Today marks five years since the passing of drummer Frankie Banali (November 14, 1951 – August 20, 2020). While best known for his meteoric rise and multi-platinum success with Quiet Riot in 1983 during the beginning of the hair metal era, his story actually has roots in South Florida going back to the early 1970s. Before providing the beat behind Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P., Billy Idol, Steppenwolf and Faster Pussycat, he was cutting his teeth on the local South Florida rock circuit with bands like Coventry and Nitzinger.

Banali was born in Queens, New York in 1951. His family moved to South Florida in the late 1960s.

From an excellent interview with Michael Aurbecht:

One of the greatest experiences of my life happened after my parents and I moved from New York to Florida. I was in a lot of local bands in the Ft. Lauderdale area and I was working at a record store called Sid’s Records and Tapes. That was a fun job for a musician like me.

There was a fella by the name of Lou Dickstein who worked for Concerts West. At the time in the ‘70s they were the biggest concert promoters out there on the east coast. I had met him because the record store was a ticket vendor for them and I used to get into a lot of concerts for free. One day he came in and said “Listen. I’ve got a show at Pirates World” which was an outdoor venue. The opening band that he had scheduled backed out so he asked me if I could put my three-piece together and take their place. Of course I said “Sure!” Next thing I knew I found myself in my unsigned trio, who played half originals and half covers, opening up a show for David Bowie on the “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” tour. I was only nineteen or twenty at the time.”

That would have been 1972. A good number of years before the L.A. Big Bang.

While in South Florida, Frankie was more associated with a band called Coventry or Coventry Carol, who played at venues like FAU and the Ft. Lauderdale Armory as teenagers.

“After doing that Bowie show we opened up for a band called Wishbone Ash at the Miami/Hollywood Sportatorium which is another big outdoor venue where I also saw Led Zeppelin play. There was a guy named John Peal who had a record called “The Pope Smokes Dope” which was produced by John Lennon. I think he started out as a street musician. My trio backed him. So I already had large audience experience and a sense of how to behave as a support act versus the headliner.”

Worth noting that Frankie Banali’s Quiet Riot bandmate Rudy Sarzo (and brother Robert Sarzo) also hailed from South Florida (via Cuba).

“WANTED TO TREAT THE GUYS FOR BREAKFAST ON ME! I HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY @ LESTER’S. I USED TO COME HERE WITH MY FRIENDS IN THE BAND “COVENTRY” AFTER WE WOULD PLAY AT THE ARMORY. LATER WITH RUDY & ROBERT SARZO AFTER PLAYING AT THE FLYING MACHINE AND WITH MY MOM & DAD AS WELL. GLAD MY QR GUYS ARE NOW PART OF THIS HISTORY TOO!”

Want to learn more about South Florida’s underground music history? Check out Punk Under the Sun, the definitive book chronicling the S FL scene.