Watch FRANKIE BANALI’s Funeral Service

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

A public funeral service for QUIET RIOT drummer Frankie Banali was held on Monday, November 15 at 2:30 p.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California. The entire event was livestreamed to the public and a playback is still available for viewing at this location (if required, the password for the video is "Banali", according to the official QUIET RIOT Facebook page). Banali, who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on its breakthrough album, 1983's "Metal Health", died in August 2020 after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer. One day after his passing, Frankie's wife Regina spoke about plans for his memorial service during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". She stated at the time: "Funnily enough, he had already bought and paid for and planned his entire services at Forest Lawn [cemetery in Los Angeles] before his [cancer] diagnosis. He was gonna get the same kind of funeral that Ronnie [James Dio] got and Jimmy Bain and all those funerals that we've been to many times. He was saying we're gonna rent the [legendary West Hollywood restaurant and bar] Rainbow and have laminated passes and [have a] send-off in the rock and roll way that he arrived in L.A.," she continued. "He had a lot of history with the Rainbow." Regina went on to say that there would likely be a large-scale memorial event in Frankie's honor once the coronavirus pandemic had subsided. "I think it's better to go big, even if it's later," she explained to "Trunk Nation". "'Cause I think people will still care. And I think he deserves the honor and recognition that he's earned." Frankie was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer on April 17, 2019 and given six months to live. He put up an inspiringly brave and courageous battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18 p.m. on August 20, 2020 in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter. Banali was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas. He had been in treatment since the spring of 2019 and completed his 21st round of chemotherapy not long before his death with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer. Banali's history with QUIET RIOT spanned over 37 years and he had the distinction of being the only member of the band to have recorded on every single QUIET RIOT release from 1983's "Metal Health", which was the first heavy metal album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart, through 2019's "Hollywood Cowboys". He also recorded seven albums with W.A.S.P. between 1989 and 2004. Banali resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of singer and founding member Kevin DuBrow. QUIET RIOT's latest studio album, "Hollywood Cowboys" was released in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl. A month after Banali's death, QUIET RIOT announced that it would carry on. The group, which now features drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE) and returning bassist Rudy Sarzo, has a number of dates scheduled in late 2021 and early 2022. 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". Prior to Sarzo's return, bassist Chuck Wright had been a part of QUIET RIOT, on and off, since 1982, having initially been involved in the "Metal Health" recordings (he played bass on the tracks "Metal Health" and "Don't Wanna Let You Go"). Guitarist Alex Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before Kevin passed away, and was asked by Banali to return in 2010. QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of "American Idol" finalist James Durbin. Pearl returned to QUIET RIOT in September 2019.