Tag: Jack Russell’s Great White

Great White and Slaughter at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL on 8/23/25 By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke Striewski

Nearly a decade ago now, I was able to catch Jack Russell’s Great White in Daytona (with fellow ’80s acts FireHouse and Bobby Blotzer’s Ratt) back in late 2016. It was an exceptionally fun October night that I now hold even more dearly in my memories since Russell’s passing last year.

So when I heard that the current lineup of Great White would be heading to the Hard Rock Live Orlando (with direct support from Slaughter), I knew I had to finally catch the original version of the band live after all these years (you may also recall my recent interview with founding guitarist Mark Kendall last month where we also spoke about the show).

I’m happy to report that this latest incarnation of the band – which has seen its share of frontmen come and go since Russell’s tenure and leading up to current lead singer Brett Carlisle – are indeed doing the band’s legacy justice (despite being a tad on the “safe” side while live now).

After indulging (just a tad) at the next door Hard Rock Cafe with the family/usual suspects (the wife Brooke and son Jacob, each photographers), we were in the venue with ample time to catch openers Slaughter, who were surprisingly one of the few bands still left from their era that I had yet to see live.

The band came out with guns a-blazin’, opening with the fiery “Mad About You,” and it was instantly clear it was worth the wait all these years for Slaughter. Two more tracks from the band’s 1990 debut album followed in the form of “Burnin’ Bridges” and “Spend My Life” before “Unknown Destination” took things in another direction.

Slaughter bassist Dana Strum (left) and vocalist Mark Slaughter gave it everything they had this past Saturday night at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando. (Photo by Brooke Striewski)

“Eye to Eye,” “Days Gone By,” and “Real Love” all followed before the lighters (or more accurately these days, cell phones) came out for the timeless power ballad “Fly to the Angels.” This of course paved way for their epic anthem “Up All Night,” which had the crowd pumping their fists to the very last note. But the guys still had a little life left in them, and jammed out to a section of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” before they fully wrapped things up

And finally, Great White hit the stage just after 9:30pm. Opening with the modest “Desert Moon” (honestly not one of my favorites from them) before things getting kicked up a notch via “Lady Red Light” and “Stick It” (The latter of which much more up my alley and one of my personal favorites. Also to note, I heard a much older fan beside me shout “You were just a baby!” during its introduction, and I’m still not sure if she was referring to me, or possibly Carlisle on stage).

Things slowed down yet again for the more blues-ly numbers “Rollin’ Stoned” and “House of Broken Love,” as well as the first power ballad of their set, “The Angel Song.” “Mista Bone,” “Gonna Getcha,” and “Big Goodbye” each kept the momentum going.

Great White frontman Brett Carlisle (left) in the moment with guitarist/co-founder Mark Kendall at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL this past Saturday, 8-23-25. (Photo by Brooke Striewski)

Before we knew it, the night was already winding down as the band launched into one of their most well-known tender tracks, “Save Your Love.” And at last, one of the greatest ’80s hard rock/glam/hair metal anthems of all time, “Rock Me,” followed before the band called it a day with their signature Ian Hunter cover, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”

Leading up to the show, I saw some negative online comments, criticizing the band for still going without “most” of their original members. Not only is it impossible to do when at least two of your said original members have since passed away, but as I explained to my son, whatever the current version of the band may be, these groups are still keeping the music itself alive as best as they can, and I’ll still take what I can get over nothing at all (just look at the recent major loss to the music world with Ozzy Osbourne, for example), and I’ve got nothing bad to say about the current versions of neither Great White, nor Slaughter.

Interview with Original Great White Vocalist Jack Russell By Jesse Striewski (Photo By Mark Weiss/Getty Images)

Jack Russell

You might say Jack Russell has somewhat defined what it means to be a down-and-dirty, hard living, ’80s rocker; he co-founded Great White (along with guitarist Mark Kendall) more than four decades ago, and since then has experienced nearly ever high and low imaginable that the rock and roll lifestyle has to offer. Yet he still fought his way back on to the scene with his version of the band he helped create so long ago (hence the name Jack Russell’s Great White, while Kendall and co. are still performing as a separate version of the band with another singer now).

Recently, Russell had back surgery, but he’ll still be here to rock central, FL this upcoming Saturday, November 16. I was able to briefly speak with Jack via email not too long ago, and asked him to elaborate on said surgery, to which he said, “After all of these years jumping around on stage, my spine had become very compressed. Basically they drilled two of my vertebrae out to make more room for the spinal cord. I’m getting ready to do my first show back in Orlando this weekend, so I doubt I’ll be doing backflips or cartwheels on stage (laughs)! But the band moves around enough, and I’ll let my voice do the talking. I feel great and I’m singing like I’m 25 again…now I sure hope I don’t suck (laughs)!”

With so much material to choose from, I asked Jack what Orlando fans can expect to hear on Saturday night, which he tells me; “I don’t want to give away the set, but let’s just say it’s not going to be the same one people have heard before. We’ve been changing songs, putting new ones in, taking old ones out. I’m sure people who have been coming to see us for a long time don’t wanna hear the same old songs every night, albeit there are still ones that people will always want to hear, like “Rock Me,” “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” etc…

I was also curious what one of his personal favorite songs to perform after all these years was, and he explained; “There are so many, and I change my mind from month to month, but “Save Your Love” is still probably my favorite song.” Ironically, my next question was actually whether or not he still got chills while performing a song like “Save Your Love,” to which he said; “Speaking of “Save Your Love!” Yes, I still get chills when performing that song, and when I sing it I find myself in a very personal space, not really aware of the audience. It’s more of a spiritual thing if you know what I mean.”

Jack also assures me the band has some new material in the works, as well as an autobiography he’s been working on that I asked him how it was going; “It’s coming along great, but when I read some of the chapters, even I can’t believe my life, it reads like a work of fiction (laughs!). But for the most part it’s been one hell of a life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

I was more than grateful that Jack was willing to take the time to speak to me for this interview, and let him know how much I truly appreciated it. Be sure to catch Jack and the guys in Downtown Orlando this Saturday, the 16th!