{"id":17150,"date":"2017-06-30T01:00:51","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T05:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=17150"},"modified":"2017-06-29T18:43:10","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T22:43:10","slug":"interview-with-mark-kendall-of-great-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=17150","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Mark Kendall of Great White: &#8220;We still have our history that we\u2019re proud of and grateful for but to keep our energy where it needs to be, we need to keep making new music.&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/sleazeroxx.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Great-White-album-cover-2-e1495886560646.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for great white full circle\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" \/>From California underdogs as Dante Fox to the multi-platinum selling Great White, guitarist\/founding member Mark Kendall has been there and has seen it all. \u00a0He saw the humble beginnings, he saw the fame, he saw the crash, and has experienced the revival and lived to tell about it. \u00a0Great White has released their latest album Full Circle and it\u2019s hands down the best thing that the band has released since Once Bitten, in my opinion. \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Getting to talk to my childhood favorites never gets old and Mark Kendall definitely didn\u2019t disappoint. \u00a0As a matter of fact, he exceeded my expectations. \u00a0Mark was awesome enough to talk to me about the new album, Great White\u2019s history, and what it was like working with legendary producer Michael Wagener again. \u00a0Mark was a super sweet, humble, and funny guy and I really enjoyed talking with him. \u00a0Hopefully you all will enjoy this one as much as I did. \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mark, thank you so much for taking the time out to do this interview. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Don. \u00a0I\u2019m glad to be here. \u00a0Things are going great here. \u00a0We\u2019ve got the new record Full Circle out, we\u2019ve been playing some shows, and we\u2019re getting some great feedback. \u00a0It\u2019s an exciting time for us.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Elation was such a great \u201ccomeback\u201d album but Full Circle really has taken things to a new level. \u00a0You guys sound like a band that\u2019s been at it for decades with this lineup and I love the fact that the title says so much. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thanks, Don. \u00a0Honestly, we\u2019ve never named an album in advance. \u00a0We always wait until all the music\u2019s recorded and then we sit around and throw things out there. \u00a0It\u2019s actually kind of fun to do it that way. \u00a0At first we were trying to name this album after a song but nothing was making sense to us. \u00a0The thought was that Michael Wagener was our very first producer who did our first EP and album and 30+ years later, here we are again with him so it was like full circle. \u00a0That\u2019s how the title got generated. \u00a0Michael Lardie actually came up with that title and we all liked it right away.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>While I loved Elation, I can\u2019t help but feel like you guys were still figuring things out a bit with Terry (Ilous; vocalist) but this time around with Full Circle, it sounds like everything just clicked.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, thanks Don. \u00a0Everyone was working on such a high level of excitement, to do another album with Wagener, and to be in a different environment. \u00a0We were recording in this iconic studio in Nashville in the middle of nowhere [laughs]. \u00a0The energy was really good and we felt really good about the songs. \u00a0We kind of felt like almost how we did when we did Once Bitten. \u00a0It was just like a do or die record. \u00a0We just really wanted to deliver for the fans and we really wanted to come out with something that was the real deal. \u00a0Everybody played their hearts out and we\u2019re thrilled with the album. \u00a0Everyone seems to be happy and we\u2019re really excited about it.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>I first heard of Great White when you guys were picked to support Whitesnake in \u201888. \u00a0After seeing that show in New Orleans, I was a huge fan. \u00a0What was it about the Once Bitten album that you feel opened the floodgates for success?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, the pressure of having to come out with an album that\u2019s good was definitely part of why I think it was our best work to come out. \u00a0I also think that there was nothing really out there like it at the time. \u00a0There wasn\u2019t a song like \u201cRock Me\u201d with the blues overtones and the dynamics. \u00a0Even though the song was over 7 minutes long, the radio just took to it and people liked it right away. \u00a0It was a great feeling because we had been grinding for so long.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes. \u00a0You guys were already hitting it hard with the self titled album and the EP for a while before the success rolled in. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, It just seemed like no matter what we did nothing was happening for us. \u00a0We kept fighting. \u00a0We did our first album for EMI and did two big tours with an early version of Whitesnake and then five or six months with Judas Priest. \u00a0We came home and didn\u2019t sell a lot of records and the record company wasn\u2019t happy. \u00a0We made our own record, Shot in the Dark, and it got us another song on the radio which was \u201cFace the Day\u201d \u00a0which went to #2 on KLOS. \u00a0That got us enough attention to where we got signed to another deal, a second chance so yeah, that really was do or die for us. \u00a0We were very fortunately that we came out with a pretty darn good record and had some long tours. \u00a0We were out on the road for a long time.<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lkDa3spwZJI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>After the lengthy tour behind Once Bitten, you guys released Twice Shy and did that amazing co-headlining tour with Tesla. \u00a0To this day it\u2019s one of my all time favorite tours. \u00a0Have you guys ever talked about maybe doing an anniversary run together and bringing that tour back?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Don, that\u2019s a great idea. \u00a0Tesla are really good friends of ours and we actually have some history together. \u00a0When we were on tour with Judas Priest, on nights off we were playing clubs. \u00a0When we were in Northern California we were playing with this band called City Kidd. \u00a0They were playing Dokken covers and stuff like that. \u00a0I just thought their singer was so good and that the band was good and I thought that they should be playing their own music. \u00a0I thought they were such a great band and then a couple of years later they come out with this great record and I find out that Tesla used to be City Kidd. \u00a0I couldn\u2019t believe it and before you know it, we\u2019re co-headlining a tour with them. \u00a0Talk about upping your game. \u00a0They went from being a cover band to being this really great band of their own. \u00a0I was thrilled about that just right out of the gate because we had that history with them. \u00a0\u00a0I would be totally open to do a tour like that again.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>When Great White first started, the band had a more metal, Judas Priest kind of sound. \u00a0What brought on the metamorphosis into a more Zeppelin-esque direction?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Actually, we were forcing the issue early on. \u00a0It was back when Judas Priest was kind of flying under the radar as far as LA goes. \u00a0They weren\u2019t a big commercial band at the time that everybody knew so we were trying to be something we weren\u2019t and not being true to ourselves. \u00a0When Alan Niven discovered us, we already had all those songs, we went with it, and we failed. \u00a0We then decided to just be true to ourselves and play what was inside of us. \u00a0Growing up I was more into the blues side of guitar playing and guitar players who played from the heart like Carlos Santana, Richie Blackmore, Billy Gibbons, guys like that. \u00a0Alan Niven, our manager, really helped bring out our influences and helped shape the band. \u00a0That\u2019s when the blues element started to come in. \u00a0In fact, when we were recording the first album, in between songs I\u2019d be playing some Alvin Lee Ten Years After thing or some Carlos Santana lick [laughs]. \u00a0Then we would be like, \u201cOk, let\u2019s get back to the metal.\u201d [laughs] \u00a0It was always in me but it took someone like Alan Niven to see that and say, \u201cThis is what you should be doing\u201d and over time and after writing a while, that\u2019s how Once Bitten developed.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Michael Wagener produced your latest album and he really managed to capture a more classic sound from the band. \u00a0Did this come natural and how much of a role did he play into this?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>it wasn\u2019t intentional at all because we just wrote like we always do. \u00a0We didn\u2019t change a thing. \u00a0Obviously the production is top shelf stuff. \u00a0When you walk into Wagener\u2019s studio you\u2019re just blinded by platinum records. \u00a0He\u2019s worked with everybody. \u00a0One thing he did do was made me feel at ease. \u00a0When he\u2019s recording with you he makes you feel so good. \u00a0We got really good performances. \u00a0Maybe you\u2019re just feeling a bit of the production from the early albums? \u00a0I\u2019m not sure. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t like he was trying to bring the metal out of us or anything like that[laughs]. \u00a0He just made us feel really comfortable.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m sure his old school way of doing things probably gelled with you guys a lot more than say the new way of a younger producer. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly. \u00a0He doesn\u2019t use auto-tune or anything. \u00a0He just tells you to play it again until you get it right. \u00a0He\u2019ll say, \u201cDon\u2019t sing flat!\u201d [laughs] \u00a0I like to believe and trust my ears enough that when I listen to something, if it sounds good than it is good. \u00a0If the computer says it\u2019s not good, then so what? \u00a0We\u2019re not computers. \u00a0We\u2019re human beings and we like the way music sounds. \u00a0If it sounds good, it\u2019s good. \u00a0If you start judging things by what it says on the computer, you\u2019re going to wind up sounding like a machine. \u00a0What works best for us is when we all play together and everything usually works out. \u00a0It has nothing to do with computers.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you like recording digitally vs. analog or vice versa?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have no problem with recording on computers. \u00a0I actually like it. \u00a0It\u2019s just a quicker way to record for me. \u00a0When we were working with 2\u201d tape, it took so long to do the simplest edit. \u00a0Now, with the click of a mouse it\u2019s done. \u00a0You can make records so much quicker now. \u00a0It keeps things moving along and you\u2019re not stopping and starting so much. \u00a0I hate taking these huge breaks for something to happen. \u00a0I like to keep the momentum and the energy up.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>As a veteran of the scene, you\u2019ve seen the music business change, digress, come back to life, and all in between. \u00a0What is your take on the current state of the industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, you really need a lot of people on your team that know the internet really well. \u00a0It\u2019s a lot more difficult to get your music to the people because we don\u2019t have all the mediums we used to. \u00a0We\u2019re not on the radio and we\u2019re not on MTV every five seconds all over country. \u00a0When you take all of that away, we still have the fans and they still come to the shows but a lot of them might not know that we have a new record out. \u00a0I\u2019m just totally into making new music because we\u2019re always challenging ourselves to get better. \u00a0That\u2019s our whole momentum and the whole reason we\u2019re still here. \u00a0We just want to keep writing and keep doing something good and maybe even a little better than we did the last time. \u00a0There\u2019s not a lot of forums for new music but when people hear the latest album, we\u2019re getting great feedback from it. \u00a0We\u2019re just doing the best we can to get our new music heard. \u00a0We still have our history that we\u2019re proud of and grateful for but to keep our energy where it needs to be, we need to keep making new music.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>The new album comes packaged with a DVD that is a Making of\u2026 kind of documentary. \u00a0What inspired you to do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I got the idea from Deep Purple. \u00a0I was at a friend\u2019s house and we watched The Making of Machine Head. \u00a0It was done like 25 years or so after the album was released and they told the whole story about how they recorded it. \u00a0Being such a fan myself, \u00a0I just loved it. \u00a0To be able to go behind the scenes of one of the greatest albums that I love and to hear the story of how it was made was wonderful. \u00a0When we got the opportunity to record this album with Wagener, I knew that we had to roll cameras so the fans could see how we make records. \u00a0It\u2019s something that we\u2019ve never done. \u00a0We\u2019ve never even let anyone in the studio before much less film it [laughs]. \u00a0We hired a production company to just come in and film every day and it was really cool.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking back on your long, 30+ year career,, is there anything you wish you could un-do?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] There\u2019s just some pictures that you look at and you just cringe over and say, \u201cOh man, why did I do that?\u201d [laughs] \u00a0Man, it was all really just a learning process. \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t really change anything because we really did learn a lot and we can share it with up and coming bands on what to do and what not to do. \u00a0If there was anything I would change I probably would\u2019ve toned it down a little on the partying [laughs]. \u00a0I used to drink beer like a crazy man and I quit drinking 9 years ago. \u00a0I see these younger bands partying like they\u2019ve just gone #1 and they haven\u2019t even been signed yet [laughs]. \u00a0They should be focusing on the songs and getting really good instead of acting like they\u2019ve been on top of the charts for 10 weeks [laughs].<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is one Great White song that hasn\u2019t been in a setlist for or while (or at all) that you would love to see make a comeback?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are so many deep tracks that I\u2019d love to play intermixed with the stuff that we have to play. \u00a0One song that we haven\u2019t played in years is a song called \u201cGet On Home\u201d from the Psycho City album. \u00a0I think we played that song twice. \u00a0I don\u2019t like it when we make records and we don\u2019t play some of the songs live. \u00a0It\u2019s kind of weird but we 13 studio album so it\u2019s tough to try and play them all.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking back on your extensive discography, what album do you feel best defines what Great White is all about?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think Psycho City got pretty close. \u00a0I think part of Once Bitten was just so close to ourselves but this new album I feel like, as far as song for song, is one of our best efforts in a long time. \u00a0The first single \u201cBig Time\u201d people have been saying just sounds like vintage Great White with the dynamics and the big chorus. \u00a0You always like to think that your latest album is your best album ever but I am really happy with it. \u00a0We have so many snapshots in our career of what we were doing and the time. \u00a0It\u2019s tough to pick one but there are elements of every record that I feel that we nailed it as far as representing who we are.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are your tour plans for 2017 in support of Full Circle and you better say you\u2019ll be coming to Atlanta.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[laughs] Oh absolutely. \u00a0We\u2019ll definitely hit Atlanta at some point this year. \u00a0Shows are coming in every day. \u00a0We\u2019ve got about 40 shows lined up already but you can check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.officialgreatwhite.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>www.officialgreatwhite.com<\/strong><\/a> since dates are being added constantly.<\/p>\n<p>==============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thanks so much, Mark for doing this. \u00a0This was a real pleasure and you were a blast to talk to. \u00a0Hopefully we can do it again sometime.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Absolutely, Don and thank you for doing this blog. \u00a0We\u2019ve gotta let people know somehow that we\u2019re still here and still playing. \u00a0You guys that do these blogs and these podcasts are keeping the music alive and I really appreciate it. \u00a0It\u2019s just awesome. \u00a0Keep up the great work, my friend.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From California underdogs as Dante Fox to the multi-platinum selling Great White, guitarist\/founding member Mark Kendall has been there and has seen it all. \u00a0He saw the humble beginnings, he saw the fame, he saw the crash, and has experienced the revival and lived to tell about it. \u00a0Great White has released their latest album Full Circle and it\u2019s hands down the best thing that the band has released since Once Bitten, in my opinion. \u00a0 Getting to talk to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[511,1825],"class_list":["post-17150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-great-white","tag-mark-kendall"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}