Quiet Riot's Rudy Sarzo: Honoring Musicians

Rudy Sarzo, legendary bassist of Quiet Riot on stage holding his guitar and pointing

Rudy Sarzo: Honoring Musicians Quiet Riot’s bassist Rudy Sarzo on stage

Courtesy of Rudy Sarzo on FB

Rudy Sarzo is a rare gem: extremely talented with a calm aura. We all have our unique paths in life. Some of us have more up and downs than others. Rudy Sarzo has experienced some very high highs and low lows. Rudy was "just a guy sleeping on Kevin DuBrow's floor" when Randy Rhodes pitched him to join Ozzy Osbourne's tour (yahoo.com). 40 years later, Rudy is still grateful to Randy Rhodes. When I spoke with Rudy, it was obvious that the man is well educated and an old soul. The purpose of going out and performing for Rudy Sarzo: honoring musicians Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali, and Randy Rhoads through the music.

Quite Riot Bassist Rudy Sarzo on stage holding his bass over his head

Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo on stage

With the Quiet Riot show coming up at Smugglers Run on June 9th, I'm telling you right now, Rudy Sarzo alone is worth the price of admission. We talked about how important purpose in life is. Rudy also shared a wonderful memory about flying over NYC in a glass-bottom helicopter with Randy Rhodes and what it was like playing a show just days after Randy passed. Rudy Sarzo strikes me as the type of person that strives and thrives. Click the player to check out our conversation.

Quiet Riot's RUDY SARZO: Honoring Musicians Interview With Doni

guy holding up his bass guitar while looking out at a packed crowd

Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot performs at a 2023 show.

Come on out and join WCSX on Friday, June 9th for Quiet Riot and cheer Rudy on. This man is an incredibly talented bass player who has played with the best: Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne... White Snake, and Dio. Rudy Sarzo is strong, steady, and ready to play. Rudy also wrote a book, Off the Rails: Aboard the Crazy Train in the Blizzard of Ozz about his experiences.

Oh! And listen to The Power Lunch at noon! The week of June 5-9th I've got your chance to win VIP Suite seats for Quiet Riot from WCSX! Hope to see you there!

Slaughter LIVE at Smugglers Run

Saturday night, March 25th, 2023 saw an amazing night of live music and memories from one of our favorite hairbands, Slaughter LIVE at Smugglers Run! The band was beyond cool. They agreed to giveaway Meet and Greet passes and a sound check for some lucky WCSX winners. The band was amazingly friendly and you can tell they still love what they do. I did a brief history piece on Slaughter, including my recent interview with Mark Slaughter and pictures from their Detroit shows (courtesy of Ken Settle). You can check it all out when you CLICK HERE.

Being at Smugglers Run, we could all smell the beginnings of Summer. Their tiki bar is huge! It's got tons of party lights and an epic view of Detroit. The boat slips were empty Saturday night, but you know they won't be for long.

The crowd was in great spirits and Slaughter put on one hell of a show. I was surprised and impressed when they broke out into a cover of "Immigrant Song." Mark Slaughter's range is intact and my jaw hung open listening to him hit those impossibly high notes. Of course, no Slaughter show would be complete with "Up All night" and "Fly to the Angels."

The Opening Acts

Category 5 opened the night. The band is made up of downriver guys that are total pros. Category 5's set list was a phenomenal set of covers to get a party started. Two of my favorites were "It's a Long Way to the Top" and "Flirtin' with Disaster."

Kamenar held the middle position. Kamenar consists of twin brothers, Sean and John. They are out of Tampa and they bring a lot of juice. This is particularly amazing considering the two of them make up the entire band. Their sound was tight. I loved their set.

I snapped as many pics as I could. lol... it was more difficult once the party got rolling, but I checked in with WCSX photographer, Jason Anthony and he gave me some great stage shots. Enjoy the pics and thanks to everyone who came out for Slaughter!