Their press release states proudly, ‘GREAT WHITE - thirty years of rock n' roll,’ and in that time the band has endured many ups and infamous downs. This year, however, the band has a renewed vigor and purpose which is mostly attributable to new lead singer’s Terry Illous’ (XYZ) positive energy and attitude. The band releases their first effort (aptly titled), Elation, with their new affable frontman in late May. Longtime guitarists, Mark Kendall and Michael Lardie stopped by the BraveWords.com’s offices to discuss the positive new vibe surrounding Great White.

BraveWords.com: How was the new singer, Terry Illous, chosen?

Mark Kendall: “A couple of years ago our former lead singer got sick and we had a show booked. Terry stepped in to save the save day. He was known for doing that and he learned the set on the plane flying in. Over time, we wanted to save shows and our reputation with the promoters. We had thirty some shows booked so far in advance.”

Michael Lardie: “Yes, Terry has always been the go to guy, He literally was learning the songs on a plane from Baltimore (the M3 Rock Festival) in 2010. He had played that day with XYZ, and came to us in Iowa (filling in for our singer at the time) and did a stellar job. There’s something about Terry's voice. I heard immediately that he was the perfect fit. I personally couldn't wait to write with him.”

BraveWords.com: What does he bring to Great White?

Kendall: “His voice sounds really good with my guitar and he has a really good range. He’s able to sing our stuff well and he’s got a great personality. He’s very high energy and a very positive person. I just like the way he is... A really good guy. He’s a great performer and gives everything he has every night.”

Lardie: “His energy is a perfect fit as well and he does ‘BRING IT’ every night. His pitch is impeccable live as well as in the studio.”

BraveWords.com: Was it ‘scary’ to bring in a new lead singer thirty years into your career?

Lardie: “Not scary for me at all, I looked ahead to the challenge. Sometimes in life you are presented with change and you must decide if you move forward or stand still. With Terry as the singer, we are running once again!”

Kendall: “He’s been doing shows with us for about a year and a half. When we did our EP in 1982 - our big first show was to play the Troubador (in L.A.) and we played two nights because the first night sold out really quick. So, we thought it would be fun to go back and play our 30th anniversary show in a club in Hollywood. We decided to play the legendary club that used to be called Gazzari’s - that place is now called the Key Club. At one point, they had a mural with THE DOORS, VAN HALEN, MÖTLEY CRÜE, HUEY LEWIS and I was right in middle of those guys playing my old B.C. Rich Mockingbird guitar... So, it was just all that nostalgia, so we thought it would be fun to do our 30th anniversary show with Terry. We’d already done ’80’ shows with him and people have really accepted him (especially promoters). I can’t remember getting so many emails from promoters saying how professional we were or ‘wow, what a show and can’t wait to book you guys again’. Just really positive feedback.”

BraveWords.com: Your new album, Elation, is refreshing, but why does a band like Great White need to put out new music? You could easily tour based solely on the back catalogue...

Kendall: “Because it’s what keeps me going and I think everybody else feels that way too. If I had to go out and just play the hits every night - I’d go crazy. What keeps me motivated is creating new music. That’s what keeps it fresh and that’s the reason we make new music. We can always get better. I write songs all the time and when I’m at home I’m always playing my guitar. Also, I don’t think it’s fair to Terry to just sing our catalogue. I had a lot of riffs and music and it was just time. It was time for Terry to be on a new record and sing new material, so that it’s not likes he’s out there fronting a cover band.”

Lardie: “Terry deserves to have Great White material to sing that he has been a ‘compositional contributor’ to. He is such a talent and should never be held back from having ownership of material we record. I'm very happy to have him fronting the band now.”

BraveWords.com: Great White was lumped in to the ‘80s hair metal scene, but you’re really not that kind of band. The new album, Elation, has a lot of blues influences and I’d even qualify a few of the tracks as modern country.

Lardie: “I've always thought that we had many different feels and songs; rockers, mid tempo blues, ballads, etc.  With all the members of the band (and with the addition of Alan Niven's insight and creativity), we created a sound that is steeped in the blues that you can’t escape with Mark as our guitar slinger.”

Kendall: “I’ve always felt that we’re just a blues rock band. There’s always been fashion in all the eras. The ‘70s had hippies and bell bottoms. There was this clothes maker in the ‘80s, Ray Brown, who made stuff for JUDAS PRIEST, Mötley Crüe, and for us. It was more about the fashion because when you strip it down to the music, you hear the blues over tones. I’m a straight ahead blues-rock guitarist. My influences are players like Johnny Winters, Billy Gibbons...”

BraveWords.com: Would it be fair to say that Great White has more in common with THE EAGLES than BON JOVI?

Kendall: “Yeah, exactly. We’re not a pop formula... When we write songs we’re definitely closer to The Eagles than Bon Jovi. You hear the blues in the music, but you hear the other influences and that’s what gives this band its sound. If you take the band away, you’ll get a straight ahead blues album from me because that’s my influences. The other guys like different kinds of music. Michael, for example, likes all kinds of stuff and that’s what gives the band its sound. To write us off as ‘this band with hair’ that’s just an easy out for a journalist. It’s just a label and if you want to call me ‘hair metal’ - that’s fine and more power to you, but if you go deeper you wouldn’t just write us off like that.”

Lardie: “A good song comes in many flavors. I feel blessed to be playing with a group of guys like Mark, Audie, Scott and Terry. They bring so many different influences. I feel lucky to be able to try all kinds of things.”

BraveWords.com: The 30th anniversary - it’s fair to say that Great White didn’t have the success of a Bon Jovi or DEF LEPPARD, but here you are thirty years later and in the music business that’s remarkable. What keeps people coming back?

Lardie: “Our fans are beyond loyal and we are lucky that they embrace new material that we put out. I’d like to give a special shout out to all our fans: YOU ROCK!”

Kendall: “It’s a lot of things. We like to keep making new music and the fans have been SO loyal. It’s just their love of the music. The fans in Europe really stay loyal to ‘their music’ and they really takes chances over there. You’ll play a show over there on the same day and same stage with IGGY POP, BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER AND BOB DYLAN. They don’t do that in the States. Over here it would be VAN HALEN, SCORPIONS and Mötley Crüe. It would all be the same music genre. Our fans... We go out and play year after year and there’s tons of people. Only difference is that now we have more CDs for them to get signed.”

BraveWords.com: Have you started thinking about a ‘farewell tour’?

Kendall: “From the beginning, we’ve always had dreams of doing this and our motto has always been ‘let’s not leave ourselves anything to fall back on,’ because if we think of ‘outs’ we won’t be driving forward. We have a love of the music and we’ll just go until it’s not fun. When Terry came into the band it really created such a positive energy. When we get into a room, we’re really enjoying ourselves.”

Lardie: “Now with Terry, the concept of a farewell tour escapes my mindscape (laughs). It’s full steam ahead. There are a lot of shows to play and songs to record.”

BraveWords.com: Last question - what did Alan Niven mean to Great White in the formative years?

Lardie: “Alan brought me into Great White and I will always, forever be,  grateful that he believed in me. In the beginning, even when Mark and our last singer weren't so sure. He and I became an excellent team in the studio. I look forward to working with him again in the near future.

About five years ago, we visited each other and wrote two songs that afternoon. Connection of creativity, if real, does not fade away with time.”

Kendall: “Alan Niven was very important to the band. He did everything for us. He got us signed to a big record deal. He had great ideas. He brought the song ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’ to the band. He wrote almost all the lyrics for the band. He was our lyricist.”

BraveWords.com: Which in itself is odd that the manager/ producer is the band’s lyricist.

Kendall: “He was really good with that and helped our former lead singer with that. He was in his early stages of writing and what he was coming with wasn’t that great. He was just learning and Alan really helped him. Alan was just such an important part. He really shaped us and taught us a lot. If someone else had discovered us - could we have gone on and done the same? I just don’t know. Alan came with a lot of great ideas. Nobody would manage GUNS N’ ROSES. They were in disarray and he put that all together, so he was obviously a very good coordinator, very good creative director... He’s just a brilliant brilliant man.”

For more visit Greatwhiterocks.com.