Former Great White Vocalist Jack Russell Reveals He Lapsed Into Coma After Alcohol Binge
Jack Russell, the former vocalist for Great White who has performed under the Jack Russell's Great White moniker in recent years, is ramping up to support his next album The Gauntlet, and during a stop on the Music Mania podcast last month (as heard in the player above), the singer spoke about his sobriety and revealed some rather scary news about his most recent relapse.
During the interview, Russell was asked if the 2011 death of Warrant's Jani Lane motivated him to get clean, and while the rocker admitted that Lane's death did hit home with him, he still continued to drink. "Unfortunately, at the time, it wasn't enough," said Russell (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). "I mean, it was for a while, but then my disease started going, 'Well, you're not Jani Lane. No doctor's ever told you that, so you keep on drinking.' And I'd binge for a while, and I'd sober up.
As for his most recent lapse, Russell explained, "The last time I did that was, like, eight months ago; I went on a binge and I drank, like, Mai Tais in, like, twenty minutes. And I kept falling off the bar stool. [And they told me], 'Hey, dude, we love you here, but you've gotta go. Or else we'll call the cops.' So Don Dokken, who was with me, took me to my boat and dropped me off. And my wife was just furious. And she put me in bed, and the next morning I wouldn't wake up... I was in a coma eight months ago from drinking too much. The doctor told me when I woke up, 'If you drink again, your liver's gonna shut down and you're gonna die.' And I went, 'Okay.' So I'm not gonna take the chance."
He continued, "I'm doing good right now. My body's in great shape. I've been working out. I've been running. I've been… stuff I thought I could never do again after all my accidents. I just took care of myself, got some muscle on me, and I'm back on stage doing what I used to do. It's great."
A lyric video for the song "Hard Habit" was released this spring. You can see the clip below and if you like what you hear, it's available via Amazon and iTunes. Look for Jack Russell's Great White on tour at these locations.
Jack Russell's Great White, "Hard Habit"