GREAT WHITE founder and guitarist Mark Kendall (pictured center) is featured in a new interview with Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited. An excerpt is available below:

Jeb: You have the live album out (30 Years – Live From the Sunset Strip) that was recorded at the Key Club.

Mark: "The Key Club used to be called Gazzarri's. VAN HALEN used to play there. It was most known for cover bands and Van Halen played covers back then. They might sneak one original in now and then, but they were mostly cover songs. It was incredible as they were the best band around. They had a big musician type following.

The first time I saw them play, they played three blocks from my house and I paid one dollar to get in. A friend of mine told me I had to check out this new guitar player. I walked to the gig and paid my one dollar. When I walked in Alex was doing a drum solo and Roth was blowing in a tube to his floor tom to make the pitch go up and down; that was my very first experience with Van Halen.

You could tell right away they were amazing. He didn’t have the whammy bar going on back then. I think he was playing a Les Paul Jr. He played outside of the box even back then. If they played a CREAM song or a ROBIN TROWER song, Eddie would play a solo his own way, with his classic sound. He could play the original solos note-for-note, but he would also do his own thing. In fact, I heard that Eddie would do the first solo just like the record, and on the second one, he would do his own Eddie type of solo. No matter what songs they covered it always sounded like Van Halen. They had something going on. It was neat to watch it grow. We were in our little band and we had a dream, but you had never seen it happen for anybody. When they got a record deal I was the happiest guy on earth, as I saw that it could really happen. It was no longer a pipe dream, as I knew if you worked hard and got out there then you could really make it happen."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

To mark its 30th Anniversary Live on March 22, 2012, Great White celebrated the only logical way – on stage. In a nod to its early days, Great White returned to the infamous Sunset Strip, where a storied past of music’s biggest fans are fused into the walls of the Key Club. Great White delivered its entire repertoire to a packed house, pining for the band’s raw energy and cheering its illustrious history track after track.

The Southern California blues hard rock band debuted with a Don Dokken / Michael Wagener produced EP in 1983 and later on were signed by EMI for 1984’s self-titled debut album. Since then Great White has achieved worldwide success, encompassing sales of over six million records. They received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy' and earned a double platinum certification for the album “…Twice Shy”.

It’s the soulful, blues-based signature sound that turned songs like 'Face The Day', 'Rock Me' and 'Save Your Love' into international hits. The late 80's were boom years for the band, marked by non-stop touring with some of the biggest bands of the era including stints in Europe and Japan. Great White recorded two more albums for Capitol - Hooked, which was certified gold and Psycho City.

With a line up featuring Co- Founder Mark Kendall, Audie Desbrow, Michael Lardie Scott Snyder and new singer Terry Ilous (former XYZ), a natural frontman blessed with bluesy-heritage rock tone, Ilous fits the band like a glove. Great White’s biting guitar riffs, contagious rhythm section and newfound energy is ready to honor its past and create the next chapter. 30th Anniversary Live is just one night – but the music is timeless.

30 Years – Live From the Sunset Strip tracklisting includes:

'Desert Moon'

'Lady Red Light'

'Face The Day'

'House Of Broken Love'

'Save Your Love'

'Mista Bone'

'The Big Goodbye'

'Back To The Rhythm'

'Rock Me'

'Can’t Shake It'

'Once Bitten Twice Shy'

Great White is:

Terry Ilous – vocals

Mark Kendall – lead guitar

Michael Lardie – guitar, keyboards

Scott Snyder – bass

Audie Desbrow – drums

For more details visit Greatwhiterocks.com.