GEORGE LYNCH: DON DOKKEN 'Is Just A Piece Of S**t' - May 20, 2011

[Jagermeister]

Rob Cavuoto of Guitar International has just conducted an interview with legendary guitarist George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB, SOULS OF WE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar International: I really thought the reunion [of the classic DOKKEN lineup] was going to happen when you went on Eddie Trunk's "That Metal Show". I assumed, as most fans, that this was a done deal.

George Lynch: I feel like a fool because I got played again for the last fucking time! Like an idiot I went along with it but looking back I see what he was really doing. He was blowing wind in his sails by creating the impression that there was a reunion pending. That people were going to wake up and pay attention, that his guarantees were going to go up, and people are going to show up to his shows thinking I'm in the band. If we did reunite we would all be working for him. He's a miserable guy and he will stay miserable in his own skin. I wouldn't want to have 100 million dollars and live in that guy's brain and skin. He is just a piece of shit.Guitar International: I'm not sure Don has a lot of credibility these days and think most fans realize that.

George Lynch: When the band was intact, he had to maintain a certain level of professionalism. He had to maintain his voice, his behavior and what he said. He didn't like that. He is a very lazy person. He doesn't have a good work ethic and he surrounds himself with himself. He will never be happy. What he will never get, and I told him, it's not about the money and success, though you want people to hear the music. It's about giving the fans something they would like and enjoy. It's not about you, we are just the conduits. It comes through us but it's not about us. He doesn't get it. When musicians start to take themselves too seriously that's when it gets ugly in believing all the hype. My heroes are blue-collar people that work for a living. Not assholes like him who take credit for shit they don't do and expect everything handed to them on a silver platter. Have some respect for the people who are paying your bills.

Read more at Guitar International.

[sadaist]

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... assholes like him who expect everything handed to them on a silver platter

I saw them at a small club in San Diego when Reb Beach was playing with them. We got there early & actually got to hang with Mick Brown for about 10-15 minutes (got him to autograph a dollar bill). My 2 buddies went back & talked with Reb.

Don would arrive just before curtain time in a private limo and not socialize with anyone.

The rest of the band, crew, etc...all came on the bus or in cabs from the hotel. Basically Don is the king and everyone else, including the fans and the band are all his subjects. Everyone is to be graced by his awesome presence....yep, even the band.

The guy is a pure tool. His voice has always been too feminine for hard rock. I remember watching Dio's Hear N Aid special and all the singers recording their parts. Dio kept telling Don to sing it more fierce. "Dude, we are singing about a harsh subject...your voice needs to reflect that & be more harsh". This aint no sissy love song is basically what Dio was telling him....just in Dio's nice way.

Funny thing about how Don Dokken thinks of himself as some high & mighty rock God. If he were in a room with the top 20 rock singers...he would be the 21st most important guy there and 17 of the 20 other guys wouldn't even know who the fuck he was unless he explained.

"I'm Don Dokken...of Dokken. I sang Dream Warriors for Nightmare on Elm Street part 27. I opened for Twisted Sister for Christs sake!"

"mmmm...kinda sounds familiar. Keep going"

"I wrote the album Under Lock And Key....."

"ummm"

"with George Lynch"

"Oh hell yeah! George Lynch rules! I love that guy. You were the singer for his band? How did he come up with the name Dokken anyways? Just cause it rhymes with Rockin?"

[VAiN]

If he were in a room with the top 20 rock singers...he would be the 21st most important guy there and 17 of the 20 other guys wouldn't even know who the fuck he was unless he explained.

Nice!

[binnie]

Don Dokken was definitely born with horseshoe up his ass.

[sonrisa salvaje]

I love Don to death and i think he has a tremendous voice. I buy any new Dokken to this day. However, i must say that he doesn't sound like a very nice guy. According to Don's response, Jeff Pilson couldn't get out of his Foreigner gig for the next few years and didn't want to ruin it. I don't blame him. I'm sure Foreigner to this day can still draw a decent crowd whereas Dokken, even with the original lineup, would have to open for someone on a big show or just play clubs. Now if George expected Dokken to play without Jeff and there was an agreement to that, i don't blame him for being pissed at Don. If Jeff speaks on it we will know for sure.

[Diamondjimi]

Lynch was/is/ and will always be the only good thing about Dokken.Period!

I can see it now.....................Dokken opening up for Pretty boy Floyd

[binnie]

Oh man, Pretty Boy Floyd. There's a reason hair metal had to die.

I now have 'I Wanna Be With You' in my head.

[Terry]

Even at their biggest commerical peak in the 1980s, Dokken was still in the opening band slot. A bit of a shame, too, since Lynch was/is such a stellar guitarist...overall, though, Dokken's material was kinda run-of-the-mill for me; spectacular solos and some good guitar riffs and hooks, but precious few of the tunes managed to nudge against those sometimes intangible (yet easy to identify once heard) timeless qualities. Very much "of their time"...and, yes, Don Dokken never had a really distinctive voice. I mean, the guy could sing in key, but a very limited range coupled with very limited lyric writing abilities.

Don't think Lynch rejoining the band or not would make THAT much of a difference in terms of present day concert attendances. That motherfucker CAN play, though...no doubt about that.

[binnie]

Formulaic is the word that springs to mind, but maybe that is too harsh. I've certainly always found Dokken to be plodding.

[SunisinuS]

Again...only Dokken song that ever worked for me..... Because I planned on reaching Paris someday....and I did.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Breaking the Chains is the only one I know.

Reb Beach is no slouch.

The best lynch I've heard comes from those guitar teaching vids that used to happen in the early nineties that had 3 or 4 guys sharing some technique or an outtake from an album type solo. Lynch provided some ferocious outtake stuff from his Lynch Mob material.

[LoungeMachine]

I booked DOKKEN a couple of months ago [with Mick Brown still in the band at least] and I turned down booking Lynchmob.....

I'll say this, and take it for what it's worth...

Don was pretty much a prick backstage, BUT he was very engaging and cool to the crowd which was about 800 people.

3 nights before I went to see Lynchmob at a friend's venue, and there was 125 people and George never bothered to look up at the audience or engage them in the slightest....

I, too was told by a certain agent that a reunion was in the works.....

[Hardrock69]

Last time I saw Lynch Mob was at a theater in Pasadena where they were taping ABC's In Concert in 1991. Also on the bill was Little Ceasar, Roxette, and a couple of other acts. I brought my tape deck in and recorded almost all the acts. Will have to transfer this to CD someday...

Saw Dokken once with the original lineup, opeing for Priest in June of 1986 in Norman, OK.

Then saw the lineup with Reb Beach in Wichita, KS in the late 90s (my best friend's band opened). Jeff Pilson, Reb Beach and Mick Brown were all cool, and yes, Don did not show up until just before showtime. To top it off, halfway through the set he said he was going to let Jeff sing a song or two because he had a cold. Fucking idiot. All through the set he was drinking booze and smoking cigarettes. The highlight of the evening for me was getting to talk to Reb, as I had always admired his playing. And the show was a reminder of what a monster drummer Mick Brown is.

I really don't give a fuck about Don one way or the other, as I was never a real fan of Dokken to begin with. I always did dig George's guitar playing though, and I wore out the first Lynch Mob album.

[jhale667]

Always was a huge Lynch fan...I saw Dokken open for Dio as a kid in '84, then again for Priest in 86, and on the Monsters of Rock tour in Pontiac Michigan of all places in '88...Van Hagar headlined, and I remember thinking how much they were lacking w/o Dave. But Dokken was always a solid band. Dug Lynch Mob too, Oni Logan kicks ass.

[Terry]

Formulaic is the word that springs to mind, but maybe that is too harsh. I've certainly always found Dokken to be plodding.

Nah, I think you've got it right.

Solid (if not spectacular) band with average-to-decent tunes and a great guitar player.