Quiet Riot founder, Kelly Garni, will be special guest at Open Mic Night and TJ’s Tavern
Founding member and bassist of the original Quiet Riot, Kelly Garni, will be a special guest at two upcoming events, in promotion for the 2025 St. Meinrad Rocks Fest.
On Friday, July 18, Garni will be present at the St. Meinrad American Legion, Post #366 Open Mic Night, which will be held from 7-11 central time.
Musician sign-ups will begin at 6pm central time. Bring your guitar, fiddle, or banjo, and share your talent! Sound and mics, as well as a full drum kit, will be provided.
Depending on sign-ups, each performer will take the stage for approx. 15 minutes.
There is no cover charge, and the public is welcome to come enjoy live music, and excellent local talent. Delicious drink and food specials, including a frog leg and shrimp dinner, will be available throughout the afternoon and evening, as well.
On Saturday, July 19, Garni will join the local band, Silly Rules, for a night at TJ’s Tavern, in Lamar. The band will play from 9 pm-1 am central time, with Garni sitting in for several songs.
“I’m looking forward to being back in the area once again. I met so many great people last year at St. Meinrad Rocks Fest and can’t wait to have another weekend of music and friends in southern Indiana.”
An accomplished author, photographer, and artist, as well as musician, Garni says he is ready to talk about everything from his friendship and music with Quiet Riot co-founder Randy Rhoads to his more recent adventures as a Las Vegas photographer and artist.
Garni met future bandmate Randy Rhoads while attending John Muir Middle School in California, and the two became best friends. According to Garni, Rhoads taught Garni how to play bass guitar, and together they formed their first band, rehearsing during the day at Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco, a 1970s Hollywood nightspot. With this band, they spent several months playing at backyard parties around the Los Angeles area in the mid-1970s.
At age 16, Rhoads and Garni formed the band Little Women. The band soon changed its name to Quiet Riot, where they spent several years on stage together, as one of the more successful hard rock acts in Los Angeles in the mid to late 1970s. By 1977, they were able to secure a deal with Sony, but their records would only be released in Japan. The original four members recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QR I, in 1977. Their second album Quiet Riot II, or QR II, was recorded at ‘The Record Plant’ and released in Japan in 1978.
In addition to music, Garni has other creatives talents, as well. A passion for the old West and mining is what inspired him to use the remnants of the past in an artistic way.
Some time ago, he began to explore old ghost towns and mines that existed in the mid-1800’s, and noticed that, while all the buildings and other structures were great to photograph, the real treasures were right under his feet. The very pieces that most people walked right over or kicked aside, he saw as his art supply source. He became obsessed with picking out odd and interesting pieces of rusty metal throughout Nevada and giving these once useful now-turned-trash items a new life in the form of an art style that is modern, with history and soul. His art boasts the spirit of the old west, the people who lived there, and the courage it took to tame a very harsh environment.
Garni has published several books as well, including Angels with Dirty Faces, the story of his life, told his way, from his friendship with Randy and what came along with it, as well as the trials and tribulations, struggles and battles, both personal and professional, of growing up in the Hollywood Music Scene of the 70’s, and Naked Las Vegas, the story and collection of his Vegas photography.
“Books and shirts will be available at the fest for purchase, and Garni will be available for autographs,” adds Carol Ubelhor-Troesch. “I hope you’ll join us for a fun July weekend! All are invited!”
Both nights will also include giveaways to promote St. Meinrad Rocks Fest, which is presented by Inkspot Productions, LLC and Automated Routing, Inc. and will take place in September. For more specific information, please visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stmeinradrocksfest or contact Carol (Ubelhor) Troesch/ Inkspot Productions, LLC at https://www.facebook.com/InkspotProductionsLLC, via email at writstuf@psci.net, or 812-309-8523.
