Great White guitarist Mark Kendall was recently interviewed by 80’s Glam Metalcast; an excerpt has been transcribed as follows, the complete chat can be heard below.

On the direction of new material: "No certain direction. Whatever the best songs are usually make the record. That’s how we’ve always done it. We never sit down and say 'What kind of record do you want to make?' We just write whatever comes natural and pick the best 12 songs."

On the label's expectation of Hooked (1991) after the success of Twice Shy (1989): "They wanted us to sell four million! A lot of the fans liked that album. In my opinion, we didn’t quite have what we needed on that one. I think we rushed through it. I think we should have done something different with the production. I don’t know what the other guys think, but’s there’s a lot of after thoughts on my end. I think we fell a little short." 

On if he thinks Psycho City (1992) would have faired better if it was released in place of Hooked: "Yes absolutely. We really stepped up our game on Psycho City. We really got into it and made a good record. The timing of that record was the downfall, with the Seattle  boom and everything. If we could have put out Psycho City (in 1991) I think it would have done better." 

On his relationship with forrner Great White vocalist Jack Russell, who left the band in 2011: "I haven’t spoken to him in a long time. I guess he’s out there trying to do it. He has to cancel shows and stuff like that. The situation was never like, 'I hate you' or some big fight. It all had to do with substance abuse... him not taking care of himself and him not being able to perform. We told him to go get well, and a year later he came at us with a lawsuit. He wanted the name and just to hire people to play with him and we had to defend ourselves. There’s no ill will. I never take anyone’s addictions personal. I work with a lot of people with addictions daily. I never take it personal because I know it’s a difficult thing to get away from. It’s really unfortunate. We went as long as we could with it. He had walkers, colostomy bags... it was a horrible situation."

The current lineup of Great White features: guitarists Mark Kendall and Michael Lardie, vocalist Mitch Malloy, bassist Scott Snyder, and drummer Audie Desbrow. Catch them live at the following shows:

March
14 - Hard Rock Hell - Great Yarmouth, UK
21 - Ho-Chunk Casino - Baraboo, WI

April
17 - Aliante Casino - Las Vegas, NV
25 - Grand Casino - Shawnee, OK

May
14 - Private Players Club - Uncasville, CT
15 - Tag's Summer Stage - Big Flats, NY
23 - Seven Oaks Recreation - Boone, IA

June
26 - Waterfront On The Riverwalk - Pueblo, CO

July
11 - Greenville Lions Park - Greenville, WI
17 - Mid America Music Festival - Trenton, MO

August
8 - Diamond Jo Worth Casino - Northwood, IA
29 - New York State Fairgrounds - Syracuse, NY

(Photo - Neil Zlozower)