Massapequa, you just sent one of your own to the big leagues.
John Torra, a 23-year-old singer from North Massapequa, is the new lead vocalist of Quiet Riot. He beat out more than 700 hopefuls who answered the band’s open call.
Torra already fronts the New Jersey band Fire ‘N Ice. He sent audition videos to Quiet Riot’s management and posted his performances online. Fans went wild. Comment sections filled up with people saying he sounded uncannily like the band’s original voice, Kevin DuBrow.
- Who
- John Torra, 23, of North Massapequa
- What
- New lead singer of Quiet Riot, picked from 700+ submissions
- Bandmates
- Rudy Sarzo, Alex Grossi and Johnny Kelly
- When
- On tour now through October, across the U.S. and South America
- Closest show
- Uncasville, Connecticut (no Long Island dates yet)
A Long Island story
Torra wasn’t even born when “Metal Health” ruled the early ’80s. Didn’t matter. He told Newsday he was playing that 1983 album start to finish in his headphones at age 12, and even fell asleep to it.
The fan buzz got him noticed. The talent sealed it. Band manager Regina Banali said the videos were great, but “when he stepped into the room with us, he blew the doors off our songs.”
Quiet Riot formed in Los Angeles in 1973 and has released 14 studio albums, with more than 15 million records sold worldwide. Now a kid from the South Shore is singing those songs on stages in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
Industry folks are calling it a lesson for every young musician on the Island: post the audition, let people react, then go prove it in the room. Torra did both.
No Long Island stop is on the schedule yet. If that changes, you’ll hear it here first. Keep it locked to WLIT.FM.
Source: Greater Long Island. Photo: John Torra (Instagram/@john_torra) via Greater Long Island.
