ARTIST BIO

Compared to country music, many classic rock fans get left in the dust when it comes to connecting with their fans. Rockers have been called too distant, or too interested in keeping that curtain drawn between their followers.
It’s certainly not the case with the steady and empathetic, Great White guitarist Michael Lardie.
 
Lardie’s can-do attitude and relaxed personality is surprising once you see him let loose on stage. Ever in control, Lardie’s subtleness is his secret weapon; his command of every riff and freestyle work at the keys is a pivotal ingredient to Great White’s live show, as well as in the studio. A self-taught musician and sought after producer/ engineer, Lardie still works daily on his already impressive resume.
 
That list of collaborations includes seminal punk artists, Black Flag, Husker Du, and English synth pop bands, Kajagoogoo and Level 42. In the last 10 years, he’s been in the studio alongside Night Ranger and Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades.
 
“When I’m at home in Sacramento, I’m always working with the Great White guys remotely, or channeling my energy in the studio,” Lardie said. “I’m still yearning for new opportunities – and I think our fans will be surprised to find out how diverse my tastes are. I still would love to write a song with Sheryl Crow.”
 
Growing up in an Air Force family, Lardie endured the daunting task of making new friends and meeting new faces constantly. It’s no secret that his guitar skills channeled Lardie’s energy into new spaces.
 
“Playing guitar was my connection to the outside world when I was a child and it has continued to make that amazing connection for me,” Lardie said.
 
Since 1982, the Great sound has captivated audiences worldwide with crushing blues-based guitar riffs and swagger that invokes an emotional high for anyone that listens. The band’s core writing team of Mark Kendall and Lardie forged numerous hits over the years, and when Lardie Audie Desbrow officially joined in ’85, the grooves hooked an amazing stride.
 
Best known for their GRAMMY nominated Best Hard Rock Performance hit, the gold selling “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” (over 900,000 copies of this single alone), Great White has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, has six Top 100 Billboard hits, nine Top 200 Billboard albums, two multi platinum albums, five gold records and clocked the top of MTV video four times. Lardie and company also received Golden Reel Awards from Ampex for “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and Hooked.
 
To experience their hits live in concert—“Rock Me,” “Mista Bone,” “Save Your Love,” “House of Broken Love,” and “Lady Red Light”—is to ride an emotional wave of perspiring connections, sultry lyrics, and an all-out marathon of hard-hitting orchestrations. Great White continues to tour worldwide and in 2015 logged over 60 dates in several states and countries. They returned to the classic rock radio charts with “Complicated” off of 2012’s Elation. The band’s 12^th studio album, Elation, garnered high marks from numerous rock journalists behind the pesky “Something For You,” the cheeky “Shotgun Willie’s,” and the emotional, Top 10 classic rock radio entry, “Hard To Say Goodbye.”
 
When not in the recording studio or on stage with Great White, Lardie is heavily involved in sound production for numerous bands and artists. Outside of music, his other passion is golf.
 
“I’m so blessed to have been a part of our fans’ lives all these years,” Lardie said. “That to me is the real success. I love connecting with them and I can’t wait for what the future holds for music. It’s always been a wild ride, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
 
Photo Credit: Carl Cederman