It almost goes without saying that after 25+ years , Mark Kendall, guitarist for one of the most famous bands of the 80’s Great White, qualifies as a guitar hero, if somewhat unsung. Platinum albums, worldwide tours, MTV darlings… Great White has survived ups and downs and remained one of the most famous “hair” bands of all time. I had the opportunity to interview Mark and as a fan I was energized… and figured a few of my guitar buddies would be too… so short on time and with a quick speed dial, the first on my short list to answer my call was Benjy Johnson, lead guitarist of Benj-O-Matic and owner of Earthtones Recording Studios, he joined me for a little shark tail q and a and threw in a few questions. So, put on your suit and jump in… the water is just fine.
AAM: In 2007, you guys celebrated 25 years together, what are some of the guitar highlights from a 25 year career?
Mark Kendall: Wow. Well I guess it was over time Michael and I learned how to put our two guitars together. When Great White first started we were just one guitar, and in 1985 we added keyboards… from there we continued to work on our sound. Also too… as far as highlights when we first started, and we were playing the same clubs which helped us build a followingOn a personal level? When we did Once Bitten, Rock Me, those were real highlights for me because I have always been influenced by the blues and as highlights, those songs allowed me to incorporate that influence into my own writing.
AAM: Being a guitar hero yourself, who are YOUR guitar heroes?
MK: Well, there are a lot of them and I’ve been really lucky to meet most of them, not all but quite a few. Of course there’s always a fear and a hope that when you do meet a hero of yours that they aren’t a jerk! <laughing> Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top was great, very down to earth, Johnny Winter, an incredible guy- and Stevie Ray Vaughn, I was able to meet him before he died. I remember he signed a poster for me that said “Keep Standing Tall”- I still have it to this day.
AAM: So I heard you started playing at age 5? What was the first song you learned?
MK: Actually, I was about 8 yrs old. But I didn’t get my first guitar until I was 9. The old Yardbirds song “For Your Love”, we had that on a 45 and I learned some of the chords… oh and “Gloria” was an early song I learned some chords to as well.
AAM: Have you ever played the guitar hero game and if so will you tell us your score?
MK: You know, I’ve heard of it and I know people who play it, but I don’t even own it!
AAM: So that means I can officially say I’ve beat Mark Kendall in Guitar Hero since I’ve played it?
MK: <laughing> Yes, I guess you can!
AAM: The 80’s were a time of excess… so tell us about the most expensive guitar you’ve ever purchased.
MK: Umm… you know I have never spent more than 4-5000.00 on any guitar. I don’t have any inlaid with diamonds or anything! I do have some old Firebirds and such but I’ve just never spent 30,000 on a guitar!
AAM: After so many years in the business, how do you keep it fresh?
MK: In a good way, it is still exciting for us… Sometimes it’s the simple things like changing the sets, we never want it to sound like you just inserted one of our cds… getting the fans involved… I feel blessed that I still get to play, and I keep trying to improve.
AAM: You recently unveiled the new TTM Mark Kendall series guitars. Tell us more about this new venture.
MK: Well it’s strictly a guitar company, and I’ve been approached before and I’ve checked the companies out but usually they were not made very well, but these were different, and the guitar maker has been doing this for over 20 years… For the past 10 years I’ve been into the Fender Strat so when I signed on for this project I got to go through everything and help design the guitar keeping in mind everything I disliked about other guitars I had played. Ash wood is used for the body, and maple wood is used for the neck. I think I covered every detail known to man! Now they are starting to sign other guitar players, so it’s really exciting.
AAM: Tell us about your 2006 solo album “2.0”- any plans for more solo work in the future?
MK: Yes, definitely but right now I’m concentrating on Great White. We’re work on a new cd and I’m focusing on that. But I definitely want to in the future, when I did “2.0” I had a really good time- it was the first time that I got to sing and I found the best possible musicians to work with, which made it even more fun.
AAM: So tell us about the new Great White Cd- Is it a departure?
MK: We are in such the early stages right now- one thing we do is never pre-plan our cds. We just write the best songs we can.
AAM: CMT has a television series called Crossroads which pairs rock bands and country artists who were influenced by them. Who would be your ultimate Great White Crossroads band?
MK: You know I’m not a huge fan of country although there are some amazing guitar players in country music. My wife loves it, but I’ve just never really followed it, but I tell you I REALLY like Johnny Hiland--I think he is the best country guitar player out there- Steve Vai has signed him and I played a show with Johnny once and was just blown away. In fact Steve Vai said once that he was a 100 times better than he ever was, and when Steve Vai says that…
AAM: That’s a pretty good reference!
MK: <laughing> -Yes it is!
AAM: Many of your riffs and solos are very recognizable… any favorites?
MK: Umm… it’s hard to pick one that stands out, even one song--Once Bitten comes to mind again but I never dug the “listen to this outrageous riff” kind of guitar work… I think it’s more about tone… and making the song work.
AAM: So tell us---what are YOUR five greatest guitar albums of all time?
MK: Let’s see… Johnny Winter’s “Still Alive and Well”, “Tres Hombres”- ZZ Top, the first Van Halen album undeniably, Deep Purple’s “ Machine Head” and “Toys In The Attic”- Aerosmith…
AAM: You know as a sidebar I tried to impress my 5th grade crush by bringing that album to school and I went down in flames… but even though it failed to get me a boyfriend, it was my first rock album-
MK: And, that’s not a bad thing!
AAM: So… final thoughts for our readers?
MK: Just thank you to everyone-we have some of the best fans in the world… and sometimes when we play small venues we get to meet them and that is always cool… they are amazing and we appreciate all the years we’ve been able to do this… and I hope to be doing it for as long as I can.
Thanks Mark for swimming through our questions and for all of the great music over the years. For more on Mark Kendall go to www.mistabone.com/band.shtml or ttmguitars.com.
