Sarzo was born in Havana, Cuba on November 18, 1950. He immigrated to the United States in 1961, and was raised in Florida. His brother, Robert, is also a musician.\n', '

Upon arriving in Los Angeles in August 1977, Sarzo happened upon a Quiet Riot show at the Starwood after being turned away from a sold-out Van Halen show at the nearby Whisky a Go Go. He recalled the show being "quite ambitious for a club band", and after the show he bumped into vocalist Kevin DuBrow and the two formed a friendship. Struggling financially, Sarzo moved to New Jersey in the fall of 1977 to join his brother Robert in a Top-40 band called A New Taste. While in New Jersey in the summer of 1978, Sarzo received a phone call from DuBrow asking him if he\'d like to fly to Los Angeles and audition for Quiet Riot. He landed in LA the next day, rehearsed with the band and was offered the job, which he accepted. Though he is pictured on the cover of the band\'s 1978 album Quiet Riot II, the bass parts were actually played by Kelly Garni, the man Sarzo replaced.\n', '

Shortly after joining Quiet Riot, Sarzo began teaching bass guitar at Musonia music school at the request of bandmate Randy Rhoads. The pair became disillusioned by Quiet Riot\'s inability to land an American recording contract (their albums had been released in Japan only at that point), and Rhoads soon left the band after accepting an offer to form a new band with ex-Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. Quiet Riot played a farewell show at the Starwood on October 2, 1979, after which Rhoads left for England to write songs with Osbourne. With Quiet Riot officially disbanded, Sarzo joined a band called Private Army with drummer and longtime friend Frankie Banali.\n', '

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