Great White burst onto the 80s heavy metal/hard rock scene like a “Shot in the Dark”. With record sales in excess of 8 million, and a catalog of rock radio/MTV hits to their name, they became one of the most beloved acts of their era. Through it all was the unmistakeable voice of Jack Russell. Russell parted ways with his former band a decade ago to start his own incarnation of Great White. Though one thing is certain: There may be two Great Whites, but there’s only one Jack Russell. We had the honor to sit down with the legendary singer to discuss the unbelievable life and fast times of Great White.
First off, how have you been the last few months in the midst of this current pandemic?
Jack Russell: Well it’s just been horrible. You know, I’m just bored and want to get back to work.
I totally feel you. I’ve seen you live several times over the last 5 or 6 years. You love what your doing and it really shows.
JR: Thank you. I really do. There’s only so much time I have left to do it and every day they take away is one less day I get to do what I love to do. It’s a crazy world right now and I don’t see it getting any better soon, unfortunately.
Well on a happier note, let’s start off at the beginning. Last year, you released a compilation of demos from when Great White was originally named Dante Fox. Tell us a bit about those early days. What inspired you to properly release these demos all these years later?
JR: I was just going through some stuff of mine and I found those. I thought, you know what, some of our hardcore fans will get a kick out of these. It’s not like the greatest recording quality. It’s just something that shows where the band came from. It shows our roots. It shows what a 17 year old singer was doing back in 1978. It was just fun, so I thought I’d put them out. It wasn’t that it was going to sell a million records. It was just go out there, put it out, and let people hear it that want to hear it. So yeah, it was fun. I enjoyed it. A lot of people got a kick out of it. Some more than others, but some people took it too serious. It wasn’t supposed to be.
As a diehard Great White fan, I certainly got a kick out of it. The style heard on those demos is representative of Great White’s early sound on Out of the Night and the self titled LP. What caused Great White to transition from that straightforward metal sound to the bluesy hard rock you’re best known for?
JR: Well I think with the addition of keyboards and another guitar, it enabled us to do things that I wanted to do with the band originally. I wanted to have that more bluesy feel and that wider sound you can get with another guitar and keyboard. I think we finally found our niche when we hit Once Bitten. That was when I went, “Okay, this is what we’re supposed to be musically.” I felt like this is where the band needs to be at. We just found that and started exploring around there for a while. I think that’s when the band hit its stride, at least in my opinion.
I think originally the band was doing what everyone else was doing. We were like a Judas Priest clone in 1984 *laughs*, wearing the leather and the studs. That’s kind of what it was. We shopped at the Pleasure Chest in Hollywood. It was just heavy metal clones. I think Great White became Great White once we did the Once Bitten album. I think Shot in the Dark was a good record, but I think when we got the keyboards, we were a little overzealous. We were leaning too much on them.
It’s funny you mention Shot in the Dark. I revisited that record last night. It really strides the line between the early sound and what would come on Once Bitten.
JR: Yeah, absolutely. It was definitely a segue between that early sound and the sound that everybody knows.
Speaking of Judas Priest, your first major tour was opening for Priest on the Defenders of the Faith tour. Was there any camaraderie between yourselves and Priest? What lessons did you take away from that experience?
JR: They were great guys. We hung out a lot. Good lesson: Don’t wear leather jackets when you’re playing volleyball on the beach *laughs*. They were a hoot man, but they were definitely European. We actually had a week off in Missouri. We were playing volleyball on the beach and they were out there in the leather jackets. It was funny to see K.K. Downing in a red leather jacket playing volleyball in 90 degree weather. It’s like, “No dude. You don’t look cool.”
*laughs* That’s amazing. A common theme of those early Great White albums was to include at least one cover. The debut included The Who’s “Substitute”, Shot in the Dark included The Angels’ “Face the Day”, and most famously, Twice Shy included Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”. How did the band go about deciding which songs to cover?
JR: It just kind of happened. Somebody would come up with an idea. And we’d say, “Yeah that’d be a good song to do.” A song is a song. A good song is a good song. I never cared who wrote it. There’s a lot of songs I still want to cover just because I love the song and I want to be able to sing it and record it. It’s just a lot of fun, so I never worried about what people think. I don’t care. I got the record deal. I’m gonna do what I want. You don’t like it? Don’t buy the record. It was just fun. Rock n’ roll is fun. I do it for fun. And if there’s a song I enjoy doing, I’m gonna do it.
That’s the spirit!
JR: That’s it.
You mentioned earlier how you feel Once Bitten is when Great White hit their stride. Personally, it’s my favorite Great White album. This was your commercial and critical breakthrough, yet the leadoff single was the 7 minute “Rock Me”. Even in a post-“Bohemian Rhapsody” world, this seemed ambitious. Was it unanimously decided this would be the single or were there some hesitations?
JR: No, that was the single. We knew right away. We were smart enough that on the record labels, on the time, we put it all on one side of the album as 3 minutes and 15 seconds. The other side was 3 minutes and 57 seconds. When the DJs got the single, it either said “3:58” or “3:57”. So they got singles they thought were 4 minutes, when it was actually 7 minutes and 11 seconds. By the time they figured it out, it was too late. The phones were lighting up, so they couldn’t pull the song.
That’s a clever tactic.
JR: Yeah I’m glad it worked. It could’ve went either way.
It ended up becoming one of your biggest hits.
JR: Absolutely.
Another song off Once Bitten I’d like to talk about is one of my favorites, “Never Change Heart”. You wrote that song with Mark Kendall and Alan Niven. How did it come to be and did Great White ever perform it live?
JR: Never did do it live, no. That song was from an idea I had, a chorus I had. We just took it from there. Every song takes a life of its own. I generally don’t sit there and say, “Okay, this next song is gonna be about this.” You just start writing melodies and the words come. A song writes itself. That one was no different. It’s one of my favorite songs as well. As a matter of fact, on the acoustic version we did of the record, the one we just released, Acoustic Bytes, that version really came out good. I was really surprised because I had my doubts about it in that format. I thought it was a little too heavy for that format, but I really enjoy listening to it.
Personally, I’m a vinyl collector who loves looking at every little detail of the jackets, inner sleeves, and liner notes.
JR: You and me both man! You and me both. I’m the same way. I study every little word on there, every little scratch, every little word or symbol on the actual inside of the album itself.
I noticed on the inner sleeve of Twice Shy, it reads, “Twice Shy was recorded between November 1988 and February 1989 (except December which was designated party month).” Was December 1988 indeed a “designated party month”?
JR: Oh yeah! We just said hey, we’re just gonna take this time off and go out. You know, it’s Christmas time. We didn’t want to be recording around Christmas, you know?
Of course. You gotta take a break sometime.
JR: Yep. I forgot about that. That’s funny.
Another album I’d like to touch on, and one that helped me through a really rough time, is 1992’s Psycho City. I’ve always sensed a touch of darkness and melancholy to this album. Would you agree? What was the band’s dynamics at the time of recording Psycho City?
JR: We were at odds with the label. Tony (Montana) was out of the band. I was getting sober. Mark (Kendall) was soon to follow about a month later. There was some good stuff going on and some stuff that wasn’t so good going on. It was a very melancholic record. There was a lot of change in the wind. You could almost feel the storm coming musically. Things weren’t what they were a couple years before. It wasn’t as carefree as the 80s, though being just a couple years later. It’s crazy how you can go through a decade and have it change so much. It’s weird. Ten years, it changes. Ten years, it changes. It’s strange how it’s not like 11 or 12 or 13 years. It really is a strange phenomenon.
Speaking of the timespan of a decade, this year marks a decade since you launched Jack Russell’s Great White. I hate to beat a dead horse, but I must ask: Do you see any scenario in the future where you and Tony Montana would reunite with Mark Kendall and the other classic members of Great White? Or are you satisfied with the band and name you’ve already established?
JR: No I can’t see that happening. I’m really happy right now where I’m at. It’s not about the money for me. It’s not about anything but just having fun and enjoying myself. As much as I wouldn’t want to go back, they wouldn’t want me back. So it’s a mutual agreement. There’s just too much water under the bridge and we had our day(s). We had some great days. We had a lot of good times together. It’s sad that it ended up the way it did, but it did and that’s just the way it is.
I wish I could say different. I wish I could call Mark on the phone and say, “Hey, how are you doing buddy? What’s going on? How have you been? How’s the new album coming?” That’ll never happen and that’s too bad because there’s memories that I have that I can only share with him. And those memories will never be shared again because I have nobody to talk to them about. So that’s a sad thing, but other than that, oh well. You’ll have a lot of people that go in and out of your life. How many of us can look back ten years ago and think about the circle of friends we had and think about all the people that aren’t in our lives anymore? They were and we always thought they’d be there, but they’re not.
I don’t blame you because like I’ve said. I’ve seen you multiple times and you look happy, you’re having a great time, but most importantly, you sound amazing. When I think of all the bands I’ve seen from the 70s and 80s over the years, you’re probably in the top 5 as far as still sounding so great after all these years.
JR: Thank you. I appreciate that. I’ve actually gotten better. I quit smoking about a year ago, so my voice has gotten better, a lot better, which I’m really happy to say.
Do you have a daily routine to keep your vocal chords in shape?
JR: When I’m not working, no. When I’m working, yes. I spend six hours before the show warming up. Not straight, but every once and a while I’ll do a little warmup starting six hours before the show. I’ll warmdown afterwards for 20 minutes. It just keeps my voice in good shape. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs, regardless of what you hear. I take care of myself and these days, God willing, you have to.
In closing, anything you’d like to say to all the “wasted rock rangers” reading this interview?
JR: *laughs* I just want to say thank you for all the years of support and love and for sticking with us and coming out to see the shows. People have to remember that they’re the ones this is all about. It’s not about us. It’s about them. We do this for you guys and the love you have for music. You’re the reason I get up in the morning.