GREAT WHITE Submitted By Cassie on 06/13/06 Link to Great White Discography Great White has been churning out songs since the early 80's, when Russell and Mark Kendall joined forces and adopted the blues-based sound that went against the era's glam rock grain. Great White quickly attracted attention on the L.A. club scene. Their independently released EP Out of the Night sold 20,000 copies and got local airplay. Great White was snapped up by EMI America, which issued the eponymous "Great White" in 1984. That year, the band embarked on their first European tour with Whitesnake, and segued to a five month U.S. arena run with Judas Priest. Shot in the Dark, their follow-up independent release, marked the arrival of drummer Audie Desbrow. By the time Capitol Records signed the band and reissued Shot in the Dark, keyboardist-guitarist Michael Lardie had come aboard. After the release of Shot in the Dark, Great White hit the road with Dokken and was on the verge of even bigger success. The band hit the mainstream in 1987 when they released Once Bitten.... "Once Bitten..." was certified platinum in April of 1988. The album featured some relatively successful hit songs - "Rock Me", "Lady Red Light", and "Save Your Love". The band followed up with ...Twice Shy in (1989). The album included their biggest hit, Once Bitten, Twice Shy for which they received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified platinum in July of 1989 and then double platinum in September of that same year. The model Bobbie Brown (also known for being in Warrant's "Cherry Pie" video) appeared in the video for "Once Bitten, Twice Shy". Although the band appeared in tight leather pants and threw their hair around, they seemed to be more oriented towards blues-based rock and roll than to glamour. They finished off the 80's touring in support of "...Twice Shy" and with some larger bands, such as Bon Jovi. The band continued into the next decade performing "House of Broken Love" on the American Music Awards in January 1990. That spring, Great White embarked on their first tour of Japan. They soon returned stateside for the Memorial Day weekend festival, dubbed The World Series of Rock, which featured Whitesnake, Skid Row, Bad English, and Hericane Alice. Great White recorded two more albums for Capitol — Hooked, which was certified gold, and Psycho City, which is to this day considered by many to be their most underrated effort. In support of Hooked, Great White toured, completing a headline tour, a guest slot with the Scorpions, and trips to Europe and Japan. Psycho City was followed by a U.S. tour with Kiss. Although Capitol issued a Best Of compilation in 1993, Great White had already departed the label to begin work on their next studio release, Sail Away. Great White spent a grueling seven straight months on the road headlining clubs. According to Lardie, it was "the longest stint we ever did without a break." Great White kept up the pace once Sail Away was released on Zoo Records in 1994, touring the country several times over the following year and a half. Their next release, Let It Rock, was released through yet another label, Imago, in 1996. In 1999 the band released Can't Get There From Here and embarked on a successful tour with Ratt, Poison, and LA Guns. The Album featured the single Rollin' Stoned, which managed to chart on the adult rock charts. It was a disaster that brought Great White into the limelight again. Pyrotechnics used by the band's crew sparked a fire in a Rhode Island nightclub on February 20, 2003, killing 100 people including the band's guitarist, Ty Longley. A spray of sparks produced by a set of devices called gerbs, designed to ignite a controlled display of sparks, ignited the foam soundproofing material behind the stage. The band was playing the song "Desert Moon" when the fire erupted. The band toured in support of the victims and families of The Station tragedy. Great White continues to tour and are currently working on another album. Talk of a reunited Great White began in a 2004 interview where Jack Russell told Metal Express "I spoke with Michael [Lardie], we threw that around a bit, and thought that sounds like a cool idea, it'd be fun. I'm pretty positive it's gonna happen … probably next year... We talked to some other people, and [former drummer] Audie [Desbrow] would not be a person I would want to play with ever again in my life. There were some bridges burned there that I just can’t forgive, and I’m a very forgiving person. I just can’t let that one go. I have to stand up for myself...". Russell's stance towards Desbrow seemed to have changed course by 2006 when he told Mitch Lafon "I talked to Michael Lardie the other day and he is into doing it. I just want to get hold of Tony Montana and Audie Desbrow. I think that would be very special for our 25th anniversary tour to have the same guys...we haven't played together in a very long time." Later in 2006 guitarist Mark Kendall officially announced that Great White has re-formed with its original members. Kendall and Russell have written 15 new songs for an as-yet untitled album to be recorded in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City by year's end. Russell described the album saying “It'll be rock. Great White is what it is. We never try to step out of our box and say ‘OK, let’s be something else because this is current and cool and hip.’ That’s just selling out and I would never do that.” The reformed lineup of Russell, Kendall, Michael Lardie, Sean McNabb and Audie Desbow played their first date together in over 5 years on January 27, 2007 at the Keyclub in Hollywood, CA performing at the Harpseals.org Benefit Concert for the Seals 2007. While the band's official website confirms a 25th anniversary tour, current band manager Obi Steinman has stated that no other dates have been booked. Steinman notes that the band has 11 songs written (down from the 15 mentioned by Kendall in late 2006) and plans to begin recording the new album in February of 2007. They will be having a concert at the win-river casino (redding, CA) on June 2 2007 :: GO BACK TO THE METAL EPICENTER HOME PAGE! :: DISCUSS THIS POST ON THE FORUMS! :: BUY WRESTLING DVD'S THROUGH OUR STORE!

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