After recording several demos, the band chose as manager Alan Niven, who had worked for the independent distributor Greenworld in Torrance, California and had dealt with Mötley Crüe's debut self-release. Niven suggested the name change from Dante Fox after seeing Kendall stick his head out of a car window while driving by the Troubador and some kid in the crowd said "there goes Great White". Kendall got the nickname due to his naturally white-blonde hair, white Fender Telecaster guitar, white jumpsuit, and white Capezio shoes. In 1982, the members by this time (as Costa and Richards had left) were Mark Kendall, Jack Russell, drummer Gary Holland, and bassist Lorne Black. They were soon in the studio and they recorded and released a 5-song EP, "Out of the Night", on the independent label Aegean formed by Niven. Niven then convinced the Los Angeles radio station KMET to begin adding songs from the EP to its playlist in heavy rotation. KLOS-FM soon did the same. The band suddenly went from drawing 100 people to a local club to drawing thousands in L.A. concert halls such as Perkins Palace in Pasadena, The Palace in Hollywood and the Country Club in Reseda. As an unsigned act, Great White headlined at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia playing to 6,250 people. Near the end of 1983, EMI America signed the band and subsequently released Great White's eponymous debut album in early 1984. The band immediately toured the UK supporting Whitesnake's "Slide It In" tour and the entire US and Canada opening for Judas Priest's "Defenders of the Faith" tour. They also supported Kiss on their "Lick It Up" tour. "Shot in the Dark", their follow-up independent release, marked the arrival of drummer Audie Desbrow after the firing of Holland on December 27, 1984. By the time Capitol Records signed the band and reissued "Shot in the Dark", keyboardist-guitarist Michael Lardie, who had played on that album as a session musician, had come aboard as a full member. After the release of "Shot in the Dark", Great White hit the road with Dokken for 5 shows and was on the verge of even bigger success.