Great White: Jack Russell Interview
Vocalist Jack Russell, co-founder of Great White, says that the band officially called it quits last year. At first, he and guitarist Mark Kendall reunited (after Kendall’s short-term hiatus with the band) and attempted to write for what would be their sophomore release on Sony’s Portrait Records Label. But, unfortunately, the writing sessions did go as well as planned.
Russell says, “I wasn’t really happy with the record…and I thought about it long and hard. I didn’t want to go out and make a record that wasn’t as good as the last one.” So, with the music industry turning up its nose at bands like Great White, and his solo project already first and foremost on his mind, they chose to call it a day.
The band performed a farewell show in their home of California on New Years Eve, which was recorded for a live album release yet to come, but these days Mr. Russell has reinvented his sound and forged ahead with a new solo career. Without forgetting his roots, Russell offers up a more mellow, pop-oriented sound that embraces the passionate soulful voice that his fans love. And as for the future of Great White, Russell says “Who knows if we’ll ever do it again, I can’t see it in the immediate future…There’s always that possibility, but it wouldn’t be for quite a number of years if that happened.”
Unlike his prior releases, Russell says that he chose to do “his homework” and take his time while preparing for and working on For You, instead of “cramming before the test.”
“This record was really different for me because with all the Great White albums we’d ever done we sat like and wrote for a month and then went into the studio. With this one, I wasn’t in a hurry. There were no time constraints. I’d say 'I have an idea for a song', and I’d go down the studio just record it for a demo, a rough track. Then I’d go home for a couple weeks and get another idea.”
When initially preparing for the album. Russell says that he knew he wanted to do some type of pop music, but he “wasn’t really sure how to go about it.” Fortunately, he found his direction after listening to the music of an Italian artist named Swanyce who his manager Paul Woolnough had been working with.
“I sat with her one day and then she had this CD of little parts of music and the song, which became ‘For You’ was just a little bit of music on there. I thought it was really cool, ‘I could use that’. So, I took that down the studio and then just took some music and recorded it, and started singing some stuff to it. And, next thing you know, I had a song. From there, I kind of knew where I was going to go.”
Once he determined his direction, Russell chose some of the most talented and well-respected pop-musicians in the world. The writing/production team featured guitarist Bob Kulick and guitarist/vocalist Billy Sherwood. And the other studio musicians were bassist Tony Levin, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and keyboardist Michael Sherwood.
He says “The songs just came together. Me and Billy and Bob – it just it was a really great writing team. The three of us together there was a spark and it was so easy.”
While he admits that he was concerned about what the hardcore Great White fans would think of his new music, Russell really wanted to break new ground. He validly noted, “Its all about good music, whether its called Great White, Jack Russell, or Fred Flinstone (he jokes). If you like music, you like good melodies, you like good choruses. You know, I think it’s got it all. It’s definitely a heart-felt record. I put my soul into it.”
Russell’s heart-felt new album, For You, was written with a dedication to his father. It is scheduled for domestic release on August 6, 2002 on Knight Records. The album’s title track has already hit radio, and apparently doing his homework has paid off, because Russell’s single was the second most added track on US adult contemporary radio last week (losing out to Celine Dion by one add) and the third most added single this week.
