UnCovered: Great White Guitarist Mark Kendall Discusses the Paul McPhee Artwork on New Album ‘Full Circle’

Los Angeles, California’s rockers Great White dropped their latest in a long line of quality albums via Bluez Tone Records on June 2nd. Titled Full Circle (and available for purchase RIGHT HERE) the recording boasts some killer cover artwork by the talented Paul McPhee. We had to know more! In this interview with lead guitarist Mark Kendall we dive into (pun intended) the release custom cover.

What was the inspiration for the album’s cover artwork?
Mark Kendall: We always wait until an album is complete before naming it. At first, we looked at the songs and thought about naming the album from a song but it wouldn’t make any sense. We hadn’t worked with producer Michael Wagener since our very first EP and first full-length album 30 plus years ago! Full Circle made the most sense for the title (Michael Lardie came up with name). We liked the title right away.

Your new album cover is crazy-cool. Tell us about the artist and how you found him/her?
Kendall: Paul McPhee is a long time friend who did the artwork for our 1999 release Can’t Get There From Here. He’s a great artist who worked on the Jaws movie projects. We gave him the title and said do something in the ocean with a shark that looks like the title.

What were the partnership’s dynamics like? For example, was a specific look given, or did the artist have full free range?
Kendall: Full range with our approval.

Did the artist who did the cover art hear the album before hand? Or, what kind of input did you give him/her?
Kendall: Yes.

Have you ever purchased an album solely because of its album artwork? If yes, did the music live up to the artwork?
Kendall: Not really, but I always dug when one of my favorite bands had cool looking artwork on their release.

With the increasing popularity of digital music, most fans view artwork as just pixels on a screen. Why did you feel the artwork was important?
Kendall: Mainly because we’re old school and like to keep it special for our loyal fans!

When people look at the album cover artwork, what do you want them to see/think?
Kendall: That we’ve been through it all but we’re alright and happy.

How do you think the album art will affect the listener’s perception of your album?
Kendall: I think the music will speak the loudest but the feedback from the album art has been positive so hopefully, everyone digs it.

Is the art for this album related to any of your previous album cover artwork?
Kendall: No.

Check out the video for new single “Big Time”