Away Team

First on Saturday December 10th we read this update by Jack Russell (original Great White vocalist):

“To all my friends:
Just wanted to announce that I will be coming back with my band, GREAT WHITE, and a BRAND NEW lineup.
“My new bandmates are some of the most incredible musicians I have ever had the privilege to play with: Matthew Johnson, former guitarist for GREAT WHITE; Derrick Pontier, former drummer for GREAT WHITE; Dario Seixas, former bassist for FIREHOUSE and the Stephen Pearcy band; and Robby Lochner, former guitarist for Rob Halford‘s band and Cherie Currie.
“I am very excited about this new beginning.
“I am feeling better than ever, despite any rumors you may hear to the contrary.
“Unfortunately, and as confusing as it will be, my former bandmates and their manager have decided to continue to tour next year under the name I created, GREAT WHITE. I will be touring under the name GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL to try avoid any confusion.
“So now the true fans will know the difference.
“I will be announcing tour dates as soon as they become available.
“Our first performance will be at the pre-NAMM Jam on January 14, 2012. Only shows advertised as GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL will include myself on vocals.
“I have missed all of you terribly and look forward to seeing you all on the road. You have no idea how much your love and devotion has meant to me during what has been one of the hardest periods of my life.
“Happy holidays! Much peace and love to you and your families. Have a blessed New Year.
“Yours, as always, Jack Russell, founder and lead vocalist, GREAT WHITE
“P.S.: JACK IS BACK!!!!!!!!”

Ok, so Jack Russell has undergone several surgeries over the last couple of years, and according to the actual GREAT WHITE band, it is all because of rampant drug use. The ‘original‘ GREAT WHITE released this statement yesterday in response to Jack‘s announcement on Saturday:

“First and foremost, our main concern is our fans.
“We have spent 30 years trying to be the best we can be and bring our fans the top quality of music they have become accustomed to and deserve.
“It saddens us today to have to respond to Jack Russell‘s announcement.
“Jack Russell announced on Facebook on Saturday, December 10, 2011 that he was returning to GREAT WHITE with a new lineup. This was a complete shock to the entire GREAT WHITE family.
“This couldn’t be further from the truth.
“As we all know, Jack Russell has been fighting drug and alcohol abuse for many years. He has had numerous stints in and out of treatment facilities and hospitals.
“In 2010 Jack‘s physical condition deteriorated to the point that he routinely fell on and off stage, forgot lyrics and we had to cancel shows due to his inability to perform.
“In the past two years, Jack has had five major surgeries and has almost died three times. His drug abuse was so bad that his body began to shut down and ultimately resulted in colostomy surgery from a perforated bowel (he nearly died during this procedure). The colostomy surgery saved his life, but vanquished him with a colostomy bag for a year.
“We stood by Jack; we supported his sobriety and eagerly awaited his return.
“Jack was first slated to return to GREAT WHITE this past summer. Unfortunately, his frail body and his drug abuse prohibited this event. In the following months, Jack had three more surgeries that delayed his return. Finally, he chose February 2012 as his target return date.
“We had five clear conditions for Jack‘s return:
1. Jack had to be drug free. Off all opiates, methadone, Valium or Xanax.
2. Jack had to be off prednisone (a steroid that ate away at Jack‘s internal organs that caused the perforated bowl).
3. Jack had to be sober and off crack cocaine and all alcohol.
4. Jack had to agree to weekly drug tests.
5. Jack must attend weekly meetings for AA and NA.
“Last week Jack notified management he would not make it back by February 2012. Jack referred to his doctor’s opinion that he would not be ready. He had just started physical rehabilitation again and his legs and back needed more rehab to handle the rigors of touring. Jack thought he would be ready by May to start the summer touring season. However, he wasn’t sure if he could be off the methadone by then or ever. Management reiterated that he had to be completely drug-free for his return. He owed it to the fans. He owed it to us. He owed it to himself.
“Out of nowhere, we all received an email on Saturday, December 10, 2011 stating that he was coming back now and that he was starting his own (a different lineup) GREAT WHITE. As you can imagine, this was shocking, to say the least. We were saddened and hurt from this shocking announcement.
“We only want to do right by our fans.
“We aim to give the best possible show and have every fan leave the show feeling they got their money’s worth.
“This band is sober and music is our passion. With Jack Russell not being drug-free and unable to physically perform on stage, it will only let down our fans.
“Time and again, Jack Russell has let down his band and fans. His addictions have ruined his life the past eight years.
“We will not sit by and enable our brother to abuse alcohol and drugs to kill himself. We have lost too many loved ones to this madness. After the passing of our dear friend, the talented Jani Lane, it has become more evident that this has to stop. It must end.
“Since Jack‘s departure in August 2010, GREAT WHITE has performed almost 100 concerts. We’ve had no shortened sets, cancelations or song choice limitations due to vocal issues.
“In this struggling economy, fans need and deserve more — not less. We owe it to our fans and the promoters to not to allow Jack Russell and some garage band to hurt GREAT WHITE‘s classic rock legacy and bright future.
“Jack Russell does not have the right to start his own GREAT WHITE or use the name without our names in the lineup.
“We will litigate any promoter that books ‘Jack Russell’s GREAT WHITE‘ or uses any logo featuring the name GREAT WHITE.
“We give you our word, we will continue through 2012 and beyond to provide you with the top-quality musical performances you have been accustomed and deserve.
“We hope and pray that Jack gets healthy, happy and sober. His health and well being is the only thing that matters.”
GREAT WHITE featuring Terry Ilous

The ‘original’ GREAT WHITE currently consists of: Mark Kendall (lead guitar), Scott Snyder (bass), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards) and Terry Ilous (lead vocals).

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EDITOR’S NOTE:
Ok, so we have two L.A. Guns which nobody wants. We want one L.A. Guns with Phil Lewis singing. Who cares who the guitarist is? Tracii Guns was never Yngwie, Eddy, or Jimi so who cares if he is in the band or not? We don’t need two different bands playing the same music under the same name. Get that Jack Russell? We don’t need two GREAT WHITE bands! We need one (well, do we really even need one???) band playing the hits we’ve loved for the last 20 years. And if you can’t get your shit straight and get healthy enough to join the actual band that is touring under the GREAT WHITE name, then you don’t need to be touring under another GREAT WHITE band name.

There’s some stupid shit that goes on in the music industry, but this has got to be the dumbest.

From LAGunsOfficial.com:

Dilana is the new singer for L.A. Guns after an incredible amount of scrutiny and mixed opinions.

The final straw was her audition where she completely took control of the environment by injecting a type of soul into these old new songs that I have never heard before. The first tune we jammed on was the Otis Redding classic ” These Arms Of Mine ” and even a very skeptical Jeremy looked up at me and mouthed Holy Shit to me and I had the same feeling.

Then we ran through One More Reason, Never Enough and of course The Ballad Of Jayne and it was an awakening of just how professional and soulful of a Singer Dilana is.

L.A. Guns are: Doni Gray, Dilana Robichaux, Tracii Guns and Jeremy Guns

After getting Responses from Label Steve Vai, my Agent and Manager who are all really into a drastic positive change for L.A. Guns and Myself , we all feel this is a ballsy and risky change that we all collectively feel good about. I expect there will be some changes in the live setlist and I hope we can get straight into writing mode ASAP and record some fresh Rock n Roll also ASAP . We hit the road starting in San Antonio Texas September 21st.

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EDITORS NOTE:
I hate bands that can’t move past their past. There are two versions of L.A. Guns out there touring and recording right now. Tracii Guns version and then the rest of L.A. Guns. I’ve heard the new Tracii verion’s album. It blows. Jizzy doesn’t work for me in L.A. Guns. Phil Lewis and the rest of L.A. Guns put out a great product live and in the studio.

But, now with the addition of Dilana, I am compelled to check out Tracii‘s version again. I had the change to produce a show with Dilana right after Rockstar ended, and while she couldn’t contractually do anything but the covers she did on the show, she killed em. The girl can sing, and I have been following her from afar waiting for something to break for her. Not sure that a washed up 80′s hair band is the break I was thinking of for her, but hopefully it is.

I’m happy for her, and looking forward to her take on some great old L.A. Guns songs. Gives new life to Bitch Is Back and Sex Action eh?



















For more L.A. GUNS (Tracii‘s version) click here.
For more L.A. GUNS (the rest of the band) click here.

Favored Nations Entertainment is proud to announce the September 27th CD release of Acoustic Gypsy Live by L.A. Guns (Tracii Guns, guitar; Danny Nordahl, bass; Chad Steward, drums; Jizzy Pearl, vocals, Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, keyboards, Muddy Stardust; guitar and back-up vocals; Doni Gray, percussion). Produced, mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Neil Citron, this is the first acoustic album by the acclaimed Los Angeles band in their 29-year history, recorded at The Hotel Café in Hollywood. L.A. Guns will embark on a national tour in September to support the CD.

The band who lit up Hollywood like a surprise M-80 in a garbage can with their raw radical rowdy ways earned themselves legendary status on the Sunset Strip. When Jason Kramer and Jason Rothberg suggested they do an acoustic record, Tracii was “terrified, as I hadn’t played live acoustically for more than an hour since my Bancroft Junior High School guitar ensemble when I was 13 years old. I gathered up the guys I trust the most musically to help make this as great as possible. After listening back to this performance, I am not so scared to perform acoustically anymore.”

What makes Acoustic Gypsy Live so startling is its nuanced attention-to-detail – a musical awareness that L.A. Guns, who never diluted the manic hysteria of their songs one iota in their previous records, relishes in on Acoustic Gypsy Live. With a gorgeous lead guitar solo by Tracii, the CD’s opener, “Crystal Eyes,” hits a bulls-eye with its beauty and clarity-of-vision. Stark, dramatic, simplistically pristine, the inherent harmonic structure of the song itself reaches that part of the soul where honesty is a given, not a constructed artifice. The song cruises to completion to set the scene for the kind of album that no one—including the band itself—even knew was in them. Vocalist Jizzy still works up the growl, as evidenced on “One Way Ticket.”

Track Listing:
“Crystal Eyes”
“One Way Ticket”
“Decide”
“Dreamtime”
“Electric Gypsy”
“It’s Over Now”
“Never Enough”
“Over The Edge”
“Little Soldier”
“Sex Action”
“These Arms Of Mine”
“Love Hurts”
“The Ballad Of Jayne”
“Rip And Tear”









For more L.A. GUNS click here.

OR… For Phil Lewis‘ L.A. GUNS click here.

The 2011 edition of the M3 Rock Festival is schedule for May 13th – 14th at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

Acts scheduled to appear include:

Friday, May 13th (The Official M3 Kix-Off Party) – KIX, WARRANT, L.A. GUNS, JETBOY.

Saturday, May 14th – WHITESNAKE, TESLA, SEBASTIAN BACH, LITA FORD, MR. BIG, SLAUGHTER, GREAT WHITE, DANGER DANGER, FIREHOUSE, BIG NOIZE, BLACK ‘N BLUE, HURTSMILE, FASTER PUSSYCAT, PRETTY BOY FLOYD.

For more M3 information click here.

Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD.

Photos by Marcy Royce.

The word HOT was used extensively on this day. Not once, not twice, but all day long seemingly every 10 minutes. Everyone in attendance from patrons to crew to band members to fellow photographers/press… we were all melting. However, when it comes to rock and roll, we diehard fans will muster through just about anything.

This was the second year for the M3 Rock Festival. The inaugural year was so successful how could this event not happen again? This year the set times for each of the two stages, pavilion and festival, had very little overlap and made all the patrons much happier. This one day festival had a solid lineup of killer bands and artists. A recipe for success. And the attendance was most likely doubled from last year. The talk around the grounds that somewhere around 13,000 – 15,000 came throught the gates. WOW!

I was a busy girl making my way between the stages. Slower than usual due to the oppressive heat. I went through at least 5 bottles of water, as everyone needed to stay hydrated.

JETBOY was the first band for me on the pavilion stage. Glad to see them again this year. I enjoyed their set both years.

Next was ZO2 on the festival stage. Good crowd in attendance and Paulie Z was belting out lyrics as usual. These guys are tight and always a pleasure to see. Hugs were exchanged later in the day. Always friendly!

Back to the pavilion stage for TRIXTER. Even hotter in the photo/press pit now. No air was moving. Never caught these guys live before. They did well and the crowd was very receptive to them. I saw quite a few people singing along.

Next on the pavilion stage was Phil Lewis’ version of L.A. GUNS. I saw them recently, April to be exact, at the Brunswick Fire Hall in Brunswick, MD. So I knew what to expect. Kenny Kweens is always where I take my stand. So I couldn’t quite get the photos I really wanted of Stacey Blades. But they performed all the hits that I expected including Ballad of Jayne, Sex Action and Never Enough. The crowd was digging ‘em.

Next on the pavilion stage was WINGER. Another band I haven’t caught live before. I like these guys and they didn’t disappoint me. Performing solid hits as well as some new material. Nice extra! Songs included were Headed for a Heartbreak, Can’t Get Enough and Down Incognito.

Now back to the festival stage to see BANG TANGO. These guys have passed through the nearby area many times and the timing has never been right for me. This day was my day! Nice size crowd for them, bigger than I expected. I didn’t get to stay as long in the photo/press pit as I would have liked. Kix was due on soon and I wanted to claim a good spot.

Sooooooo… I headed to the pavilion stage again. KIX was NEXT!!! Anyone who knows me doesn’t even have to question that they are my number 2 top band (of course Def Leppard is number one, right Jane and Darlene!). Every single time the intro song starts I get goosebumps. Even in the blazing 90 degree heat of the day, it happens again! Performing all the favorite hits was the perfect satisfaction for the fans, and me too! Songs including Hotwire, Girl Money, Don’t Close Your Eyes, Cold Blood and the customary closer of Yeah Yeah Yeah.

Steve Whiteman, of course, is comical. From the little diddy about his daughter before Sex, to the shower caps he and Mark Schenker wore for Cold Shower since the umbrella seemed to hava a snafu. The crowd roared. Every single seat was filled and the lawn was packed. When you are this close to Baltimore and the hometown boys perform, it’s gonna be packed. Well done, my boys, WELL DONE!!!

VINCE NEIL was next on the pavilion stage. And I was too tired to be in the photo/press pit. I listened and watched from the Hammerjacks booth with some old friends and some new friends. And I’ll have to admit, I wasn’t impressed. I don’t think when Vince left the stage for a 10 minute break that the fans appreciated that. And then his voice was not what it should be. Some liked Vince, some didn’t like Vince. Ah well, such is life.

Trekked off to the festival stage once more after my momentum returned. This time for NELSON. Another band I didn’t get to see before. They performed the expected Love And Affection and After The Rain and Mark Slaugher was on guitar, nice! It was a solid performance

Back to the pavilion stage, this time it was for the mighty CINDERELLA. I was eagerly anticipating seeing Tom Keifer, to hear his voice live. I’ve watched YouTube videos since his return and heard reviews from others how well he has been doing. Seeing him for myself, I would have to agree. He was awesome! I was hard pressed to say they stole the show from KIX, but I think both bands were neck and neck for me. They performed the solid standards fans expect including Push, Push, Shake Me, Night Songs, Coming Home and Nobody’s Fool. The pavilion was packed once more. Myself and everyone around me liked what they heard.

By this point I wanted to see Warrant, the closer of the festival stage. But alas, it was not to be. I wanted to position myself for The Scorpions. So I did!

The SCORPIONS started a tad late, 35 minutes. But I didn’t care. I was so eager to see them, especially James Kottak. Most of my friends know I have a things for drummers and I couldn’t wait to see James perform his drum solo. But I digress, so back to the beginning of the set. I was positioned in front of Rudolf Schenker. Holy cow does that guy have energy just oozing out of him. I was taking it all in with every note. Thanks Rudolf!!! They started with Sting In The Tail from the new cd. Next was Make It Real. And the final song for me to see up close and personal was one of my favs, Bad Boys Running Wild. I was insane with my shutter finger. 209 photos in just 10-12 minutes. Poor Klaus was suffering through with the flu. How amazing! He did quite well. He deserves a huge award for that one, man! I stood in the pavilion and enjoyed the rest of the show, horns up most of the time. (As my husband always cringes when I do that… he’s reserved when it comes to that stuff). I was so entralled with James’ solo. He is every bit what I expected and more. I do hope to someday meet him. He is a very talented drummer. Familar songs such as Wind Of Change, Tease Me Please Me, Big City Nights, Blackout, and The Zoo were in the set. Many of the ones I love.  The one and only encore was Rock You Like A Hurricane and it was a perfect ending to a great set.

The day ended as perfectly as I had hoped. Successful and satisfied with over 900 photos on my 5 memory cards. The only question I had was: “Where is the nearest shower?”

Looking forward to M3 Rock Festival, 2011 version.