I second that. Met Jeff a few years ago talked for quite a while about music the Beatles & since I'm a bassist to we talked basses. Class guy great voice great bassist & most importantly great guy.
In an interview about the _Rockstar_ movie, Zakk Wylde heaped praise on Pilson. The interview is prob still on YT somewhere. It went along the lines "I thought he was just another bassist, but the guy is _smart,_ like you don't know. He's into everything." It was funny listening to Zakk sound so blown away by someone.
I didn't realize this until years later when I got a "Best Of Dokken" as a birthday gift from my brother. They're incredible. They were almost there but these were the days before band therapists lol
The hair bands were actually good. Hard rock, heavy metal bands. Someone labeled a lot of '80s bands, hair bands and the name just took. It doesn't mean that if you're a hair band, you're not a good band or great musicians. Dokken we're not a hair band. But what I'm saying is hair bands themselves were excellent musicians. Some critic or someone coined the phrase hair man and now people think that hair bands aren't good. Which is totally wrong.
@@STAND-ALONE Dokken absolutely were a hair metal band. And most of the hair metal bands could barely play. That's why it was so image conscious. Because they had to sell an image the music mostly didn't matter and couldn't stand on its own.
I could listen to Dokken everyday. The band had a sound of their own. I could actually understand the lyrics. Dokken’s voice was so clear. The sound of Lynch’s guitar was unique. Background vocals were awesome. They should be proud of their achievements.
Love Dokken. So glad we got what we did from them before it went to heck. Great band….had their own sound. Another band that if you heard that guitar, with those vocals….you knew immediately who it was.
I love Dokken and completely understand what Jeff Pilson is saying, I'm a 57 yr old drummer and although talented my ego and addiction to chemicals and women ruined ALL OF MY OPPORTUNITIES and on now in retrospect and wisdom I play for the love of playing with a few regrets for sure but... Thanks for the music Jeff Pilson 😎🥁🎼
Dokken was a band that was great for a time, like all the rest of the great hair metal glam bands. Glad we got their music and their best stuff will always be a click away. The band members should be proud they were great for a while - not all of us can say that.
I've seen Dokken several times. They were a great band. Jeff had actually emailed me once, early stages of email, could have been an assistant, but I remember it and it was awesome to get a reply. He does seem very down to earth and humble.
Best way I can describe the vocals is like walking into the woods and hearing hundreds of different birds singing beautifully, but those birds relatively look and sound the same, so you get used to it and start to not think much of it. Then one day you're out there and hear something you haven't heard before. It doesn't even sound like a bird or singing for that matter, but it piques your interest because you start to enjoy it, it's different. You go looking for the sound and notice it's coming from a tree. You look up and there's this weird looking thing staring down at you just hooting away. That's how I see Neil Young.
If Dokken had been able to keep it together, they probably had one more album and your in them before the big record companies started signing and promoting the so-called “grunge” bands (several that I do like btw, so I’m not disparaging them); so we instead got “Up from the Ashes” and “Wicked Sensation” just days apart in October 1990. Both were great albums I very much enjoyed (and still do) with my preference being the latter. Both had great songs, but that was commercially irrelevant with record companies’ shifting priorities.
I saw Dokken live at Monsters of Rock on NJ in 1988. The sad part was they went on after Metallica, who just absolutely owned the 80K seat arena. I actually felt bad for them trying to go on after that. There’s some bootleg video on YT of that show (Metallica) and you can relive the moment.
I was there!! Yes you tell it like it was. To this day George told me that was the biggest crowd he ever played to. Did you happen to take notice how quick that stadium crowd split after Metallica played! They took 1/3 of that crowd with them after they performed! They were absolute killer, on fire!
@@justincase7628 just some additional context: I was in college in SUNY Oswego and a girl that lived in my dorm was totally into Metallica. I really had no idea who they were, I went to see VH and Scorpions. She was playing Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning pretty much every day so I had heard some of their stuff in the hallways. We took her with us to the show, she wanted to see them live. I remember the stands emptying out and everyone pouring onto the field when they took the stage. We were on the upper deck and watched a sea of humanity head banging down below. I just looked at and said, “WTF?” Never seen anything like it. Then the beer and food started getting launched off the upper deck (started three sections to my right). Everyone below got covered…
I too seen them in 88 but whats even more sad is I then seen Dokken in 1995 at a small club near me that had no stage just a small area that Dokken played in the corner near the bar and I was 5 ft away from Lynch. They were great but did not look happy to be there playing to a small different generation that wasnt showing much emotion toward them. Maybe 200 people were there but when they play now its a lot better.
@@luna945 Yep, I was there, too...I remember being amazed that banners from Live Aid were still hanging in JFK stadium. I was in the Navy at the time, stationed at the Philly shipyard, and got to see almost every concert since they would hire guys from my division to be ushers, security, etc for all those shows. We would just go around the entrances until we found someone we knew, and would get in free :) Saw Pink Floyd, Aerosmith/GNR, Def Leppard, and some others all for free...it was awesome!!
Jeff is a good guy you can tell and probably a peacemaker. George and Don are both Alpha males so that never could be contained. I had every single Dokken album and loved all of them up until George left permanently. Even went back to see them in 1996 when they toured. Originally saw them open for Aerosmith mid-eighties I believe and then again in 1988 at monsters of rock.
I agree about them both being alphas, but I think Don definitely has more beta qualities than George. I have all of their albums as well, and love them all (with the exception of "Shadowlife"). When Don put out his first solo album, "Up from the Ashes," I thought it was incredible because it had the classic Dokken sound!
Jeff is such a class Human being! Embraced it and I love dokkens songs all the way! Under lock is my favorite. The guitar solo for the Hunter is magical! love playing it!
When he talks about ego problems he's also talking about the clash between Don and George. It was George who took the guitar away from Don who was actually a good guitarist himself. George was trying to be the ultimate guitar hero
@@dusty3913 it's not futile. It's not about talent. Bands sound better and fuller with two guitarists. He was a fine guitarist. George bitched about it. There's a disparity between Malcolm and Angus if you're talking talent. So what? Same between Rudolph Schenker and Mathias jabs/Uli Roth/Michael Schenker. Same between Robin Crosby and Warren demartini. Doesn't negate Lynch's talent
I was of that era, and a fan of "metal". I was never a fan of Dokken. I was aware of them, listened to their tapes. I saw them play live. They just never grabbed my attention. I have listened to recent interviews of the band members. They all seem so positive and wise. As people, they seem pretty cool.
One of the biggest gripes was they did not sound good live. So in these mega venues people said their sound was weak and washed out. Was it their road crew and the sound engineers? probably. Certainly did not help when other acts at these all star venues had more punch. Still Dokken was still very successful. George was never happy about anything, George got into an altercation with producer Tom Wehrman, Tom said to George after he threw his guitar after a session....."DO YOU WANT TO PUNCH ME?" Wehrman decided to leave the next day, signed over his points to another producer to finish Tooth and Nail.
One of my faves growing up. Their breakup was a real bummer. But I think we all can agree that grunge would have ended it for them in a couple of years anyway.
For those who say Dokken are not Metal, this list of songs are songs from the albums that are traditional metal or heavy metal songs Metal Songs ==Breaking the chains== Breaking the chains Live to rock (rock to live) Nightrider Stick to your guns Paris is burning ==Tooth and nail== Without warning Tooth and nail Don’t close your eyes When heaven comes down Into the Fire Turn on the action ==Under lock and key== Unchain the night The hunter Lightning strikes again Till the livin end ==Back for the attack== Kiss of death Night by night Standing in the shadows Heaven sent Mr Scary Lost behind the wall Sleepness night
If you want to know who was Dokken, just look at who wrote on every hit. Spoiler, it wasn't Don or George. The main composer for the music all the hits was consistently Jeff. And, listen to Dokken pre-Jeff, to know what he brought from a music composition perspective.
Out of everyone in the band Jeff seemed to be the most well spoken of them all . I didn't get an ego from him but a great spokesperson for the band. Don was too much, and George backed up his ego with his playing.
I was a big Dokken fan back in the 80s, but, let's face it. They never really made it big. They were constantly an opening act or a lower tiered act on something like Monsters of Rock. They somehow limped along in the 90s after the Grunge movement started. George Lynch forever underrated too.
They were ONE record away from really braking it big time. Back for the Attack was awesome, the next record would have put then on the same level at Crue and Ratt, but they fucking blew it.
Dokken was hands down my favorite band 84-90. Still love their music and will never change the station if I hear a Dokken tune starting. However, I always thought they were held back by Don Dokken's ego and personality. He was kind of a dork on stage. Playing the "air drums" during vocal breaks... no stage presence. came across cocky and arrogant. It was hard to ignore except that his vocals were so unique and special. Dokken should have been bigger or as big as acts like Poison, Ratt, and others of that genre.
The bummer with Dokken is that they were one album away from being up their with the top hair metal bands at the time (Motley Crue, Poison etc. talking album sales, NOT talent...Dokken was more talented than those two bands put together), but the hatred between Don and George ended things prematurely. Grunge would have killed the sales eventually, but I think they could have scored a multi platinum album (or two) before grunge toke over.
Met the band doing a magazine interview on their tour bus in 88. Band was slamming don who refused to participate. Met a lot of bands before and after where the front man definitely stayed apart ( priest,motorhead) but never experience such outright hostility
Nirvana and the brief but pulverizing "Seattle Grunge" shift is what killed true 80's hair metal - and it was the worst thing to happen to hard rock that I ever saw. Music hasn't been worth 2 dead flies since that debacle. That is why the vast majority of Music aficionados listen to 60's, 70's and 80's. And Dokken Rocks!
It killed mainstream rock in general. Even the things that did well; Grunge, Pop-Punk, Nu-Metal, etc were never as big. Rap and Hip Hop is what filled the void when Hair Metal died, not anything rock. Aside from Metallica rock has been niche ever since.
They had a year or two and one more hit album before grunge finished them for about five to seven years. Then they could have filled some halls with 700 to 1200 people for about ten years.
seems to my like George just has one of them personalities that is taxing and eventually wears the other musicians down, some co workers are just that way
I would say they all had egos. It didn't help that they also did a lot of drugs and fought a lot. If they would just have been mature grownups, they could have endured each other and made several great albums together.
I consider Dokken to be in the same boat as UFO. In each band the singer and guitarist couldn't stand each other. They also couldn't keep a steady lineup of players. Both are good bands in my opinion but it's just sad when egos get in the way of business. And to Lynch's credit he DID finish tours unlike no show Schenker.
Yikes. I hope you didn't spend SLEEPLESS NIGHTS coming up with that material. Better throw your joke book INTO THE FIRE, and just WALK AWAY. It's the KISS OF DEATH.
Dokken was one of a small handful of talented bands who came out from that LA scene. Great White was deffo another. Sadly, they played second fiddle to Crue, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Wasp, Poison and Warrant. Who am I missing? 🧐
What, Ratt, poison and crue were all great bands. I have to admit that some of the crue shows are not that good singing whise but they were all great bands.
A Rock stah w/a ego who woulda thought ? When did this happen ? jk. Pilson was the best thing that ever happened to that band. FWIW I saw DOKKEN Chains tour @ Mississippi Nights 1982 STL MO. Jeff had just gotten a wireless & Steinbeger bass from St. Charles Guitar Exchange. Was all over the place. Don Played a Gibson LP Custom Mick bashing my hearing with double bass beaters from Hell & George playing 5 / 4x12 cabs & 3 Randall heads with those Tiger Charvels. I ask you whats not to F-ing love about that ? LOUDEST club gig i ever saw Rawkin w/DOKKEN --->
I know!!! I don't even know why Jeff is saying "we". Nobody EVER in the whole history of Dokken ever complained about Jeff's [or Mick's] ego. WE know what went down.
Dokken was one of the few hair bands who put out good music into the 90s.. but the commercial music world had shut the door on anything that was a reminder of the 80s... until they needed 80s music again.
I did stage lighting for a Chicago band named Cuttlass, and in the mid 90’s we opened for Dokken at the House of Blues, musically Dokken was great, and of course George Lynch played amazingly, but Don Dokken was horrible and it was clear that he was just going through the motions. George remembered us and had us open for Lynch Mob and had me do his lights.
Unless of course, it’s U2 lol Their guitar player .. the corner,, or is it the side? Whatever it is, he’s definitely not a dude that needs to have an ego in that band
Says the bass player… lol Egos definitely cause problems, but when the ego is from the two main people in the band, the singer, the face of the band and the guitar player the dude out front that’s not abnormal at all look at every other band in the world think about that
Jeff Pilson showed wisdom, gratitude, and diplomacy in this clip. He sounds like a really down to earth guy.
He really is.
I second that. Met Jeff a few years ago talked for quite a while about music the Beatles & since I'm a bassist to we talked basses. Class guy great voice great bassist & most importantly great guy.
In an interview about the _Rockstar_ movie, Zakk Wylde heaped praise on Pilson. The interview is prob still on YT somewhere. It went along the lines "I thought he was just another bassist, but the guy is _smart,_ like you don't know. He's into everything." It was funny listening to Zakk sound so blown away by someone.
This was not just a hair band they were superb musicians and Don had a great voice
I didn't realize this until years later when I got a "Best Of Dokken" as a birthday gift from my brother. They're incredible. They were almost there but these were the days before band therapists lol
Absolutely the best of the best from the 80’s
Horrible lyrics.
The hair bands were actually good. Hard rock, heavy metal bands. Someone labeled a lot of '80s bands, hair bands and the name just took. It doesn't mean that if you're a hair band, you're not a good band or great musicians. Dokken we're not a hair band. But what I'm saying is hair bands themselves were excellent musicians. Some critic or someone coined the phrase hair man and now people think that hair bands aren't good. Which is totally wrong.
@@STAND-ALONE Dokken absolutely were a hair metal band. And most of the hair metal bands could barely play. That's why it was so image conscious. Because they had to sell an image the music mostly didn't matter and couldn't stand on its own.
I could listen to Dokken everyday. The band had a sound of their own. I could actually understand the lyrics. Dokken’s voice was so clear. The sound of Lynch’s guitar was unique. Background vocals were awesome. They should be proud of their achievements.
George Lynch is one of the greatest guitarists to play the instrument. His tone and note choosing is phenomenal.
100% Agree!
Yes, his tone is probably IMO, the most unique.
BREAKING NEWS: Egos ruined Dokken
Love Dokken. So glad we got what we did from them before it went to heck. Great band….had their own sound. Another band that if you heard that guitar, with those vocals….you knew immediately who it was.
💯 percent agree 👍 dokken what a great band love there sound you hear them you know who it is amazing musicians all of them
I love Dokken and completely understand what Jeff Pilson is saying, I'm a 57 yr old drummer and although talented my ego and addiction to chemicals and women ruined ALL OF MY OPPORTUNITIES and on now in retrospect and wisdom I play for the love of playing with a few regrets for sure but... Thanks for the music Jeff Pilson 😎🥁🎼
Dokken was a band that was great for a time, like all the rest of the great hair metal glam bands. Glad we got their music and their best stuff will always be a click away. The band members should be proud they were great for a while - not all of us can say that.
Finally the mystery is answered. Now I can sleep.
Jeff is one of the biggest guys in music to this day. One of the most successful long after Dokken.
Loved Pilson in the greatest band Steel Dragon!
I've seen Jeff with Foreigner recently. Amazing bass player and seems like such a great down-to-Earth guy!
Tooth & Nail still shines like brand new. Saw Dokken open up for Aerosmith at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco around '88. It was bad ass.
I've seen Dokken several times. They were a great band. Jeff had actually emailed me once, early stages of email, could have been an assistant, but I remember it and it was awesome to get a reply. He does seem very down to earth and humble.
Best way I can describe the vocals is like walking into the woods and hearing hundreds of different birds singing beautifully, but those birds relatively look and sound the same, so you get used to it and start to not think much of it. Then one day you're out there and hear something you haven't heard before. It doesn't even sound like a bird or singing for that matter, but it piques your interest because you start to enjoy it, it's different. You go looking for the sound and notice it's coming from a tree. You look up and there's this weird looking thing staring down at you just hooting away. That's how I see Neil Young.
“Rockin’ with Dokken” as the radio DJs would like to say.
Rockin with Dokken in 2023 baby!!!!
I am glad that he went on to success with Steel Dragon.
You guy’s rock. I play your music everyday!!!
Love Dokken! Have so much great music. Under Lock and key is one of my favorite albums of all time!!!!!!!!!
Ego screws up lots of workplaces. It’s a powerful force.
If Dokken had been able to keep it together, they probably had one more album and your in them before the big record companies started signing and promoting the so-called “grunge” bands (several that I do like btw, so I’m not disparaging them); so we instead got “Up from the Ashes” and “Wicked Sensation” just days apart in October 1990. Both were great albums I very much enjoyed (and still do) with my preference being the latter. Both had great songs, but that was commercially irrelevant with record companies’ shifting priorities.
Jeff is a "people person" & a guy happy to be just a working musician. A+ in my book
I saw Dokken live at Monsters of Rock on NJ in 1988. The sad part was they went on after Metallica, who just absolutely owned the 80K seat arena. I actually felt bad for them trying to go on after that. There’s some bootleg video on YT of that show (Metallica) and you can relive the moment.
I was there!! Yes you tell it like it was. To this day George told me that was the biggest crowd he ever played to.
Did you happen to take notice how quick that stadium crowd split after Metallica played! They took 1/3 of that crowd with them after they performed! They were absolute killer, on fire!
@@justincase7628 just some additional context: I was in college in SUNY Oswego and a girl that lived in my dorm was totally into Metallica. I really had no idea who they were, I went to see VH and Scorpions. She was playing Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning pretty much every day so I had heard some of their stuff in the hallways. We took her with us to the show, she wanted to see them live. I remember the stands emptying out and everyone pouring onto the field when they took the stage. We were on the upper deck and watched a sea of humanity head banging down below. I just looked at and said, “WTF?” Never seen anything like it. Then the beer and food started getting launched off the upper deck (started three sections to my right). Everyone below got covered…
I too seen them in 88 but whats even more sad is I then seen Dokken in 1995 at a small club near me that had no stage just a small area that Dokken played in the corner near the bar and I was 5 ft away from Lynch. They were great but did not look happy to be there playing to a small different generation that wasnt showing much emotion toward them. Maybe 200 people were there but when they play now its a lot better.
Saw that show in Philly. I didn't really know much about Metallica at that time but what a great concert that was.
@@luna945 Yep, I was there, too...I remember being amazed that banners from Live Aid were still hanging in JFK stadium. I was in the Navy at the time, stationed at the Philly shipyard, and got to see almost every concert since they would hire guys from my division to be ushers, security, etc for all those shows. We would just go around the entrances until we found someone we knew, and would get in free :) Saw Pink Floyd, Aerosmith/GNR, Def Leppard, and some others all for free...it was awesome!!
Jeff is a good guy you can tell and probably a peacemaker. George and Don are both Alpha males so that never could be contained. I had every single Dokken album and loved all of them up until George left permanently. Even went back to see them in 1996 when they toured. Originally saw them open for Aerosmith mid-eighties I believe and then again in 1988 at monsters of rock.
I agree about them both being alphas, but I think Don definitely has more beta qualities than George. I have all of their albums as well, and love them all (with the exception of "Shadowlife"). When Don put out his first solo album, "Up from the Ashes," I thought it was incredible because it had the classic Dokken sound!
They recon Jeff would be a mediator and keep things together
Jeff is such a class Human being! Embraced it and I love dokkens songs all the way! Under lock is my favorite. The guitar solo for the Hunter is magical! love playing it!
The Hunter? Really
awesome studio band. real good live.
When he talks about ego problems he's also talking about the clash between Don and George. It was George who took the guitar away from Don who was actually a good guitarist himself. George was trying to be the ultimate guitar hero
Too bad Don can't play anymore after his surgery went disastrous.
Don is still touring Guyton better every performance
Getting better every performance that's what I ment
George didn’t “take” the guitar out of Don’s hands. Don relinquished it after realizing it was futile; there’s a huge talent disparity in that area.
@@dusty3913 it's not futile. It's not about talent. Bands sound better and fuller with two guitarists. He was a fine guitarist. George bitched about it.
There's a disparity between Malcolm and Angus if you're talking talent. So what?
Same between Rudolph Schenker and Mathias jabs/Uli Roth/Michael Schenker.
Same between Robin Crosby and Warren demartini.
Doesn't negate Lynch's talent
I was of that era, and a fan of "metal". I was never a fan of Dokken. I was aware of them, listened to their tapes. I saw them play live. They just never grabbed my attention. I have listened to recent interviews of the band members. They all seem so positive and wise. As people, they seem pretty cool.
I take it you are not a guitar player.
@@machupikachu1085 you know what they say when you assume. Why would you think that?
One of the biggest gripes was they did not sound good live. So in these mega venues people said their sound was weak and washed out. Was it their road crew and the sound engineers? probably. Certainly did not help when other acts at these all star venues had more punch.
Still Dokken was still very successful. George was never happy about anything, George got into an altercation with producer Tom Wehrman, Tom said to George after he threw his guitar after a session....."DO YOU WANT TO PUNCH ME?"
Wehrman decided to leave the next day, signed over his points to another producer to finish Tooth and Nail.
If we could go back to 80s
We all wish we could
Jeff and George are such pros. The real deal.
One of my faves growing up. Their breakup was a real bummer. But I think we all can agree that grunge would have ended it for them in a couple of years anyway.
Love Micks hair xP
For those who say Dokken are not Metal, this list of songs are songs from the albums that are traditional metal or heavy metal songs
Metal Songs
==Breaking the chains==
Breaking the chains
Live to rock (rock to live)
Nightrider
Stick to your guns
Paris is burning
==Tooth and nail==
Without warning
Tooth and nail
Don’t close your eyes
When heaven comes down
Into the Fire
Turn on the action
==Under lock and key==
Unchain the night
The hunter
Lightning strikes again
Till the livin end
==Back for the attack==
Kiss of death
Night by night
Standing in the shadows
Heaven sent
Mr Scary
Lost behind the wall
Sleepness night
Opened for these guys at a large club over 10 years ago and they did not sound good at all.
It was tragic watching people walk out.
I loved Dokken as a teenager.
For anyone who hasn't been in a bank, "ego" translates to:
_If it weren't for ME and MY AMAZING , this band would be nothing._
I saw Dokken with Reb Beach in '00 in KC. I would have preferred that George was with them, but Reb is a monster player.
If you want to know who was Dokken, just look at who wrote on every hit. Spoiler, it wasn't Don or George. The main composer for the music all the hits was consistently Jeff. And, listen to Dokken pre-Jeff, to know what he brought from a music composition perspective.
Fighting or not you guys kicked ass/ pulled in plenty of trim as well as kept it raged
Out of everyone in the band Jeff seemed to be the most well spoken of them all . I didn't get an ego from him but a great spokesperson for the band. Don was too much, and George backed up his ego with his playing.
LOL. So basically… The best part about being in Dokken? Everything outside of the band. What ruined Dokken? Everything inside of the band.
And they can't get back together because Don can't sing anymore. But then again look at Vince Neil, Jon Glamjovi, and the likes.
I was a big Dokken fan back in the 80s, but, let's face it. They never really made it big.
They were constantly an opening act or a lower tiered act on something like Monsters of Rock. They somehow limped along in the 90s after the Grunge movement started.
George Lynch forever underrated too.
Most bands that fight make really good music
Love Mr. Scary ❤
I saw dokken twice and they were great, but then came GRUNGE.
They were ONE record away from really braking it big time. Back for the Attack was awesome, the next record would have put then on the same level at Crue and Ratt, but they fucking blew it.
Dokken was hands down my favorite band 84-90. Still love their music and will never change the station if I hear a Dokken tune starting. However, I always thought they were held back by Don Dokken's ego and personality. He was kind of a dork on stage. Playing the "air drums" during vocal breaks... no stage presence. came across cocky and arrogant. It was hard to ignore except that his vocals were so unique and special. Dokken should have been bigger or as big as acts like Poison, Ratt, and others of that genre.
People also don't realize Don has a good Malpractice suit on his hands, his voice didn't just go South on it's own ya know
This is simple,George and don couldn’t get along
George and Don
Eddie and David
Slash and Axl
The list goes on....
Lol, I'm a bassist, and in the band I played in during my youth, our vocalist & guitarist were girlfriend/boyfriend, and *they* didn't get along.
@@brianshaffneraclc it’s a known fact don and George have issues,and that was down fall of dokken
that chick in the middle looks just like george lynch
Spoken Word, by Don Dokken. Ego still going strong. Thank God for Chris Mcarville.
What a tragedy. Probably my favorite band and they couldn't get out of their own way.
But my sense is it was ine member more than the other
It was two. Both Don and George were complete asshats back then.
They were not a hair band but a great band that happened to hit it big during the hair metal era. Too bad they couldn't last.
George Lynch. Great player.
The bummer with Dokken is that they were one album away from being up their with the top hair metal bands at the time (Motley Crue, Poison etc. talking album sales, NOT talent...Dokken was more talented than those two bands put together), but the hatred between Don and George ended things prematurely. Grunge would have killed the sales eventually, but I think they could have scored a multi platinum album (or two) before grunge toke over.
Pilson was the glue.
Met the band doing a magazine interview on their tour bus in 88. Band was slamming don who refused to participate. Met a lot of bands before and after where the front man definitely stayed apart ( priest,motorhead) but never experience such outright hostility
I met Matt Sorum once. As he walked into his hotel he said to Dizzy Reed "Where's Axl the redheaded c#nt?"
@@eternity8811 😂😅😂😅
They were under contract to perform but had already broke up so yes their was hostility.
Nirvana and the brief but pulverizing "Seattle Grunge" shift is what killed true 80's hair metal - and it was the worst thing to happen to hard rock that I ever saw. Music hasn't been worth 2 dead flies since that debacle. That is why the vast majority of Music aficionados listen to 60's, 70's and 80's. And Dokken Rocks!
True story brother ☺️🤘🤘🤘🤘
@@seanmccall7277
Sean 👍 aficionado 🎸🥁
It killed mainstream rock in general. Even the things that did well; Grunge, Pop-Punk, Nu-Metal, etc were never as big. Rap and Hip Hop is what filled the void when Hair Metal died, not anything rock. Aside from Metallica rock has been niche ever since.
@@LouisWinthorpe3
Well said (written) - rap filled the void...but I don't listen to rap, just not my thing.
@@Day3770 Same
Dokken: State of the Art Rockin'
Between 1980 and 1989 I probably saw Dokken and Y&T the most in concert because they literally were on every major tour as opening acts.
They had a year or two and one more hit album before grunge finished them for about five to seven years. Then they could have filled some halls with 700 to 1200 people for about ten years.
Who was the drummer in Dokken?
Mick Brown
seems to my like George just has one of them personalities that is taxing and eventually wears the other musicians down, some co workers are just that way
Jeff is a pro
Ego problems? = Don?
To be fair it's also George. Both of them had clashing egos.
I would say they all had egos. It didn't help that they also did a lot of drugs and fought a lot. If they would just have been mature grownups, they could have endured each other and made several great albums together.
George too
Don was the main problem.... it's on record that he wanted the Lion's share of the money and basically wanted the band to get pennies....
Which is childish they couldn't stop fighting. Best thing ever happened to these guys was Dokken
It seems like the biggest danger to a bands success is success.
Mystery...solved???😎
After tooth and nail everything went to shit
I consider Dokken to be in the same boat as UFO. In each band the singer and guitarist couldn't stand each other. They also couldn't keep a steady lineup of players. Both are good bands in my opinion but it's just sad when egos get in the way of business. And to Lynch's credit he DID finish tours unlike no show Schenker.
Great band. A couple high strung members and things fall apart.
once more album in '89 would have made them legit
They were fighting TOOTH AND NAIL. Even though the band fell apart , IN MY DREAMS they stayed together.
Yikes. I hope you didn't spend SLEEPLESS NIGHTS coming up with that material. Better throw your joke book INTO THE FIRE, and just WALK AWAY. It's the KISS OF DEATH.
Unfortunately I never saw Dokken live my buddies that did said Don was too fucked up at times
Pilson is the hardest working man in metal.
Dokken was one of a small handful of talented bands who came out from that LA scene. Great White was deffo another. Sadly, they played second fiddle to Crue, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Wasp, Poison and Warrant. Who am I missing? 🧐
What, Ratt, poison and crue were all great bands. I have to admit that some of the crue shows are not that good singing whise but they were all great bands.
*_STEEL DRAGON!_*
🤘🏻😣
How about all those teenagers whom were their 'bread & butter' grew up and weren't buying them anymore..
A Rock stah w/a ego who woulda thought ? When did this happen ?
jk. Pilson was the best thing that ever happened to that band. FWIW I saw DOKKEN Chains tour @ Mississippi Nights 1982 STL MO. Jeff had just gotten a wireless & Steinbeger bass from St. Charles Guitar Exchange. Was all over the place. Don Played a Gibson LP Custom Mick bashing my hearing with double bass beaters from Hell & George playing 5 / 4x12 cabs & 3 Randall heads with those Tiger Charvels. I ask you whats not to F-ing love about that ? LOUDEST club gig i ever saw Rawkin w/DOKKEN --->
OMG....we all knew that shit.....get in depth boy, you said fuck all !!!
I know!!! I don't even know why Jeff is saying "we". Nobody EVER in the whole history of Dokken ever complained about Jeff's [or Mick's] ego. WE know what went down.
Dokken was one of the few hair bands who put out good music into the 90s.. but the commercial music world had shut the door on anything that was a reminder of the 80s... until they needed 80s music again.
TRES Cool/Hesvy!
One reason, is the fact that Lynch was more concerned with having Roid Rage, than making good music.
Did he use roads back then though? For guitar playing? Or did he wait until he was lifting like 20 years later?
@@Ezekiel336 he was not using steroids at that time. He started in the mid 90’s right after his accident.
@@breakingthelaw7974 Ok thank you . I didn't think he was using steroids at all during the "Dokken Days" ...no reason too...Thank you sir!
Yeah , Don Dokken's ego is legendary
Ha! Pilson remains as diplomatic as ever.
Says the bassist from steel dragon
Ego
Hey! Let go of my ego!!! 🧇
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Saw Dokken 4 times live , and they always put on a great show Don and George just couldn't get along so.......
Their girlfriends wanted their clothes back.
Im glad l have no ego it's such a stupid thing.
no downfall. they had no songs... period. not hit songs. great players. but there are great players everywhere on every corner.
What band doesn't have problems.??? Exactly its about ones ego.
Cocaine a hell of a drug was the downfall . Don was on sober dad of the group 😂
I did stage lighting for a Chicago band named Cuttlass, and in the mid 90’s we opened for Dokken at the House of Blues, musically Dokken was great, and of course George Lynch played amazingly, but Don Dokken was horrible and it was clear that he was just going through the motions. George remembered us and had us open for Lynch Mob and had me do his lights.
Unless of course, it’s U2 lol
Their guitar player .. the corner,, or is it the side?
Whatever it is, he’s definitely not a dude that needs to have an ego in that band
Says the bass player… lol
Egos definitely cause problems, but when the ego is from the two main people in the band, the singer, the face of the band and the guitar player the dude out front that’s not abnormal at all look at every other band in the world think about that