Very sad news. I know Kevin and RK were good friends.


From thevegaseye.com:

I am sad to have to report the passing of one of my closest friends, Kevin DuBrow. DuBrows body was found by friends, on Sunday in his Las Vegas home. Dubrow recently spent a birthday weekend in New Orleans where he ate great food and even caught The Cult at The House of Blues. Kevin loved fine foods and was a true gourmet at heart. Kevin was a true Las Vegas icon and could be spotted eating nightly at any of his favorite Vegas eateries like Carlucci's, Simons Kitchen, The Palm or Messa Grill.

DuBrow grew up in Hollywood, California, before settling in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys at age 13. By the time he was in his mid-teens he had developed an appreciation for a number of British rock acts including the Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, Rod Stewart and Humble Pie. It was the latter of those influences that would leave the biggest impact on DuBrow and act as a compass in his musical career.

I was stunned and saddened by the news of Kevin DuBrow’s premature passing. I will always be thankful not only for the road he paved for all bands that followed in the wake of Metal Health’s success, but for being able to call him one of my best friends from ‘back in the day’.

When KEEL was the opening act on QR’s 1986 tour, Kevin treated us, and me, extremely well – upon occasion, he invited me to ride with him in their tour bus to the next town and we’d room together, singing and partying. In 1989 he made a guest appearance on our “Larger Than Live” album, singing on our cover of Humble Pie’s “Fool For A Pretty Face” – our vocal back-and-forth at the end of the tune (along with Jamie St. James) is one of the highlights of that disc.

I’m glad I got to see Quiet Riot live several times these past few years, including a gig where I was once again their opening act in Pittsburgh last year. Kevin’s voice and stage presence were as strong as ever, and with many of our contemporaries no longer able to deliver vocally it was great to see and hear a guy who’d been doing it longer than any of us still able to belt it out and hit the high notes.

Never once in all these years did he fail to have a smile and a hug for me, and we last spoke a couple of months ago. He hooked me up with tickets for their show with Vince Neil in Las Vegas and we made dinner plans that will now remain unfulfilled.

Kevin’s music left a mark on modern culture, and his passing will leave a mark deep inside me. He will be missed. My condolences to all of his other friends and members of his family who have suffered this loss.