In a recent chat with Marci Wiser, bassist Nikki Sixx talked about late guitarist Randy Rhoads, as well remembering the offer to join the guitarist band long time ago.
Asked about Randy, Nikki replied:
“Randy was wonderful, he was a great guy. It was the late ’70s – Van Halen had come and gone, Quiet Riot was the big game in town, I used to go and just stand there, just stand in front of Randy and just be mesmerized.
“The Starwood Club – a lot of my book is centered around this club called Starwood, that was a really important club, especially in the ’70s. And there was this area where we musicians would hang out, Randy would hang out, we’d play.
“We were just kids, he was like this super, open, friendly, nice guy – shredder on guitar, always looked like a rockstar. And I’ve gone over and hung out at his house a few times.
“I remember I brought my bass rig over there, and he and his mom helped me pull it out – I had a 1959 Volkswagen that was barely running. We’d go inside and sit in there, and they had these two records that were released on the Japanese label…
“[Quiet Riot singer] Kevin DuBrow – great voice, if you love that Steve Marriott raspy voice, he was amazing, and they had great songs. And they were going to get rid of their bass player, I can’t remember why, and Randy had asked me if I was interested.
“Then I’d gone to Kevin’s house, and we’d listen to Slade, we’d listen to Mott the Hoople, and they said they were looking for a new bass player. And I just – it wasn’t like a big deal, they just said they were looking for a new bass player.
“And I said, ‘I think I’m gonna stick with what I got.’ I got this idea – and I’m the kind of person, my wife says, ‘Oh my god, once you have an idea in your head, you will not stop until you make it happen!’
“And that was that. It wasn’t like there were auditions and stuff, they were just looking to change bass players, and then they got Rudy [Sarzo], he’s wonderful, I’ve known Rudy since 1978, we call each other Bass Brothers ’78, and I’ve always loved Rudy. And Rudy took the gig.
“When Randy got the gig with Ozzy, Rudy was right there behind him, and then Motley Crue was happening, and then they became Quiet Riot, and it actually worked out great because they ended up having the first No. 1e heavy metal record.
“We always wonder what Randy could’ve done, what some of these guys could’ve done, and why God took them so early…
“In the late ’70s, we had disco, a new wave of punk, music coming in from the U.K., it was a great time to be on, I can’t even imagine trying to carve out a niche in the laptop world right now.
“Everyone is just making records on laptops. I mean, we would rehearse like 10 hours a day, and we lived for it. We woke up and just went straight to rehearsal – that’s all we all did, we rehearsed. Human interaction, imagine that…”
5 comments
As with many things Nikki says, This is a LIE. Quiet Riot had already released 1 LP in Japan, & had the 2nd one already recorded, but not yet released. There were a couple of bassists who were auditioned, including Dane Bramage of the band “Blind Date”, and Nikki (who hadn’t yet ever had a single London gig under his belt) had an informal audition… Randy tried to show him how a part of a song went, & was told “Just play a “B” here…” Nikki’s reply was “WHAT’S A B? ” … Audition OVER!
and you know this how?
I think he’s lying as well. I just posted: I think he’s full of sht. Reminds me of Sammy Hagar….waits until someone is dead and then suddenly has these stories never ever mentioned before, all of which glamorize him. So let me get this straight…..Sixx, the average at best bass player (can only imagine how unimpressive he was back then) had no band. He used to go watch Randy Rhodes, and would “just stand there, mesmerized”. Loved his personality, loved his sound, and thought he was an amazing shredder. And supposedly, this virtuoso asks him to join his band, and he turns it down? Because he had “an idea”. The guy he admired, loved, and was mesmerized by…..turn him down? And supposedly, without knowing Randy had, Dubrow also mentions needing a bass player? And he passed? He also said Kevin was amazing, and had great songs. So here you are, no band, and 2 stars ask you to join your band. And even know you are amazed by both, love their personalities, love their songs, and “knew they would go somewhere”, you decline?
Riiiiight. And this is a time when he was trying to break in to the big time, hoping to find a band and get signed. He never told this story before, and the only 2 guys who could support it, are both dead. Sorry, I just don’t buy it.
I think he’s full of sht. Reminds me of Sammy Hagar….waits until someone is dead and then suddenly has these stories never ever mentioned before, all of which glamorize him. So let me get this straight…..Sixx, the average at best bass player (can only imagine how unimpressive he was back then) had no band. He used to go watch Randy Rhodes, and would “just stand there, mesmerized”. Loved his personality, loved his sound, and thought he was an amazing shredder. And supposedly, this virtuoso asks him to join his band, and he turns it down? Because he had “an idea”. The guy he admired, loved, and was mesmerized by…..turn him down? And supposedly, without knowing Randy had, Dubrow also mentions needing a bass player? And he passed? He also said Kevin was amazing, and had great songs. So here you are, no band, and 2 stars ask you to join your band. And even know you are amazed by both, love their personalities, love their songs, and “knew they would go somewhere”, you decline?
Riiiiight. And this is a time when he was trying to break in to the big time, hoping to find a band and get signed. He never told this story before, and the only 2 guys who could support it, are both dead. Sorry, I just don’t buy it.
What would Randy have done? Well, for one, it’s been said he had gotten bored with rock music. Ozzy was already talking about doing what eventually ended up being Speak Of The Devil. Randy wasn’t interested in that, doing a live album of Sabbath songs. The talk I’ve always heard was that once the Diary Of A Mad Man tour ended, Randy was going to quit, go back to college, and get his degree in music. Where he’d have gone from there is anybody’s guess. He could have gone back to playing rock music, or he could have become a classical guitarist or whatever or gone back to being a guitar teacher, or he could have gotten a job at Musician’s Institute or the Berkelee School Of Music.