George Lynch: Reflecting on his time in DOKKEN!
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- George Lynch was the guitar hero in hard rockers Dokken! In this new 2023 interview with Vintage Rock Pod, George talks about his time in the band, about the legendary "Beast from the East" live record, what he believes is the one pivotal moment in the band's history, how hard they worked to improve themselves and more. Plus he also talks about the band he formed when he left, "Lynch Mob".
George is one of the best players ever. Unique.
Greatest guitar player
Im 53...i still listen to dokken a minimum of once a week....
I am 46 and listen at least once a day
I am 37 and my dokken t shirt may as well have been a tattoo. Never took that sucka off. Play dokken all the time
Anyone going to top "all the time" ?
I'm 29, and Dokken is listened to daily! ✊🏼
I'm 60 and Listen to Dokken daily.
Back for the attack to me is one of the all time great albums. Period. From front to end...its perfect
yes, two best rock and roll albums of all time, back for the attack and Boston.
Dokken was unstoppable with the 3 albums Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key, and Back for the Attack! All really strong albums...probably the best 3 album run out of all the other "arena rock" bands of the 80's. Their formula worked that's for sure!
Totally agree. Those 3 albums. They were probably my favorite band from 85-89. Was lucky to see them open for AC/DC in Germany in 88.
Don't forget the first record. Paris is burning is CLASSIC Dokken.
Yet they had the reputation as a poor live band, or their sound was tinny and washed out.
@@mattgahimer3130 BREAKIN THE CHAINS!!! Catchiest guitar solo ever! Maybe 2nd after home sweet home.
@@mattgahimer3130I agree. Breaking The Chains is a phenomenal album. I listen to it just as much as the three albums that came out after.
I really can appreciate all the members of DOKKEN, Don and his amazing vocals were etched in my brain as a teenager and as an adult. I to this day still rock out to Dream Warriors, as loud as possible lol, Into the Fire! And In my Dreams to name a few. Under lock and Key was my favorite album
Keep on Rockin with Dokken .....saw them in 86 in Austin Texas with Dio
George Lynch is one of my childhood guitar hero’s & he’s definitely one of the most underrated guitar players. Dokken was obviously incredible but Lynchmob the “Wicked Sensation” album was absolutely AMAZING! George has a unique guitar feel, sound & how he “attacks” the fretboard with his signature “melodic/harmonic minor” kinda riffs still give me chills & still inspire me to play.
George to this day is probably still my favorite guitarist,he just had something no one else had.Dokken was great,can’t take anything away from them.
Times change,genres change,taste changes.
They left their mark and should be super proud of it.
George created his very own sound, and as a drummer, he is still on of my fav musicians
Also, of you saw George and Chris Broderick together, you could def see that George was not a very technical musician, but more of a self taught "feel" player...much like Michael Schenker
@@davebasch5995 I would say he ," borrowed" heavily from Eddie
I love Dokken but fans and taste don’t change. The marketing changes and the fans in general take what’s marketed to them. Why do you think we are still stuck with Rap? It should have gone away years ago but they just keep marketing it
@@davedecker1725So did everyone else. George Lynch and Vito Bratta brought their own unique take on it.
George is a national treasure
so humble
Scott Weiland is buried treasure.
Yep. What a legacy. Super unique player and what a feel!! Jeff Pilson as well…what a musician! Great inspiration in my youth as a learning musician. I eventually became a jazz pianist, but I like to think I kept a little bit of “mr scary” in my vibe as I grew! Thanks George!!!
I was in junior high school. Appetite for Destruction just came out and I had it on cassette. I was on the football team and we used to play music before games. I popped in appetite and people lost their minds. Kid on my team asked me to trade him my appetite cassette for a Dokken “Back for the Attack” cassette. I never heard Dokken. He played Mr Scary and I handed over appetite without hesitation. George blew my mind since.
I couldn't get enough of Back for the Attack and Beast from the East
I was at the Whisky show where George stole Oni from Ferrari. That line is classic! LOL George is a phenomenal musician - no one else of his generation is still that tuned in and prolific creating quality new music all the time. Thank you, Mr. Lynch.
George Lynch is amazing, and Dokken rocked!
I have seen Dokken at least 10 times. Every time they kicked ass!!
Answer to the Defining Moment : Album Tooth and Nail - Song: Without Warning/Tooth and Nail - THAT is THE Defining moment for George and the band!!! Still to this day that intro and that song send chills!!!!
Jaded Heart, and Slipping Away are 2 songs that George really shines on. amazing solos
what a humble and very nice person, for this business a rarity. Also an iconic shredder!
I became a George & Dokken fan in late '87 which was basically the end of Dokken. To this day I love his playing. I have all the Dokken cd's with George on them, all of the Lynch Mob stuff and all of George's solo work. Seen him live multiple times and met him a few times and he graciously talked to me and signed my stuff. He's just an amazing player and from that 80's L.A. scene guys like George & Warren DeMartini really stand out. That first Lynch Mob record 'Wicked Sensation' is just an amazing record..I think it's the best Mob work and Oni Logan's voice is freaking amazing. Eddie VH is always for me the rock guitar king but I rank George right up there. Two different styles & two amazing players that inspired countless others.
I was going to say that Lynch and DeMartini were two of the top players of the 80's just amazing players
George is a National Treasure!
George Lynch is the reason I picked up the guitar and played. I have had Psoriatic Arthritis and no longer play...I really miss playing!
If you havent, try different necks. I have arthritis too. I got a PRS and the neck is so smooth it feels great on my fingers. Just a suggestion, good luck!
SAME HERE.
A great influence on me since 1987, I even use his screaming demon pickup, a true master with a lot of feeling. 👏🏻💯👍🏻💥🎸
Beast from the East is a great live album. George was on 🔥
Not live. All studio dubbed.
@A M then why were there recoding trucks at the gig???
Lighting fingers of magic heavy metal
@@am3986 live with studio overdubs.
@@am3986 Correct, most lives are re -done in a studio, even blending songs such as the Ozzy RR Tribute album.
To this day I suspect the GnR live has crowd overdubs added which really cheapens the tracks.
❤❤❤ GEORGE IS A PHOENIX. HE WILL ALWAYS RISE ABOVE ADVERSITY- THAT IS A QUALITY ABOUT HIM I MOST ADMIRE. HIS GUITAR WORK & TONE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. 💜
Dokken blew me away when I was a young guitarist in the 80's. I saw Lynch at the Orpheum in Boston and he blew me away. We immediately went home and copped the solo to "Into the Fire" and "Alone Again" and others. Lynch was nasty and had a unique tone, phrasing, and touch that made him stand out and shine. Everyone wanted to play like Lynch.
opening for who? date?
George's sound will never be duplicated again! Me. Scary is my favorite guitarist of all time!
Still one of my favorites
Lynch Mob's Wicked Sensation is one of my favorites. Sweet Sister Mercy, Dance of the Dogs... I love the Dokken solo record as well. My 1st and only time seeing Dokken was on the Aerosmith tour. My brother bought your debut for my birthday. Fan ever since Paris is Burning.
Wicked Sensation is one of those master piece records! It’s incredible!!
💯it’s a masterpiece
Agree but I would add that "The Brotherhood" is right there with Wicked Sensation IMO. Ridiculously good.
@@swellhunter8605 I have the CD.
I’m 48. I’ve been a fan of George since I was about twelve. It’s awesome to have a music idol who just keeps on keepin on. Most guys seem to want to be the next Zeppelin or they don’t even bother. George just makes music. Project after project, album after album. Still kickin ass after fifty years. Salute to you, George. My young self couldn’t have picked a better guitar hero.
He is as great as Van Halen or Randy Rhoads etc i am so sad how Blackmore treated him and Eddie , as they walked in to meet him one day in an LA restaurant and management introduced them to Blackmore who was so rude to Poor George Lynch that he made George cry anyway George and Eddie Van Halen got their own back as they became bigger than Deep Purple in the 80s
@@Cayres9Blackmore is not a very nice person from what I’ve heard just like Neal schon but Blackmore is a better guitar player than all of them
@@AlexRodriguez-hl1vu Blackmore is a legend, better is subjective, but George is definitely the more accomplished guitar player.
I know I’ve heard that Blackmore was not very nice but he is my all time favorite guitar player and Eddie I think is great just like Randy Rhodes I like lynch but he’s not my favorite but I know he’s great but I like rainbow in the early days just as I liked deep purple in the early days just didn’t care for the music dokken was playing some songs I liked but not that many i wish Blackmore didn’t have that reputation of not being nice just like Neal schon I think Neal is a great guitar player but he has a bad attitude I think he likes the bad press keeps journey in the news and he makes so much money by doing so many tours Neal is lucky that arnel is still with them but don’t get me wrong Lynch is a great guitar player just don’t care for his material
@@machupikachu1085 Blackmore is a better guitar player I think the best stuff was his early days with deep purple and I love the early rainbow stuff as far as lynch he great I’m just not a fan of his material but I think he’s great but I like Blackmore stuff better
George really ages well
I read article were Randy Rhoads talked about George and said watch out for that guy..pretty much saying he is good and look what he did in Dokken wow love unchain the night album wow see Randy knew what he was seeing in George
Never could understand how Dokken never got bigger
I opened up for lynch mob out in Orange County about 12 years ago and my ears are still ringing from George’s amp!! 😂 👂📣💥
A very talented group of guys great music
Beast in the east is a very very fine collection of their music. I still play it regularly to this day and probably will until I leave this planet.🤘
Loved when he was talking about Lynch Mob, i could listen to stories about that album all day.
Love you George! Still listen and being inspired by your music to this day! So thank you sir🙏🤘🎸
Best rock guitar sound of all time: #1) EVH, #2) George L. He just had an epic guitar sound live & studio. I always wanted his setup back in my band days more than any other guitarist...
Don was one of the best singers and song writers of his era period. Put together with the rest of the band, total awesomeness!
It was his personality that limited how high they could go.
He was just a total douche to deal with. Even just having a casual conversation with him would cause people be annoyed with him.
lol...funny comment...BTW, totally wrong
Don really didnt have much of a voice
Dokken's progression from album to album was pretty obvious, and Back for the Attack was the apex of George's playing with them in terms of skill and tone.
I saw them in Monsters of Rock in Seattle (long time ago) and they rocked! I'll say this, Dokken is my goto songs I still listen to today, evean more than than VH. George's solos and chord progresssions just blows me away in creativity and technical pressence very few band can match. His tone is my fav of all the 80's metal bands, so much attack and bite, yet his chords were smooth. He just knows how to craft his sound within a song perfectly, very rare that it's off. A big credit to Dokken too, a master songwriter himself. It's the reason their best music was written while they were in the same band. Not going to lie, their solo careers were nothing to brag about...
I am 56 years old. Edward will always be my fav Rock guitarist and George Lynch is my 2nd fav.
Sure, I enjoy Holdsworth, Metheny, Morse, Breau, Atkins, Page, Hicks, Keaggy, Di Meola, Kath.....but Edward and George are my two favs.
George’s interviews are honest and fun. Don needed a guitarist with a strong musical personality like George. The Dokken lineup was a great example of a band who were better together than anywhere else. Great players and chemistry along with Don’s songwriting. And the albums / songs prove it. They just needed management that could help make them a top headlining act. The 80’s it seems were very competitive. You still had the great 70’s bands, and grunge would soon explode. Listen to Tooth And Nail, Under Lock And Key and Back For The Attack. Great stuff.
At the end of the day, it comes down to songs. And Dokken had that in spades. They were so much better than most. What an incredible band.
Don....in his day(early eighties & well into the nineties - one of "the great" hard rock melodic singers! George: Borrowing some technique from "Edward"....really excelled as a feel player & he's just expanded his style over time. Jeff Pilson: A big reason for Dokken's success,because he generally got along with both Don & George & is an excellent songwriter that has work ethic/band mentality + kudos to Mick - always kept time & delivered on all of Dokken's/Lynch Mob projects he was a part of! Despite some production issues(Particularly Tototh & Nail/Breaking The Chains) the band's albums are VERY memorable & ascend most "hair bands" efforts from the heyday of that genre.🎸🎶🎤💪.
George has been around since the 60's.......A true war horse..
Been playing since he was 10 years old!
George, you're a rockstar, a guitar god, a legend. I love Dokken and Dokken would not be as big as it is without your talent. Thank you for your amazing music.
From Brazil. You still rock in 2023
cool interview, great insight on the formation of Lynch Mob
I saw the video for “In My Dreams” during it’s debut and the rest is history! I’ve been rockin’ with Dokken ever since! Fan for life!
Great interview ✨👌👍👍👍🇦🇺
Dokken was a great band and they really stood out above the rest of the bands at that time. I was lucky enough to hang out with the band and they were s great bunch of guys and extremely talented players.
I envy you I would have loved to meet all of them and hang with them great story
Love Ya George !
Dokken was a band that you coukd be a fan of the guitar wotk, and the vocals and lyrics. Total package.
Mr. Scary is still awesome.
Right on New Mexico awesome home 🏡 😂🎸🍺🎛👋
It is timeless
I saw them opening for Loverboy in Ionia Michigan. They played 7 songs and i remember George played flawlessly and don was twirling his mic stand and it flew off his fingers and almost took George out. Great show!
I was there too!!
I saw that tour, in Dayton, outdoors. Late eighties, I think 87.
I remember the show was short, and it lacked a little energy,
perhaps like Lynch said, a long tour. I remember thinking that
the live show was nowhere near their studio album sound.
But George Lynch never let you down with his playing. Maybe
they were fighting during this concert, but it just did not sound
as if they were a band getting along. They made Back For The
Attack later, and broke up. I never stayed to hear Loverboy. My
girl wanted to , but I just wanted to see Dokken. A few kids left
as well. Ticket prices were affordable back then.
these guys were so overlooked- opener? you guys killed all those guys!
Lynch is the reason I started playing guitar. Loved them since Breaking The Chains. Under Lock and Key is a guitar/solo masterpiece ...
Sacred Groove is a beauty \m/
His time in Dokken was awesome but I always thought George Lynch shined best in Lynch Mob. Those first two albums rocked!.
I agree 💯!
Don's first solo record was a monster with John Norum as well.
@@thorpenator9148 I have Don Dokken's first solo album and I loved every song on that record. I also have several of John Norum's solo records and they rocked!.
@@ryanday633 It was a monster album. It's been a while since I played it. Need to revisit.
Great stuff.
Fantastic interview
Thank you M Hitson! Glad you enjoyed it!
around 2:55 "Oh... we were a 'very balanced' band!" So awesome that he still has his dry sense of humor.
Both lynch albums, the don dokken album and the dysfunctional album charted very well. That's because the genre never died even though the record companies turned their backs on hard rock and metal. Just goes to show you how dumb the record companies really are.
George needs to recognize how big this 3 albums were. They were badass
George has continued to impress me with his various projects not only Lynch Mob but lynch pilson kxm sweet lynch the end machine his solo albums the list never ends. Son of scary is just a ass kicking instrumental
I like that early Dokken too
The Lynch Mob "Wicked Sensation" band really was the greatest rock band in the world at that time. Too bad it fell apart.
Everybody talks about Wicked Sensation, but the second Lynch Mob i think is significantly better. I never hear anybody talk about it though. When Darkness Calls is one of George's finest moments. It's a shame that it doesn't get more recognition.
I am a huge fan of the second lynch mob album a very great great album and Robert Mason is a great singer love when the darkness calls
I agree. The Secret is an amazing song too
The secret is a great song
I like that album. I vote for Tangled in the Web for best song on there. But, I don’t think it’s in the same realm as Wicked Sensation. I always felt that the second album felt rushed. There’s a lot of repetition in the songs like maybe they didn’t have time to really work them out. Good album, but as good as Robert was, Oni’s performance on WS was just perfection to me. Just my opinion tho.
Imo 2nd album was better and yes Robert is just great he still is singing for warrant . We've seen George with 4 different versions of him and they are all just great
Dokken was my favorite band back in those days. I wasn’t able to see them live until they regrouped for the Dysfunctional album, which I feel is a totally underrated album. I saw them twice in small clubs on that tour in 95. They were absolutely killer!!
So many great songs
Lych ❤ i loveyou!
George is easily one of the top 10 players in the world. He has the best vibrato on the planet. I love to listen to him freestyle. He has this dark quality in his playing. Very unique.
George, Eddie, and Randy, thats my list.
Dokken was the best band in the world at one point, and the best for teenage me. I still listen to those great songs and Lynch is a big influence on me as a guitar player!
I agree
Beast from the east can't be touched
Greatest rock guitar ever recorded ❤
Every time I hear a George Lynch solo - wow. He was one of the top 3 guitarists of Dokken's time. Very unique sound that is easy to identify.
George and Jeff, still going strong. I gotta go dig my guitar buddy out of the garage. Only time I can play close to George's level is with it.
I got the one with the whammy neck. It kills.
The secret ingredient to the first Lynch Mob records was Max Norman.
Dude is a super-mixer and producer with an ingrained natural perfect "ear".
Anything he touched in those days (his Megadeth stuff was awesome, for example)
sounded great and sold in bunches.
Beast From the East……..’ KISS OF DEATH’……absolutely life changing……shame there was not a live concert video release of those shows!
Someone here commented that show was dubbed in a studio 🤔. I bought that album in 92 and was memorized lynch could solo like that
No one on earth can bend a string quite like George!
David Gilmour
@@ChicoAndTheMan2 exactly!!! Dave is Lord of the Strings....
@@TylerDurden-oy2hm Old habits Die Hard. P.s. You were great in Fight Club
@@ChicoAndTheMan2 DAVID SHIT IS SHIT , WHAT THE FUCK YOU NAME IT , IS A MUMMY
Dokken tooth and nail is my fav
I saw Dokken open for Dio,Aerosmith and at Monsters of Rock in the 1980s. They were the band that headliners could count on to help sell tickets. They should've headlined arenas in 1988
I’d be willing to bet my next year’s worth of paychecks that “Beast from the East” had a bunch of studio edits and overdubs.
To George’s credit, I think this is the first interview I’ve ever watched or read of his where he didn’t blame Don for all their problems.
it did just listen to the crowd noise it recycles over and over
I saw them every tour back in the 80’s when they came to St Louis, it was always amazing, not sure how many times but it was a lot lol
Great great band Dokken
love wicked sensation epic album no doubt
George is so damn recognizable. Absolute Legend! LEGEND!!
I always thought it was such a shame that they broke up when they did they were just awesome on that back for the attack album their next record would have been awesome and it would have sustained them through the 90s as they were really big in Europe and Asia unlike a lot of other bands of the era.
It was a shame for sure, I remember being really sad
when I heard the news (although it wasn’t a surprise),
but nevertheless, I think that Nirvana would have crushed
them as well, no matter how good of a follow up record
they made…✌️
@@TikuVsTaku back for the attack was in ‘87, so their follow up would have likely been in 89/90, still had some time for a great album before the Seattle vibe hit
@@TikuVsTaku They would have been crushed, but people give way to much credit to it being just Nirvana. When Pearl Jam became gigantic and combine that with the success of the other three big seattle bands is when it was over for the glam bands
@@BURNOUT3272 Yup. They probably would have been headlining as well. People forget Poison and Motley Crue still had gold albums at the height of grunge and both bands had major lineup changes
@@BURNOUT3272
Yeah, I think that you are correct. They probably would have been able to release
one more killer album before the Nirvana effect, just like you said. ✌️
George Lynch は神
When I first heard Breaking the Chains in 83 I was working in a high end home stereo store and I was blown away and I started selling a lot of systems with that album and Quiet Riots Metal Health. But Dokken is my favorite 80s band period. In my opinion George is the king of the guitar gods. Eddie didn't do anything as good as George. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
I can hear you!!🫖☕🍩🧁🍰🥧🥮
Make yourself at home.🤹🍀🧳💺🛫🙈🙉🙊🐵🐒
Love that Dokkan lineup
I never heard Dokken until my freshman year of high school. The only reason I bought BFTA was because one of my classmates had the T shirt. I figured he liked the band, and he was "cool" so they must be pretty good. After listening to it, I could buy their remaining albums fast enough.
The solo for Just Got Lucky on Beast is EPIC
I was born in 1970 RATT, CRUE, and DOKKEN my top three glam bands of that time…
its hard to see how quickly time flies by, he looks good but they are all old now , that sux, dokken was one of the better baqnds of the 80's
Wow, could you imagine how Lynch Mob would have sounded like if Ray Gillens voice was on it?
Have you ever listened to a song called "Flesh & Blood" on George Lynch's solo record "Sacred Groove"? Ray Gillen did the vocals, exceptional song.
@@joeydonutz8011 oh, your right!
Gillen was a beast. Tragedy hus work w badlands has been buried
@@jasonstanley8362 Badlands with Jake E. Lee they were badass. One of my 80s favs.
George done got old kids.
🤘🤘🤘💚🐸👍👍👍
08:30 “Do you want to be in a band called Ferrari, or do you want to drive one?”
Fucking balls!