WHITESNAKE Frontman DAVID COVERDALE Describes Another Bear Encounter

WHITESNAKE/ex-DEEP PURPLE frontman David Coverdale, who has lived on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, Nevada for 22 years, recently described an encounter with "a huge black bear," who came close to entering the Coverdale residence in search of food. A second incident where a bear actually entered Coverdale's house is recounted in the singer's latest online update:

"Yes, it appears we have a very real problem. This was a different, much bigger bear... I estimate 450-pounder. He broke into the swimming pool, took a swim, mind you...cool as you like, broke out thro' another window, broke into a guest bedroom. Fortunately the guest left this morning, but, unfortunately, left the sliding glass door open. This is where the bear came in. I was in my office on the same floor, thank God, when Jaz [David's son Jasper] burst in saying he'd heard something in the pool. I paged the house for my assistant Mikey, grabbed an air horn canister and ran out of my office just as the bear's head came out of the room. Jesus, he was big... I ran toward him screaming, firing off the air horn and shocked the buggery out of him... He turned and scarpered out the way he came. I chased him into the garden and saw his size... OMIGOD! Thank God he ran off... no way was I gonna wrestle this bugger! Anyway, we had a SWAT team over to go thro' the house and gardens just checking everything out. Apparently, there is a great deal of bear activity in the area...more than ever. Unfortunately, they are coming down from higher ground for water and food. After all, this was/is their environment, so I can understand, but once humans move in, that's when tragedy can occur. We now have a big bear trap in the garden. Man, this is surreal. We are still in MAJOR lockdown at the ol' Coverdale residence... For some reason, I don't think these guys care for rock. I have been trying to record for the last three days and something happens to prevent me! Maybe they're DURAN fans, or something!"

WHITESNAKE's video for the new studio song "Ready to Rock" has been posted online at this location (Real Media). The track is one of four previously unreleased cuts that appear on WHITESNAKE's new live record, entitled "Live… In the Shadow of the Blues", which was issued in Europe in November via Steamhammer/SPV Records.

WHITESNAKE has set "Good to be Bad" as the title of its new studio album, tentatively due early next year.