Jimmy Kay from The Metal Voice talks with director film maker Ron Sobol about his Randy Rhoads documentary The Quiet Riot Years now on DVD, which was released in 2012 but revisited.
Watch below.
”Randy Rhoads: The Quiet Riot Years” was directed by rock photographer Ron Sobol and features interviews with Rhoads‘ QUIET RIOT bandmates Rudy Sarzo and Drew Forsyth, late QUIET RIOT singer Kevin Dubrow‘s mother and others. It explores the friendship between Rhoads and Dubrow, the band’s struggle to get an American recording deal and Rhoads‘ decision to audition for Osbourne.
RANDY RHOADS: The QUIET RIOT Years is the captivating story of Quiet Riot’s near-impossible journey to superstardom, a story that first began on March 3, 1975 with legendary guitar icon Randy Rhoads in tow. Rocked by adversity at every turn, refusing to give up, resolute that it was their way or the highway, Quiet Riot truly epitomize the word survivor, by eventually becoming one of the most popular bands in heavy metal history.
Rhoads died in a 1982 plane crash at age 25 while on tour with Osbourne.
Photographer Ron Sobol is one of the rare few who captured that elusive lightning in a bottle magic. As a perennial fifth member of hard rock band QUIET RIOT since their inception, Sobol‘s involvement lasted beyond the success of their multi-platinum masterpiece, “Metal Health”. Intuitively aware of capturing the band’s striking visual appeal, on and off stage, Ron quickly became a part of the group’s trusted inner circle. Ron was not only QUIET RIOT‘s personal photographer, lighting director, and co-writer, he was also their dearest friend.
Narrated by Sobol, the accompanying 90-minute film offers a gripping behind-the-scenes portrait of two close friends, Rhoads and DuBrow, as they embark on an uphill quest for stardom . Using previously unseen images, rare video footage and period music, along with new and classic interviews, the movie chronicles the five year period (1975-1980) that Sobol was in the trenches with the band. This in-depth examination documents in photos and on celluloid, the gradual rise of a Hollywood club band into international superstars.
