[2] He grew up with influences such as Robert Plant and Steven Tyler, and became a vocalist for many bands in high school and later on.

He met Mark Kendall in a concert and began plans to form a band called Dante Fox.

On February 20, 2003, while touring as "Jack Russell's Great White", they played a club gig at The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island, where a deadly fire caused by pyrotechnics occurred, leading to the deaths of 100 people including band member Ty Longley.

Having fallen into alcoholism, the sudden death of his good friend Jani Lane of Warrant propelled him to get help and become sober.

In 2012, Russell guest-starred on VH1 Classics "That Metal Show", where he revealed his side of the Great White story, and how he was feeling well and ready for more.

[7] Russell died less than a month after the announcement, on August 7, 2024, at the age of 63 at a family member's home in Southern California, from complications of LBD and muscular system atrophy.