Jack Russell and Mark Kendall of Great White performing live in 2008
Great White is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the group was originally known as Dante Fox and consisted of lead vocalist Lisa Baker, guitarist Mark Kendall, bassist Don Costa and drummer Tony Richards. The band's current lineup includes Kendall alongside guitarist and keyboardist Michael Lardie, drummer Audie Desbrow (both of whom originally joined in 1985 and rejoined in 2006), bassist Scott Snyder (since 2008) and lead vocalist Brett Carlisle (since 2022).
From December 2011 until 2024, former Great White vocalist Jack Russell performed with his own version of the band called Great White featuring Jack Russell (formerly Jack Russell's Great White). The group's final lineup included lead guitarist Robby Lochner (who joined in 2011), rhythm guitarist Tony Montana (former bassist for Great White who joined Russell's band in 2013), bassist Dan McNay (who joined in 2016) and drummer Ken Mary (who joined in 2023, though his tenure started as a touring guest throughout 2022). Russell retired because of illness in July 2024 and died the following month.
History
1977–1987: Early years
Jack Russell and Mark Kendall first met in 1977. The pair worked together in bands with several names and lineups, before Russell was arrested for shooting a live-in maid in 1978.[1] Kendall subsequently formed Dante Fox the next year with vocalist Lisa Baker, bassist Don Costa and drummer Tony Richards.[2] Baker joined George Lynch's Xciter after around six months, with Butch Say taking her place.[3] After 18 months in prison, Russell was released and almost immediately took over as Dante Fox frontman.[1] By late 1982, both Costa and Richards had left Dante Fox to join newly-formed W.A.S.P.[4]
Costa and Richards were replaced by Lorne Black and Gary Holland, respectively.[5] Before the end of the year, the group changed its name to Great White and released its debut EP On Your Knees on the independent label Enigma Records.[6] The band subsequently signed with Alan Niven's new label Aegean Records and released Out of the Night in 1983.[1] This was followed by the group's self-titled full-length debut in 1984.[7] By 1986, Holland had been replaced by Audie Desbrow, and Michael Lardie had joined on rhythm guitar and keyboards; both debuted Shot in the Dark, released the same year.[8]
Shortly after the release of Great White's third studio album Once Bitten in June 1987, Lorne Black was replaced by Tony Montana.[9] The new bassist performed on ...Twice Shy (1989) and Hooked (1991) before leaving in early 1992 during rehearsals for Psycho City, with Dave "The Beast" Spitz taking over for the album's recording.[10] For the subsequent tour, former Dio bassist Teddy Cook joined the band.[11] Cook remained for just one studio album, Sail Away, before he was fired for being a "poser" – in late 1995, Spitz stepped in again to record Let It Rock.[11] Former Quiet Riot bassist Sean McNabb joined for the subsequent tour.[12]
Great White issued Great Zeppelin: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin in 1998 and Can't Get There from Here in 1999, before undergoing a string of lineup changes. First to leave was founding member Mark Kendall, who announced his departure on January 20, 2000.[13] Matthew Johnson (Who worked on Russell's first solo album) took his place the next month.[14] Matthew Johnson had left next, replaced by Ty Longley in July.[15] In September, drummer Audie Desbrow announced his departure, claiming that he had been fired.[16] He was followed by McNabb.[17] Russell opted to continue touring, adding Longley's Samantha 7 bandmates Krys Baratto on bass and Francis Ruiz on drums.[18] In August of 2001, Mcnabb and Kendall would rejoin the band. By November 2001, however, Russell had decided to disband the group. A final show on New Year's Eve, featuring Kendall, Lardie, McNabb and drummer Derrick Pontier (Pontier had filled in for Ruiz throughout 2001) on was released as Thank You... Goodnight! in 2002.[19]
2002–2011: Reformation
Less than a year after Great White disbanded, Jack Russell reunited with Mark Kendall in November 2002 under the moniker "Jack Russell's Great White", with a lineup including second guitarist Ty Longley, bassist David Filice, drummer Eric Powers and keyboardist Yuko Tamura.[20] The group embarked on a tour, which was cut short on February 20, 2003, when a pyrotechnics accident at the start of their performance caused The Station nightclub fire.[21] Among the 100 people killed in the fire was Longley, who was initially reported missing but reported dead four days later.[22]
A few months after the fire, Jack Russell's Great White began touring to raise money for the families of the victims, with Russell and Kendall joined by guitarist and keyboardist Jordan Martin (Later replaced by Tyler Nelson the following year), bassist Scott Pounds and drummer Derrick Pontier.[23] Touring continued until August 2005, when all future dates were cancelled due to undisclosed "medical reasons".[24] In December 2006, a reunion of Russell, Kendall, Michael Lardie, Sean McNabb and Audie Desbrow was announced to mark the band's 25th anniversary.[25]Back to the Rhythm, the first Great White studio album since 1999, was released in 2007.[26]
Jack Russell took a break in 2010 due to medical reasons, before forming his own version of the group in 2011.
During a tour in 2008, McNabb decided to leave Great White.[27] He was replaced that May by Scott Snyder.[28] He debuted on Rising, issued early the next year.[29] During the subsequent tour, Russell was forced to take a break to undergo surgery for a perforated bowel.[30] He was temporarily replaced by XYZ's Terry Ilous.[31] After one show with former Rough Cutt and Quiet Riot frontman Paul Shortino,[32] former Warrant vocalist Jani Lane took over for a run of shows later in the year.[33] Ilous returned in early 2011, although it was planned that Russell would return once he had recovered from surgery.[34] By December, however, he had formed his own version of the band, with Ilous remaining in the main group.[35]
Since 2011: Two bands
The first lineup of Jack Russell's Great White included Russell alongside two former members of Great White (then lead guitarist Matthew Johnson, now doing rhythm guitar, and drummer Derrick Pontier), as well as guitarist Robby Lochner and bassist Dario Seixas.[35] By the time of their first live date, Evan Haymond would, temporarily, replace Matthew Johnson for their first live date.[36] After the band was renamed "Great White featuring Jack Russell", Seixas was replaced by former Great White bassist Tony Montana in July 2013.[37] Evan Haymond would again replace Matthew Johnson in August. Later on in the year, Pontier was replaced by Dicki Fliszar.
Following Haymond's second departure the following year, Montana switched to guitar, as Chris Tristram took over on bass; this lineup released the group's first single, "Hard Habit", in 2014.[38] By 2016, Tristram had been replaced by Dan McNay.[39] The band released He Saw It Comin' in 2017 and Once Bitten Acoustic Bytes in 2020.[40][41] In 2021, the band released Great Zeppelin II, a "sequel album" to Great Zeppelin. Additionally, Michael Oliveieri had filled in for Tony Montana for this album. Dicki Fliszar would later on be replaced by Ken Mary in early 2023, with Mary having filled in for Filszar throughout 2022.
The lineup of the original Great White remained stable from Russell's 2011 departure until 2018, releasing studio albums Elation in 2012 and Full Circle in 2017,[42] and live albums 30 Years: Live from the Sunset Strip in 2013 and Metal Meltdown in 2016.[43][44] In July 2018, the group fired Terry Ilous and replaced him with Mitch Malloy.[45] The new vocalist remained until May 2022, when he was replaced by Andrew Freeman,[46] who was later replaced by Brett Carlisle in October of the same year.[47] Throughout early 2024, Ian Smith of All or Nothing (Of which Carlisle is also the lead vocalist of), filled in for Scott Snyder, who had undergone back surgery. [48] On July 17, 2024, Jack Russell announced that he was retiring from touring, following "a recent diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy" from May of that year.[49] He died nearly a month after the announcement, on August 7, 2024, at the age of 63.[50][51]
^Cooper, Mike (May 1, 1992). "Music Now!"(PDF). The Hard Report. No. 274. Medford Lakes, New Jersey: The Hard Report. p. 53. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
