The broad strokes of Great White’s profession trajectory are just like lots of their friends: hardscrabble origins adopted by astronomical success, lower off on the knees throughout the grunge explosion and relegated to the nostalgia circuit within the a long time that adopted.

But Great White — particularly frontman Jack Russell, who died on Aug. 15, 2024 at age 63 after being identified with Lewy physique dementia and a number of system atrophy — battled demons much more profound than a decline in recognition. For the final 20 years of his life, the frontman grappled together with his diploma of culpability within the lethal 2003 Station nightclub hearth in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

It solely took six minutes for the blaze to engulf the constructing and irrevocably change the course of tons of of lives, together with Russell’s. Great White tour supervisor Daniel Biechele set off the pyrotechnics throughout the band’s first track. They ignited the soundproofing foam on the membership’s ceiling, quickly engulfing the membership and killing 100 individuals and injuring 230 extra.

Biechele pled responsible to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 4 years in jail for his involvement within the hearth, although he was granted parole roughly midway by way of his sentence. Venue homeowners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian pleaded no contest and have been sentenced to jail and 500 hours of group service, respectively.

Russell was by no means charged, and for authorized causes he was suggested to say little within the aftermath of the fireplace. But he grew to become a music business pariah and persona non grata amongst New Englanders — and remained haunted by the tragedy for the remainder of his life.

“I Just Didn’t Want to Feel Anything”

“After the fire happened, I really went into a downward spiral,” Russell advised City Journal in 2007. “Every single drug I could ever get, I’d do, because I just didn’t want to feel anything. I was in so much pain.”

As for his response or lack thereof after the fireplace, the singer defined: “Initially all my lawyers said don’t ever say I was sorry because that would mean I was guilty or something. I didn’t have anything to do with what happened, you know what I mean? It was a horrible thing.”

Great White donated cash to the victims’ households and launched into a profit tour, with proceeds going to the Station Fire Memorial Foundation. Detractors later took situation with Russell receiving a televised facelift, which some thought-about insensitive. When the band staged a poorly acquired Tenth-anniversary profit live performance, the Foundation introduced that it will now not settle for any funds from Russell or Great White.

Controversy bloomed once more in 2015 when Russell’s Great White was booked to play the Party within the Pasture pageant in Mechanics Falls, Maine, which was promoted as their first New England present for the reason that Station hearth. (Their set was eerily canceled attributable to an unexplained energy outage.) The occasion drew the ire of rock followers all through the area, and even Russell was bewildered by the promoting.

“Ah geez … people just don’t get it,” he advised Vanyaland in 2015 concerning the Party within the Pasture promotion. “What are you thinking? Don’t you understand that people died? People lost their friends? I mean, have a little courtesy and respect. There’s people that are still devastated — I’m one of them. I’ve got a lot of friends I can’t just pick up the phone and call and their numbers are still in my phone. And I don’t want to erase them. I still cry, you know? Like 10 times a month, just bawling. I miss my friends, you know?”

READ MORE: Great White Still Love Jack Russell, Says Mark Kendall

“If I could go back and change my life, or anybody’s life I would do it,” Russell added. “That wasn’t supposed to happen; it was supposed to be a concert. I just try to take it one day at a time, and sometimes one day [is] worse … some days I can’t even get out of bed. I am so sorry. I just don’t want to cause any more pain — ever. It’s just — I don’t know.”

“I Don’t Feel Better About Any of It and I Don’t Think I Ever Will”

Russell’s anguish over the Station hearth was compounded by his survivor’s guilt. He revealed in 2015 that he’d been seeing a psychiatrist as soon as every week for 12 years following the tragedy.

“It really affected my life in a lot of ways, but I can’t complain because I’m alive,” he advised Classic Rock in 2013. “My demons are my demons, and at that time, they were coming and going as they pleased, but that just took me to my knees. There’s no psychologist you can talk to, and trust me, I’m still talking to them, who could ever help me come to terms with that and go, ‘Okay, I feel better now.’ Because I don’t. I don’t feel better about any of it and I don’t think I ever will.”

In loss of life as in life, Russell stays inextricably linked to the Station hearth. But he additionally leaves behind a legacy as a powerhouse vocalist with a sensitivity and zest for all times, based on those that knew him. Among the early tributes was Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who wrote: “RIP Jack Russell. This man was vilified for a situation out of his control and tortured by the memories. He was not evil. And man, could he sing!”