Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi has opened up about one of the wildest untold stories from the chaotic touring days of 80s metal. He revealed the real reason Kevin DuBrow once physically attacked Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler in comments shared on Beardo and Weirdo.
Grossi described a tense moment on a shared tour bus. DuBrow reacted violently after Adler made a mess with food his family had brought aboard. Grossi compared the altercation to a scene from a well-known cartoon before recounting how the situation escalated and had to be broken up by the rest of the crew.
“Kevin actually choked. He grabbed… Remember when Homer Simpson used to grab Bart Simpson and choke him. He did that in the front lounge of the bus,” Grossi said.
“Yeah, cuz Steven got mouthy with him. We were in Ohio where Steven’s from and his family brought like, you know, plates of spaghetti and ravioli for the bus. Steven, of course, made a mess and Kevin had something to say about it. Kevin choked him out. We had to pull him off him.”
Grossi went on to reflect on the surreal nature of witnessing the incident firsthand, given his own history as a fan of Guns N’ Roses. He also noted the irony of the tour’s low ticket sales.
“I’m sitting there going, my first record was Appetite for Destruction. I’m watching the guy from Quiet Riot choke out the drummer from GN’R. This is awesome. This is great. We would have sold more tickets if we let people just come on the bus. Cuz the shows weren’t very well attended,” Grossi continued.
The bus fight took place during the 2004 “Bad Boys of Metal” tour, a package run that put DuBrow’s Quiet Riot on the road alongside Steven Adler, former Warrant frontman Jani Lane, and Bang Tango. The tour paired musicians from several prominent 80s hard-rock acts, though Grossi said the shows struggled to fill seats.
Grossi had crossed paths with DuBrow in 2003, and the “Bad Boys of Metal” run helped launch their professional relationship. DuBrow asked Grossi to join Quiet Riot in 2004, beginning a long association with the band.
The story adds another colorful chapter to the well-documented chaos of 1980s metal tours. It offers fans a rare glimpse into the backstage dynamics between the two bands.
