Great White Singer Jack Russell Cannot Escape Memories of The Station Fire
Band Photo: Great White (?)
Great White singer Jack Russell has told Dave Wedge of BostonHerald.com that he is still haunted by the Feb. 20, 2003, inferno at The Station in Warwick, Rhode Island. He's also reeling from a failed relationship and a raging substance-abuse problem.
"I'm a drug addict and an alcoholic, and I've been fighting those demons every day," Russell said. "I have this self-destruct button and I don't know where it comes from. I've talked to many, many therapists. It's a battle."
Russell and his band mates have tried to move beyond the horrific fire, but it's a burden they cannot escape. The singer has been criticized since the blaze for continuing to make music, getting a face-lift and not donating enough money to survivors.
"There's always someone out there that blames me because I'm the face of Great White," Russell said. "And I'm OK with that. We've tried to handle it as sympathetically as possible. But we've received literally thousands of e-mails from around the world telling us to keep going. I didn't realize how much positive influence I had on people's lives."
Read the full article at Boston Herald.
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91 Comments on "Great White Singer Cannot Escape Memories of Fire"
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3. writes:
Jack should just kill himself, and save the world from having to hear his moronic dribble, and half hearted plaeds to make people feel bad for him. If he really feels bad then he will DO something about it instead of just going on about how he is haunted. Maybe I should write him an e-mail telling him to go shoot himself in the head? Satan this guy is a massive gapping vagina!
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5. writes:
No, it is his fault. What sort of idiot of a singer says "guys we are going to have pyro technics in our gig at that club!"?! A complete moron of a singer lats that happen. A lot of dipsh**s are to blame for that night, but the first people to step in to say that pyros in a club are a bad idea is the band. I won't buy into the idea that men do things without thinking of the future. Little boys do that type of thing, but a man thinks.
Have more to write when I get home from work. Talk to you guys later.
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6. writes:
Kali - Those are some extremely harsh comments..!
That band has been paying for this since the night of that fire... and it wasn't even their fault..!
Not to mention that they lost a guitarist that night too.!!
I would think that after years of playing benefit shows and giving all the money to the victims families, that at some point, people would start to lighten up on this guy a little..?
I don't care what anyone says, I was a Great White fan back in the day... and still am..!!
Jack Russel had and still has an amazing voice... I'm sure it does suck to deal with what happened... even though it wasn't his fault, he gets a lot of crap because he is the name and face that everyone associates with Great White..
Great White - Stick It (The first time I seen them was on their "Stick It" Tour ;-)
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11. writes:
I believe Jack paid his price for his limited involvement in this tragedy. A lot of people don't realize that in the industry, the singer (or the band) doesn't call the shots regarding stage/light/pyro/booking/etc. (the list goes on). It's usually the promoter and/or the label (A&R) that control those things. He lost a band mate, a friend, a lot of fans, tons of money on legal fees, etc. (the list goes on). However, people will still continue to point the finger at Jack regardless of how unfounded their convictions are. Poor bastard.
NP: Regulator - Clutch
12. writes:
jack russell got a facelift? at least he has a new face through which to b**** and moan. i remember seeing one of the club survivors' faces in time magazine. his face looks like a burnt marshmallow. jack russell gets to look at his new face every day in the mirror. i wonder what goes through his mind?
now listening to: metallica "the unforgiven"
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13. writes:
that wasnt his fault at all. sure a man thinks, but its human to make mistakes, or miscalculate. he f***ed up, pyro tech f***ed up, and the club owner himself was an idiot for letting it happen. anyone can blame it on another guy and so on and so on, but come on, leave the guy alone. this dude has done his sh**, doing what everyone wants, now what? someone has to b**** about something.
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15. writes:
RTB: Only problem is that they were contracted to play those dates and would have suffered further legal retribution by a failure to fulfill the contract. It's a tightly contracted business now. I'm sure some will come out of the woodwork and claim that the band could have refused to play the show, but the simple fact is that only the really huge acts can afford to do things like that in this day and age. GW was trying to rekindle what was left of their careers from the 80's.
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16. writes:
It truly is as simple is saying to your label "we won't play a show that will endanger our fan's, and band mates. Furthermore, I do firmly believe that it is the band (especially a band as large as Great White) who calls the shots when it comes to their show, and music. I realize that some of what they do the label says they have to do, but doubt that a label would be that stupid as to know that they are going to put pyrotechnics in a club. Not a lick on anyone’s part of scence was used at the show, and do blame all that had a part in it, and think that all of them should kill themselves. It is due to their lack of intelligence that people died that day, and hope that Darwinism kicks in to eradicate them from the gene pool.
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18. writes:
Kali: So through your philosophy on this situation, does that mean that the guys in Rammstein should be blamed as well for their incident? In one of their earlier shows a piece of the stage fell into the crowd because of a pyro failure. Keep in mind that they hired some of the most top-notch professionals in pyro technology, and yet this problem occured. This incident was simply a horrible error that unfortunately unfolded. No matter what kind of expertise anyone has on something, Kali, you have to realize that the world and life has mistakes! Its just unfortunate that these things happen! No one is to blame.
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25. writes:
at bbristowe- well the twin towers were planeproof,if you watch the documentary loose change you will hear experts designing and building them saying they were planeproof, tests have been organised that prooved that a colision like that couldn't collapse the twin towers. it's the us goverment that brought the towers down
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27. writes:
Bristowe, 9-11 has nothing to do with a bunch of idiotic rockers putting pyrotechnics in a club. I also don't find what you said to be funny at all.
Bolt, and Pinto. My gpa's death has little to do with how I feel about the fire that Great Dipsh**s caused, however it does make me feel for the victims, and their families a bit more than your normal Joe out there. It sucks knowing that your family member died in such pain. I mean a few months after my gpa died I burnt my thumb on a firework on the 4th of July, and it made me think of what it must be like for people to have their entire bodies charred up.
Godlike, you know full well that when it comes to stupidity I am one of the most harsh people around. When it is that stupidity caused the death of others that I am even more harsh. I truly hope that Jack, and all involved do kill themselves, and quit moaning, and bitiching about this.
If people put just a hair more thought into the things that they do this world would be a MUCH better place.
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28. writes:
Kali: I'm just curious... You may be too young to remember this, but I remember when the troops came home from Viet Nam and the hippies (and Jane Fonda) met our boys at the airport. They welcomed our boys home by spitting in their faces and calling them baby killers. I personally don't feel that these brave men deserved to be treated this way because; after all they were just doing their jobs (following orders) and in the course of doing so, some people got hurt and some died. Is it really that different to you that the band was doing their jobs and some people got hurt and some even died? Great White was bassically following the orders of their tour manager and label. It wasn't their jobs to verify that the club owner had a license to have pyro in the club. They are not in charge of assesing the safety of the show. It was their job to go out there and put on a show. It's simply not just to put the blame on the musicians. They're musicians; not firemen; not pyro experts; not OSHA detectives; not stage managers; not tour managers; not club booking agents. If you need someone to point the finger at, look to the man they put on trial and convicted for it. I'm thinking he would be the one to hold responsible and I believe that 12 of his peers share my opinion. Jack didn't do sh!t.
NP: Grace - LOG
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32. writes:
Bristowe, 9-11 has nothing to do with a bunch of idiotic rockers putting pyrotechnics in a club. I also don't find what you said to be funny at all.
Yeah, your right. But if you apply your logic to that situation they come to the same conclusion.
"If people put just a hair more thought into the things that they do this world would be a MUCH better place"
Replace "do", with "say". Irony?
33. writes:
I would just like to say that post 23 wins.
ALL involved should kill themselves Kali? What about the fans that bought tickets to that show? the tour bus drivers? the security hired to handle the crowd? How about the construction workers who built the place, not intending it to have pyro ever used in the building, thusly making it also their fault for not anticipating that night?
It's a slippery slope when you start implying that it was the fault of not just the person responsible. It's like saying, "if that girl hadnt had one too many drinks, and hadnt been so flirty, she wouldnt have been raped, so it's her fault too. the person who drove her to the bar should be blamed,a nd the bartender,a nd the person who invented alcohol, and god, who invented the male sex drive, and....NO. It's someone's fault, but not everyone involved.
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36. writes:
FAN, you are stretching is a bit far aren't you?
Blind, you seem to excuse the band a bit too much. Just because you are the artist doe not mean that you are a drone that just does whatever your lable tells you to do. I also think that the war vets of Vietnam had a bigger, and better reason to follow orders (that as we all know about 70 percent of them were drafted, not volentarily enlisted soldiers) than Great White does playing an un-safe show. I will always firmaly believe that Great White are a bucnh of morons.
You all know that I loathe stupidity, and love Darwinsim. I surely hope that soon it kicks in for Jack, and the rest of the band, management, and the club owner.
Speaking of my gpa. Next Sat is the one year aniversery of his death. :(
37. writes:
I'm not stretching at all. It's an analogy. the topics may be completely different, but the comparison is the same.
Sky is to blue as apple is to red.
Do The words Sky and Apple have anything in common? No, but the anaogy of it is that they lead to the end result in the same manner.
That's all I said. No stretching, just comparative thinking.
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38. writes:
All I can say is, I do not see a band being responsable for ANY Pyro related accidents in ANY situation, UNLESS they've practically said "f*** it, we'll do it anyway, we dont care" to the pyro techs or done something irresponsable (Rammstein's Paul Landers pouring gasoline into the audience is not very smart/funny to me) plus in the end the club manager is the boss in the house who makes the final decision what can be/ is allowed to be done in that particular building and what not.
Since I'm not an American I will skip the Vietnam debate, and finally, I agree with Kali; I also whole heartedly and firmly believe that Great White are a bunch of morons.
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39. writes:
Kali: You say "Blind, you seem to excuse the band a bit too much.". Really? Hmmm. So I guess you think The Who, Judas Priest, Slipknot, Metallica and all the other bands that have been implicated in the deaths of their fans over the last 20-30 years should all do time? I mean if you're going to take a shortcut to thinking and hold the bands responsible for the safety of their fans it should be even across the board right?
On a lighter note, the only thing that really puzzled me about this story was why did Jack wait all this time before getting plastic surgery? He was without a doubt one of the homliest front men of his era. lol.
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51. writes:
aah this will turn in a long treat or postings see if we can keep it longer than that korn thing
well do have to say i did never like greatwhite
but the dude has a good voice
and i still feel sort of sorry for the poor basterd
indeed a band can not do nothing about the concert hall or clubs a mangement chooses
so if the hall is to small and something goes wrong it is easy to put the finger at the band
while most the time you need to blame mangement
but still it sucks if something small like this fire goes wrong
and people still blame jack
even i dont like the band
feel sorry for the band
god like
man that funny that you used hair spray in the 80
these were cool times
miss that sh**
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58. writes:
"I'm sure that fvcker has some stories to tell."
Of that, I am most certain..!!
I would actually like to do a bit of partying with our buddy "wilco" too...
Not sure if I could handle much of that "white widow" ..??
Damn, the one time I did try it, I felt dumb for hours after ;-)
H&H - Bible Black
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72. writes:
hey metal brothers and girls
well dont have so much white widow my self any more
think its in the making a new batch
yeah when i was young there was still a draft once you were done with school or 19 years old you got drafted
but had a fun time at that time there were no wars well at least not so many
so you practice sit on your a$$ and drink lots of booze and smoke you brains out when you are
out in the forrest play war games
what you all think about the new sepultura
thaink it not that bad but nothing new
do like the new cannibal corpse evisceration plague
now playing
lamb of god contractor
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73. writes:
What happend to the topic?..........Oh well, I lost it too!!!! But I agree most with Kalis, A man has to be thinking like a man not a boy. Did Jack know 'bout the stage show? How high the flames would go? The ceiling is made of wood? Anyway you look at it, it was a terrible tragedy! Jack's not the only one to blame, lots of retards not realizing what the f**k they were doing!!! Very very saddening, way too many good people lost their lives that night and I believe it's all not in vain, society has learned from their mistakes and new laws at clubs are ineffect (God I hope so.......) as for Greatwhite, saw them back in the day (no hairspray!!!! lol ) didn't care all that much for them and have never bought any of their albums ......sorry!
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74. writes:
Rychemn: First of all... Welcome to the mighty MU! Now, in case I didn't make myself clear above; I believe that if you are going to hold someone responsible for this tragedy it should be the person who was resposible for booking the show (club owner/manager), the pyro tech or the stage manager. I have been on the road before and I can tell you that this was nothing more than another town and another stage. Furthermore, as a front man I also am aware that it's likely Jack's first time on that stage was their opening number (singers usually don't even sound check in these situations). Of course Jack knew about the stage show, but don't you think there has to be a certain ammount of trust amongst staff in a traveling show? I know that when I was on the road, I was never concerned about the responsibilities of the light crew or the sound crew. I trusted them to do thier jobs and I did mine. It's true that this was a terrible tragedy, but lets not blame the singer for something he wasn't responsible for. His responsibility was to go out there and put on a good show. Jack didn't set the pot, he didn't hook up the ignition to the pot, and he didn't press the button to fire the pot. The pyro tech did.
NP: Neverwhere - H&H
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78. writes:
Thanks for the welcoming gentlemen, and I do see your point blindgreed. You see, I am opened minded. You made a good point, but there are all kinds of variables to this story. When the story first broke, immediately, I thought " Who the hell would shoot fire in a night club with a wooden ceiling"? But like I said before, lots are to blame here, but for most it's easier to only see the glass half-full. Hopefully through it all, an event like this will never happen again!!! I do believe Jack has paid his dues but for some it will never be enough. Things happen for a reason , this is a fact! Some people just can't accept it. p.s. I did read ALL of the posts, even the one's off topic!
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79. writes:
Rychemn: Not only was the ceiling wooden but it was also covered with acoustic foam which made for an outstanding excellerant. It's my opinion that any pyro tech, even the crapiest, should have seen that comming and explained to tour management and the owner/manager of the bar that pyro wasn't an option at this show. I wasn't there so I don't know if the conversation ever took place but regardless the damage is done. As far as it ever happening again; i'm sure it won't happen to Jack again. Once Bitten Twice Shy right? lol. Cheers Rychemn.
NP: Eating the Cannibals - H&H
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81. writes:
Thanks Godlike, I believe a good song will stand the test of time so I'm pretty open to a lot of music, just down loaded a few songs from "H.I.M" the other day, kinda like a love metal band!!! Once bitten twice shy.....yeah thats funny..........too bad it was originally written by "Mott the Hopple", but it will always be one of Great Whites best. I like the album picture of Black Sabbath's "Born Again" Godlike, with Ian Gillian on vocals, saw them back in 1983 (11/02/83) with Quiet Riot (one of the few ticket stubs I still have)
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82. writes:
Rychemn - It seems that perhaps your closer to same age as Bg1 and me..? I just turned 40 and he is a couple years older.? Check out my profile, as far as being a musician..?!
Its odd that you comment on my avatar of the "Born Again" cover.. Bg1 and I are some of the few around here that have even heard that album... Much less enjoy it..!?
At this point, I have to toss out an invitation to join our own little "chat room" here at the
Mighty MU... You can find any number of different subjects being discussed at any given time...
The chat room is located in the latest "avenged seven fold" story thats been posted.. lol
We've been given permission from the site owner to gather their for any off topic conversations.!!
This weeks talks, have been about everyone's thought of the new Heaven & Hell album..!
Some of us have been chatting there for years.. lol
wilco - Hey brother \m/\m/
What do you think of the new Heaven & Hell album..?? Im gonna send you an email this weekend...!!
To stay on to topic for a moment.. I still enjoy a bit of Great White every now and then..!!
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84. writes:
well we can say what we want
but sort of sucks if you gig that you play that night gets on fire
we all can blame jack but hey he is the frontman of theband so easy to blame
but on the end its the manegement who is the fault and the put the tour together
so they should know how the hall is and what kind of pyro the can use that night
but it does not matter who to blame or wich person to put the finger on
it still sucks
np kiss hotter than hell
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1. spiral_architect writes:
ohhh i'm a wasted rock rangerrrrrrrrrr i live the life of dangerrrrrrrrr on the road to find a higher highhhhhhhh