While bassist Jeff Pilson admits that money is the motivator for Dokken’s classic lineup reunion, he insists that the band also wants to redeem themselves after years of bad press.
Though the bassist agrees with drummer Mick Brown and vocalist Don Dokken that money is the main incentive for their run of comeback shows, he still wants to do a “great job” for the fans’ sake.
He tells My Global Mind, “Because bands look like they are having a fun time up on stage, it seems like it’s the easiest job in the world or not really a job at all.
Most fans would say, ‘Why can those guys just get it together and play. It looks like fun.’ Obviously it’s more than that – it’s the time you spend together practicing and in negations making it all happen.
I will say that the notion that we are doing it just for the money – of course we doing it for the money. We are getting well paid and that’s great.”
Pilson adds, “Honestly, I don’t really look at it like that – I look at it as getting paid is a nice thing and this is a chance to put a positive spin on a band that got a lot of negative press. Now it’s just about going out there and kicking some butt and doing a great job, not to get all caught up in the controversy that we usually get.
Japan has always been great for us and I’m really just looking forward just going out and doing the music and playing with these guys.”
Pilson also recalled the last time the original Dokken lineup played together in 1997, when they were supporting Alice Cooper. He says the night ended on a “horrible note” after old tensions had resurfaced between frontman Dokken and guitarist George Lynch – resulting in the pair almost “getting into a fight” on the bus.
Pilson explains, “George’s son had to come between them. It got nasty and ugly – it was very unfortunate.
I think extreme tension is destructive and that’s what ultimately brought about the end of the band. I don’t think extreme tension was creative in any way whatsoever. I think it cut off a lot of the potential that we had.
I’m hoping we can do this with a better attitude – and I think we will.”
Recently, Brown admitted that Dokken and Lynch had begun snapping at each other ahead of the dates.
Dokken’s only planned US show is Sioux Falls Badlands in South Dakota on September 30th, followed by six Japanese dates in October. They’ll then revert to the current formation featuring Dokken, Brown, Jon Levin and Chris McCarvill.
Classic Dokken lineup tour dates
Sep 30: Sioux Falls Badlands, SD
Oct 5: Osaka Namba Hatch
Oct 6: Fukuoka Civic Hall
Oct 8: Tokyo Loud Park Festival
Oct 10: Hiroshima Blue Live Hiroshima
Oct 11: Aichi Zepp Nagoya
Oct 12: Tokyo Zepp Diversity
additional source: Classic Rock via teamrock.com
10 Responses
….based on Mick and Don’s comments, I don’t that’s going to happen unfortunately.
I’m pretty sure SD means South Dakota, not San Diego
You’re correct, Waverider.
This was taken from a British source, I guess they got a bit confused about American geography-LOL! Thank you, I fixed it.
D 🙂
It’s probably unpopular to the Dokken faithful, but Pilson, Lynch and Brown could easily do a pseudo Dokken thing again, like Tooth and Nail. Jeff is a great singer. You don’t really need Don except for the last name, and he is/was a mediocre singer at best to begin with.
I get the payday thing though. All of these guys have to tour constantly and/or do multiple projects to make a living these days. There’s no shame it doing for the money either.
I wonder if Dr. Phil Towle is available?
Not totally clear from this interview whether Pilson is talking about negative press about the band tensions or negative critical reviews of their music. A lot of critics thought Dokken was generic suburban hard rock, kind of like the metal Monkees. Nobody thought Lynch wasn’t great, but the overall effect of Dokken was often characterized as lacking edge and originallity. I understood the criticisms, but still liked the band. “Into the Fire” and the great “Dream Warriors” were classic headbanging melodic metal These guys should rock, laugh, and reconcile all the way to the bank.
Hi Mark,
While I know one should never assume, I am making the assumption, that Pilson was referring to all of the negative press, regarding the tensions surrounding the band members. At some point, sadly, the reports about the band’s in fighting begin to overshadow what is really important, the music.
Also, Dokken wasn’t the only band who got lost into the fray of being criticized for being a “hair band.” It happened to many good bands, such as Tesla.
One another, but somewhat related note, look at what Bevis and Butthead did to Winger’s career, and they had great musicians in that band.
D 🙂