you think he would want to sound like GREEN DAY, but he's a fan of HUMBLE PIE and a lot of the stuff Kevin DuBrow was a fan of. He also knows it and can sing it. A lot of guys talk a big game and, in the end, can't deliver the goods but James can, which is nice. I think he's the first singer we have had since Kevin that can actually deliver the goods on every level. He's the first guy we have had that's the real thing. I will say that Jizzy Pearl was the real thing, but he was a different kind of singer as far as what we're looking for. As far as what we needed, James delivers the goods right off the bat. Jizzy is definitely the real thing, and we are all huge LOVE/HATE fans, but he is a different kind of singer." Read the entire interview at Icon Vs. Icon. Durbin, who recently collaborated with Grossi on the "Maps To The Hollywood Scars" EP, will make his live debut with QUIET RIOT on March 18 at The Cotillion in Wichita, Kansas. A handful of additional North American dates will take place during the next two months. "Road Rage" will be released on April 21 via Frontiers Music Srl. Drummer Frankie Banali revived QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after original singer Kevin DuBrow's death, along with Grossi and bassist Chuck Wright. The group went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT last October.
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