Great White remains the enigma of the popular 1980s rock bands.
After chart-topping success, they were “too bluesy” for hair metal, “too Led Zeppelin” for the metal fans, too non-1980s for the time period, and too 1980s for the 1990s.
Yet they continue to survive and thrive for nearly 50 years, touring and creating consistent output.
Mark Kendall, lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the veteran rock act, continues to brandish a first class live rock production with longtime partners Michael Lardie (keys, guitar), Audie Desbrow (drums), Scott Snyder (bass) and new lead vocalist Brett Carlisle.
They will take the stage at the
Labadie Rib Fest on Fri., July 25, as part of a four-day music and BBQ celebration, along with the Tri-Cities own The Rock Show and headliner Sebastain Bach. The festival takes place in Veterans Memorial Park on Bay City's West Side.
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Graphic courtesy of the Labadie Rib FestRoute Bay City was able to catch up with Kendall at home, on a break between fly tour dates, and see what Great White has been up to lately and offer regards to the passing of long-time singer Jack Russell last August.
“Jack Russell is a very difficult singer to … I won’t say replace, but to find someone who can sing in that range, that is creative,” Kendall shares. “Finding the whole package has been very difficult.”
The band released its incredible 2017 sound feast “Full Circle”
with former XYZ frontman Terry Ilous on vocals (who took over the reins for Russell in 2010).
Now, Alabama-born Carlisle has replaced Ilous, reignited the Los Angeles band, and became the missing ingredient in providing the vocal range, youth, power, and creativity for the popular group. Great White’s music ranges from slow-burning grooves to speed crank riffing at any given moment.
“Since our singer is so badass, we can throw some stuff off the first album out there like ‘Stick It' and we’re playing some of the deeper cuts,” Kendall says. “We can do whatever we want now. We are not handcuffed.
“I’ve been taking him into the studio. We have been writing a lot and stuff. His voice goes with my guitar, so I’m really happy now and we can do some really killer stuff.”
The past few years have opened up another chapter in diversity for the band.
The impact of “Full Circle,”
was felt in the hard rock social circles, as Kendall states they were able to record the album with legendary producer Michael Wagener over a five-week period, which included having four shows in between.
“The funny thing about it is we hadn’t worked with Michael Wagener since our first album (“Great White,” 1984), our and our first EP (“Out Of The Night,” 1983). He’s a bonafide pro, a task master, the whole thing. He’s a German and has all his ducks in a row. He’s done everyone (from) Alice Cooper to Ozzy. His discography is sick. And he doesn’t make me nervous. Just a fun guy to be around.”
Kendall is convinced that Wagener’s studio approach and recording style is the best fit for the band after 13 studio albums, an EP and live output.
“The reason it works is because he finishes one song at a time. We were able to lay down all the bass and drums, scratch guitar and scratch vocals, and then pick the song we were going to work on the next day. So we would go back to this house we rented, finish the lyrics, and go in there and finish that song.”
Wagener held the key that unlocked the classic Great White sound and vibe that has been the group’s hallmark, while giving Kendall room for expression.
“I like working that way for this reason: You find yourself finding guitar sounds more when you are not trying to do five rhythm tracks in one day and brag about it," the guitarist laughs. “When you change guitar sounds you think, ‘What guitar would sound good on this song?’ Also it gave us an opportunity to finish the lyrics for the song. The best thing to do is wait until the producer is done with his mix, then you make your comments. You live and learn.
“I tried different amps I don’t normally use. Also some of the writing, I was taking a page out of some of the R&B type bands. You make (the listener) think you are supposed to go to the four, think there is a key change, but instead of that, you hang on the same key forever. You change the instruments around it – the orchestration and the way the vocal is. Then when a change does happen, it is like a real dynamic surprise. I try not to repeat myself over and over.”
Kendall praises his longtime core bandmates Lardie and Desbrow, while noting that bassist Snyder has been very impactful on helping the band become more musical and locking down the rhythm section in ways they couldn’t back when hits like “Rock Me,” “Save All Your Love,” and “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” topped the charts.
“Scott is a true bass player. He’s a bass fan. Whereas Tony Montana – kickass dude, great voice, but he was a guitar player, playing bass. When we were going to do “Psycho City,” he was always playing his Les Paul (guitar). I’m like, ‘Dude, go do that. Follow your heart! I’ll be in the front row pumping my fist!’
Kendall continued laughing about Snyder’s work ethic as a bassist and the creative balance he brings.
“It’s a different mindset. (Bassists) think with the kick drum and being tight. (Scott) can actually play guitar, and world class piano. The dude probably never did Little League. He’s just a sick animal!”
When Great White struck more success acoustically in the mid-1990s, they found another audience within a powerful decade where their sound easily could have been lost.
“Jack was a huge Zeppelin fan,” Kendall recalls. “The Zeppelin overtones came from him a lot. I’m more of the blues guy, I like Billy Gibbons and (Robin) Trower, and I’m old school. Lardie, believe it or not, is into softer music. Billy Joel, Elton John, and stuff like that. I love all that too, but it’s when we play together it makes a certain sound like any band.”
Kendall shared that the albums over the past two decades have been hit or miss keeping the band in and out of mainstream. They stick to a roots ideal in sonics and sound when it comes to playing live.
“I felt that ‘Rising’
was lacking in production,” the guitarist recalls about the band-produced 2009 effort. “I would rather have a pro (producer) with a state-of-the-art studio with all the bells and whistles.
“But it’s funny when you sit there and write on the acoustic like I did on ‘Shine’ (on ‘Rising.
’) You try to get percussion in there and I did a lot of right-hand stuff. Then when you add the drums, it creates a motor that keeps moving forward. I really like that. I’ve never been a fan of modern technology, emailing your parts to the guy and then he does his overdub. Things happen when we jam, that wouldn’t happen if we did it (the other) way.
Kendall notes that drum legend Myron Grombacher (Pat Benatar) cut the drum tracks in two days for the band’s 1999 album, “Can’t Get There From Here,” as Desbrow fell ill, which was a twist in the band’s recording story. Currently Kendall has been demoing new songs with Carslie at his pal Tracy G’s (from Dio) studio.
“Tracy and I have been friends since we were teenagers,” Kendall recalls. “His studio is way more upgraded than mine. The drummer for Korn has been recording there and he’s only an hour from me. So I go down there and do my demos. (Brett) wants to sing on new stuff and I want him to. It’s almost like he’s in a cover band in our way, singing all our songs.”
Kendall says that the band has been doing more shows in the U.S. lately, including the Labadie Ribest in Bay City July 24-27.
“We do fly dates. We go over to Europe sometimes for maybe five to six weeks. It’s just hard, because unless we can play festivals to make it financially worth it. We can just do one show here and do better than if we go over there and play clubs for four weeks. It’s kind of hard. But if they want to throw in three festivals, then we are totally digging it. We will play the clubs and whatever. I like to do the Monsters of Rock and stuff in Germany, Denmark, Netherlands.”
Kendall was also able to tweak his live guitar sound, thanks to producer Wagener, for tour dates now.
“We order certain equipment (on the road). I bring a Kemper (simulator) with me that has all my amps programmed in it. Wegener turned me onto it. It’s pretty consistent because I have live cabinets going on stage, plus the direct from the Kemper. So the house guy is getting air pushing out of the speakers, plus he is getting the direct sound from the Kemper. He’s got the ultimate guitar sound in the house.
“I mean, we’re not Steely Dan. I want to feel the music and feel the air push out of the speakers.”
Kendall has seen the peaks and valleys of a career that has taken him to the top of the charts, a revival, a short-lived side band Train Station, and a return to the legacy Great White has continued to push forward.
Kendall noted that a sonic change is on the horizon when it comes to going back to the classic feels, as he recently connected with the warmth of vinyl after listening to Foreigner's “4”
recently.
“I forgot this sound,” he laughs. “It has all the punch and warmth. It’s almost like we were tricked into thinking CD’s were better – the clarity, like listening to HD or a big screen TV. But what you are missing is … all the warmth, all the punch. You almost envision the band was right there in the room with you (on vinyl). You don’t really get that from digital in my opinion.”