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As Great White vocalist Jack Russell tried
to pull himself together following the tragic fire that occurred
in Rhode Island on February 20th, 2003, he was ready
to give up using his God-given talent, but after receiving
“literally tens of thousand of e-mails” from fans around the
world urging him and his band to play on, he decided to use his
gift to give back to the people that helped make him the lead
singer of a Grammy-nominated, chart-topping band.
“Honest to God. I love what I do so much.
I love to sing, I’ve loved to sing ever since I realized that I
could, and one thing I love more than singing, is singing in
front of people and seeing them react and having a good time and
enjoying what’s going on – the gift God has given me. I wasn’t
sure I’d ever do this again. ‘How could I possibly go up on
stage and enjoy myself?’ ‘How could this be fun?’ I never
thought that day would ever come…
I realized that this is not about me --
there’s more important things than how Jack Russell is feeling
today. I think when you are given a gift you are given certain
responsibilities, and one of my responsibilities is to use my
talent now; not for my benefit, but to help out some people that
were always there for me over the years buying our records and
coming to the shows that enabled me to have a living through my
music. If it wasn’t for them or people like them all over the
world, Jack Russell would be working at McDonalds or something
like that.”
With astonishing strength and
determination, Great White returned to the road, initially
giving 100% of their profits to the Station Family Fund, and
continues to this day offering a portion of their profits to the
fund. Russell says that it saddens his heart that other bands,
bigger than they are, have not come forward and tried to make a
difference in the lives of the survivors and their families as
well, and hopes that there is still a chance for other musicians
and fellow Americans to take part in the Station Fund on a much
larger scale.
“As long as I’m singing, I’m going to keep
donating money,” says Russell. At this point in his life, he
says raising money for the fund is his only focus. However,
there is still hope that Great White will move forward as a
band. Russell says that after touring this year he would like
to think about writing again with Mark Kendall and eventually on
his own as well.
“We’d like to get back into the studio and
put another album out. This is the longest this band has ever
gone between records. I want to do another Great White album
first. Me and Mark have been talking about it for a while, if
we’re playing together we might as well make another album. So
we have songs that we’ve written already, and some stuff we
didn’t use before which I love (and some stuff that’s not so
good that we won’t use) so obviously we need to write some
more. But, I would look forward to going back into the studio
and recording again. I definitely feel it coming at some
point.”
Great White’s current line-up consists of
original members Jack Russell (vocals), Mark Kendall (lead
guitar), Tyler Nelson (guitar), Scott Pounds (bass), and Derrick
Pontier (drums), who had toured with the band in past years.
1heavymetal.com will be catching up with
the sharks on Saturday, March 26, 2005 along with Warrant and
Firehouse at the Pepsi Roadhouse in Burgettstown, PA. Check
back next month for a full report.
You Can Still Make a Difference
As the two-year anniversary of the tragic
fire at the Station night club in Rhode Island approaches, Great
White vocalist Jack Russell found himself face to face with
survivors of the tragedy on CNN’s Larry King Live this week.
And while very hesitant to “throw salt on the wounds” and bring
up the memories of that evening, Russell and his longtime
bandmate Mark Kendall found it important to give the exposure to
the Station Family Fund’s efforts to help the survivors and
their families, and to remind people that help is still needed.
“You feel so bad for the people that were
involved, for the people that were hurt and injured. There’s
just really no words to say. You just feel so terrible for
them. At the same time I think it’s important that we stand and
up and we say look, this is what we need to do to help these
people out. And that’s the only reason that I would put myself
in that situation. If there wasn’t something that was going to
come of it that was a benefit to the families and the survivors
there would be no reason for me to go on a show like that,”
explained Russell.
While TPRS.com and our sister site
1Heavymetal.com don’t have clout that CNN has, we hope to at
least reach the Great White fans who’ve come to us for news over
the years, and inform them that they too can make a contribution
by simply going to see Great White perform as they tour Canada
next month, and the Untied States and Europe later this
Spring/Summer.
All performances by Great White will
continue to benefit the Station Family Fund. Proceeds from their
shows go to the fund to create further awareness and financial
assistance to those touched by the Rhode Island tragedy. The
funds raised at each Great White performance will be controlled
and administered by The Station Family Fund.
Visit
www.mistabone.com for tour dates, and visit
www.stationfamilyfund.org to learn more about how you
can help make a difference. |
