Quiet Riot’s Kelly Garni Said He Once Tried to Kill Kevin DuBrow
Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni said a night in 1978 that involved a gun and Randy Rhoads led to his firing.
Even though it's been reported that Garni was trying to kill the late guitarist, he revealed in a new interview that "nothing could be further from the truth." In reality, he said, he had a "big drunken plan" to kill singer Kevin DuBrow.
Garni appeared on That Metal Voice and was asked about the shooting. He said it happened after he "had robbed a bar the night before and stolen all their liquor, and I was very drunk. That’s why Randy was at my house, because we were drinking and we were drinking for about six hours straight.”
The bassist tried to persuade Rhoads that DuBrow, with whom Garni regularly clashed, should be fired. Garni said at some point he shot a gun through the ceiling. “The bullet went nowhere near Randy Rhoads, and in no way would I ever try to kill my best friend," he said.
But he added that a "rather violent" fistfight between the two did occur. "That is what friends and brothers do," he insisted. "They roll around the ground, beat each other up, and that’s all it was. ... I was very drunk, and after Randy left I said I am going to fix this deal and I am going to blow Kevin’s ass away."
You can listen to the interview below.
As DuBrow, who died in 2007, was tracking his Quiet Riot II vocals at the Record Plant in Hollywood, Garni got into his car to travel about 25 miles, but soon realized he was in no condition to drive and turned around to return home.
"So in order to park in front of my house, I had to go around the block and I had to go into a major intersection," he recalled. "And when I made that turn, I blew the turn and there was a cop car, and they pulled me over in front of my house. I had the gun in the shoulder holster and they had me get out of the car. Next thing I know I was on the ground, and then I woke up in jail with my face covered in blood. I was charged with DUI and felony possession for a concealed weapon."
Garni said when he was sprung the next day, Rhoads called him up and was laughing because he got arrested. But it also sealed Garni's fate in the band.
“I was kicked out of Quiet Riot because of this," he said. "I have no problems saying that. Once I started to pull a gun out, the management said, ‘He is out of control’, which I agree to that decision that they made and have no issues with. I deserved to get fired from Quiet Riot. Totally deserved it.”