“Don’t ever try to contact me as any attempted correspondence will be unreviewed. And if you ever see me, do us both a favor and walk the other way, pretend you don’t know me.”

— Jack Russell to his former band-mates in Great White / December 2011

Metal Sludge — Just days after former Great White singer Jack Russell has announced his retirement from Live Performances and Touring, a pair of alleged leaked e-mails between the parties has re-surfaced online again.

Russell and the band he co-founded in 1981 with Mark Kendall parted-ways for the final time in late 2011.

Now more than a dozen years after their feud turned into a permanent goodbye, what appears to be a final hail-mary attempt from Russell to save his place in the band has started to make its rounds on the world-wide-web again opening up an old can of worms.

The following content below was shared on various internet forums in recent days, including our world famous Metal Sludge Gossip Board.

While we cannot confirm or deny any of what is noted here, many of the pieces, players, and general subject matter appears to match with what has been shared by the various members over time in interviews and on podcasts.

These were originally shared way back on Classic Rock Revisited where they still appear along with Metal Sludge and some other sites as well.

One thing is for sure is that like many bands, whether it was Motley Crue, Ratt, L.A. Guns, Skid Row or Warrant, it’s apparent that Great White had their fair share of turmoil and dissension within the group.

Based on the date and factual history, this for the most part appears to line up with the same time frame that the band was in the process of replacing Russell, and the parties were taking steps in the courts to settle their on-going disagreements.

Below are the alleged e-mails that were reported to have been sent by Jack Russell, to his band (at the time) and related parties about the status of Great White with Russell at the helm.

As time has told us, that attempt did not work, as Great White have soldiered onward with others fronting the group and Russell did the same with his band, Jack Russell’s Great White.

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December 10, 2011

Gentleman,

I know that the band has issues with me however, I have issues as well. Here are some of the things that bother me every day:

1. Kendall was a raging alcoholic during the touring years 1985-1992. When Kendall tore a hole in his esophagus because of his alcoholism, the band had to hire someone to replace him for months on the Scorpions tour and while he was in the hospital and then went to rehab. When we had an intervention for Mark I was the only one there and the only person who came to see him at the hospital. I was there for him when he was down, yet he is not here now when I almost died, and need him the most. What happened to “Teams Till the End”? All his wife does is spread rumors about me and since nobody calls me they do not know how I am really doing. Everyone is basing how I am doing off of a few phone calls which do not reflect how far I have come and how well I really am doing every day!
2. I borrowed $55,000 from my parents to pay salaries when the band was broke, and I sold all of my publishing to pay the band as well. Neither my parents, nor myself got a fucking “Thank You”.
3. I alone got Great White the record deal with Sony. John Kolodner told me” I don’t know if Great White has another record in them but I believe in you and your voice so I am going to sign the band”.
4. After we were signed to Sony, Audie had to be replaced for the entire album because of his meth addiction. He could not even play his own fucking drums. The band had to pay to have him replaced. I fought with John Kolodner from Sony to keep Audie in the band, when John was going to fire him. I never told Audie about this because I did not want to hurt his feelings, or make him feel guilty for his disease of addiction. Speaking of which, during the Hooked album, Michael had to cut and tape Audie’s drum tracks together because he was too fucked up on Cocaine to play. Must be nice to have people forgive and forget.
5. In 1996, after I initiated firing Alan, I assumed the role he played, and got us a manager, an accountant, an agent, a lawyer, endorsements, sold publishing money to increase our salaries, a record deal for Great White and myself, paid our pills, and spent all of my free time making phone calls to manage Great White, which was a big factor in why my wife and I divorced. She was constantly telling me that I was spending all of my time on the phone that I should b spending with my family. One more unappreciated sacrifice. Big Surprise That! But someone had to run the band,and it certainly was not Ray Tusken, Ron Deblasio, or any of the other band members.
6. Obi would not be here if it were not for me either. Speaking of Obi, I know some of you are constantly talking, or your wives are constantly talking, even to me, about how their husbands want to fire Obi. Just so you know I am not on board with this and never will be. He has captained this vessel through some very stormy seas in the last years, okay? I have nothing but love and admiration for his loyalty to me and the band I started. His hard work and dedication have kept this band alive through all this needless drama. Thank you Obi from the bottom of my heart. Obi,you may be mad about this letter however, I have been trying to get a hold of you and have not heard back. Unfortunately, I cannot handle the stress of this anymore, for even one more day
7. This band would not even be together had it not been for the phone calls I made to repair the damaged relationships between all the members. At that time I had to convince Mark to take Audie and Michael back, because he did not want to split the money.
8. When I fell and shattered my femur on my birthday in 2009,I finished the concert, lost 2 units of blood in the process, and had to be rushed to hospital to have emergency surgery. Nobody called to see if I was okay. All that the band ever cares about is money. The friendship ends when the checks stop. It saddens me after all the great times we have had and all of the things we have been through together, the only thing that matters now is money. Nobody in this band really gives a shit about anybody else,except for Scott (aka Audie’s remora) who is in love with him.
9. All these bullshit rumors spreading around about me getting loaded courtesy of Yoko Kendall and Michael, which I am proud to say are untrue as I am 4 months sober, and no matter what anyone believes they cannot take that away from me, remind me of back in the late 90s when I had to call a meeting with Mark and Audie’s wives because they were spreading rumors that I was stealing money from the band (WHAT MONEY?) Because my wife had bought me jewelry on her credit card, which she was still paying off when we divorced.
10. I take full responsibility for the damage done to the band because of my drug and alcohol use. These things I am bringing up are not meant to point the finger,or blame anyone else,or try to make myself a victim. I just want to point out that nobody is perfect, except Michael of course, who needs to quit acting like the fucking pope! LOL.
11. I have always been there for everyone else, which unfortunately has not been reciprocated.

An excerpt from Obi’s e-mail to me in July:

“I have no concern over Audie, Mark or Scott. They have not canceled shows. Missed rehearsal, or hurt the branding of Great White. (Really? See #1 & #4).1 am only concerned with matters that hurt Great White. That hurt the brand. Your sobriety is your business. I do not discuss it with the guys. Again they do not want to hear it from you or I. They only want to see it. There is no double standard. If those guys affected the bands performance or hindered the band from earning a living, then they would be held to a higher standard too. (Now if you did ever try and go out drunk or eating pain pills to sing, I will stop you. I will spend what ever it takes financially for you not to hurt the band. You made me in charge and made me promise not to let anyone or anything hurt your baby,. (GREAT WHITE). So if I have to save you from yourself hurting Great White, Then I will.

So if I come back to the band and do not affect the performance or hinder the band then I should not be held to a different standard,if so then IT IS a double standard!) As for Great White,I t is MY baby, and I would not go out and do anything to hurt my creation.

Everyone is making money but me. Unless everyone is going to pay me to be at home, I need to go back to work ASAP and will be able to do so under the following guidelines:

I am ready to work on MY terms:

1. No booze
2. No Cigarettes
3. No Prednisone
4. Pain medications prescribed by a Physician at the correct doses if needed, which will not have any side effects that would affect my ability to do my job in a professional manner, and can be accompanied with a Physician’s statement supporting this.
5. Unfortunately I will have to walk with a cane for the rest of my life, due to the fact that my left leg is 2 Y2 inches shorter than my right leg. But,I will be fine to walk around and rock on stage without it.
6. All the TOXIC bullshit needs to end now:

A. The lack of communication between band members, i.e.: not returning phone calls, and Silent treatments.

B. The rumors and talking behind everyone’s back

C. The hypocritical judging

D. Being mean and disrespectful to my family

If Mark,Audie,and Michael still want to play with me as Great White, then the band needs to meet

NOW to talk.

If not, someone other than Obi or Sullivan, needs to have the balls to pick up the phone and call me.( Oh I’m sorry, I am the one who always made those phone calls, am I supposed to fire myself?) If this is the case I am fully prepared to make other arrangements.

I am awaiting your timely reply.

Warmest Regards,

Jack Russell

Lead singer and Founder of Great White

December 11, 2011 11:29:14 PM

Gentleman,

I have a few more things I felt the need to say since you have all been such great friends, and this will be my last communication.

Mark:

“Teams Till the End”.This is the End. My old friend, The End. You are a despicable human being who does nothing but use people for whatever you can get from them. Basically you arc a piece a shit. You have not been my friend for years, and you never would have had any success if it were not for my talent. The only smart thing you have ever done is pester me to jam with your ridiculous cover band. You and your wife are users to the first degree, after the fire, you told everyone you could how this completely ruined your life and you had no way to make any money so you conned people into feeling sorry for you so that they would send you their hard earned cash. You conned Darren into buying a computer for you with the promise of paying him back, then when it came time to do so, you cut off all contact. You were even slimy enough to borrow money from my mom,who told me, she felt so pressured by you, that she gave in and loaned you the money, which I do not believe you ever paid back. I have helped you and your family countless times, never asking for anything in return. You even came to me when I was in rehab, and begged me to do some shows, when I was no where near ready mentally or physically, but you did not care because it served your purpose. Money as always. Now I have to tell you something that has been bothering me for a long long time. And the only way to free myself from this baggage is to be honest.

This happened a couple more times, but I will spare you the details as they are uninteresting at best.

But back to you, you are not the great guitar player you think you are. You are a good and soulful guitar player. You need to stop the ridiculous rambling during Cant Shake It. lt is pathetic. Your constant rambling wants to make me shove ice picks in my fucking ears. You are a miserable excuse of a human being, who I am embarrassed to say l share my planet with. Since You have become “born again” you and your white trash, sinful, family ha\become the most judgmental rucks!!!”Judge not Lest ye be judged” This is all the time I have to spend on the likes of you. God will be YOUR judge. Adios puto.

Audie:

You have no talent whatsoever. Your drumming is barely satisfactory. I am the only reason that you were ever invited into my band in the first place. You have never been an asset to the bands career, only a detriment. You do not have a creative bone in your body, except for interior decorating, yard work, smoking pot, and eating burritos. You used to have a body that I envied, but now you have turned into an old fat fuck. The best album the band ever did was ‘Cant Get There From Here’;

Myron could drum circles around you, with one foot. You have never written a song, or contributed musically to this band in anyway. Big surprise, a drummer that cannot write songs. The song ‘Shine On’ from my first solo album was n song I originally wrote for Great White. I came down to the studio and tried to explain the drum beat to you, but you could not get it. Come on, a simple shuffle beat! So I sat behind your kit and played the beat for you which still left you scratching your head. For Christ’s sake, I am a singer not a drummer. The only reason I put up with your silly ass is because is that you are a charming loveable guy with a funny, twisted sense of humor that I used to enjoy. But sadly as the years passed, it also became all about the money for you. I should have listened to John Kolodner when he asked me to fire you. You have been riding my coat tails for too long and lam happy to be rid of you. Keep practicing, maybe one day you will be mediocre.

Michael:

The chameleon. You have no personality of your own. You are like a shape shifter. Whoever is in charge at the time, you become their Mini Me. When Alan was managing the band, you became him, you dressed like him, you used a ridiculous English accent and for all intents and purposes, you were his shorter twin. After we fired Alan, my idea by the way (another big surprise) and I started running the band, you became my clone, For God’s sake, people even mistook you for me, when they were not mistaking you for a women. During this time you called me at least 5 times a day, which was bothersome and annoying. Much like me in these last months, for which I apologize. Now you are Obi’s puppet. You also would have never been in the band if it were not for me. Nobody even wanted you in the band, including Alan. But I fought with Alan and Mark and convinced them to keep you on. Remember the Man Behind the Curtain. Now you are running the show. P.S. I have heard it is a “Great show” NOT!I guess it is your time in the spotlight my friend. Don’t let the light blind your eyes. Keep the make up flowing, and your hair feathered and flipping just right. I am sure you will have a long and illustrious career as the leader of Great White, the cover version. You as well would have never amounted to anything if it were not for my God given talents. I can’t wait for the next album, with Ronnie James Ilous’s vocals. Hopefully, you will have the decency not to butcher the name you are attempted to steal from me, anymore than you already have. It hurts me, as I once considered you to be a really good friend. But now I realize you are just like everyone else. Over the last year I had glimpses of the good guy that you inherently are, that I once knew and loved (calling me back once and texting me a few lines when your always “super busy”). Although l do appreciate the time you came and stopped in to see me at the hospital which was on your way to the casino, hope it did not take to much time out-of your day, 15 minutes. Regretfully, your need for money won out. I must admit that you and your family are still and always will be in my prayers.

Scotty:

How does it feel to have a career based on others talents. You have been and always will be a cover band bass player. Bask in the glory while it lasts. For a while you had me fooled into thinking you were a decent guy with his own opinions. But in a short time, I came to realize that the only opinions you have are Audle’s. You follow him around like a fucking puppy dog. Sit Scott, Roll over Scott. Play Scott. Beg Scott, No really beg Scott, that these guys will keep using you because of the passive yes man that yon are. It is sad to see someone with so much talent never rise above the cover band status. Have fun playing my songs. While the hired no name Joe name .To should and fee!s entitled to have any right to make judgment on the founder of this band, is beyond me. Go fuck yourself, you poser.

The fact is that none of you have ever appreciated anything I have done for this band. All the blood, sweat and tears I have shed for you. Sacrificing my financial stability, my relationships, and MOST IMPORTANTLY my health, for such undeserving people. How did you all become so inhumane, that mones more important than a human life, someone that was you r friend? Now you are attempting to steal from me the one thing I love beyond an others, my vision, my band, my name, my life’s work Great White. Why because I screwed up like everyone else, or because all you care about is money. You are a bunch of sellouts, thieves, and sycophants, with no vision of your own. That is why you have attached yourselves like leaches onto my vision. I hope you all get what is coming to you. There is a rocky road ahead for all of us, and who knows where1he chips may fall. But if God is good, I will have again what is rightfully mine.

Happy Holidays to you and your families and a joyous New Year.

Don’t ever try to contact me as any attempted correspondence will be unreviewed. And if you ever see me, do us both a favor and walk the other way, pretend you don’t know me.

Jack Russell, Founder, and Lead Singer, Great White

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