In a recent interview with Artists On Record Starring Adika Live, Don Dokken recounted an incident where he intervened to save a valuable guitar belonging to C.C. DeVille of Poison.
When he began telling the story, he gave the listeners the backdrop of the incident — a party at C.C.’s house, where the guitarist was on the loose:
“I went [to C.C.’s house] one time, and there were all these people partying. I didn’t see C.C. I don’t know where he was, but I know where he was — he was in the back room with an ounce of cocaine. I’m sure he’d admit it.”
What Happened In C.C.’s House?
During the encounter at DeVille’s residence, Dokken noticed an individual leaving with one of the guitarist’s guitars. Challenging the person, Dokken said he was a trained black belt:
“I was walking in the door, and some guy was walking out the door holding a 1959 Les Paul. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, that’s a $200,000 guitar,’ because C.C. had 50 guitars. I was like, ‘Hey, hey, what are you doing, dude?’ ‘Oh, C.C. told me I could have it.’ I said, ‘No, you can’t, and he was like, ‘What?’
I said, ‘No, give me the guitar!’ ‘No, C.C. said I could have it!’ I said, ‘Dude, that’s a ’59 Les Paul, it’s worth over $100,000, now it’s worth probably $800,000. You’re not taking that guitar!’ We got into it, like, ‘I’m going to kick your *ss!’ ‘I’m a black belt, everybody knows that.'”
After talking about how he studied in Korea every year with Master Kim, who was the 8th-degree black belt for the National Kwon Do Federation, Dokken revealed how he physically retrieved the instrument:
“This punk *ss kid was like, ‘Get the hell out of my way, I’ll kick your *ss!’ and I said, ‘Bring it! You’re not taking that guitar.’ It was like this, [shows with his hands] he grabbed it, I grabbed the neck, he grabbed the neck, and I just said to him, ‘Dude, you don’t know who I am, you better let go of that guitar, or you’re going to be on the ground, and I’m gonna have you in a chokehold.’ So, I took the guitar, put it in the trunk of my car, and drove it home.”
The guitar was safely stored by Dokken until he could return it to its owner. It turns out that DeVille, reportedly under the influence of drugs at the time, had been unaware of the guitar’s disappearance:
“I didn’t see C.C. for two weeks. I kept trying to call him, and I finally got a hold of him. I said, ‘Oh, C.C., by the way, I’ve got your ’59 Les Paul Deluxe.’ [He said,] ‘What? Didn’t know it was missing!’ I went, ‘Yeah, you were high on blow, and you supposedly gave it to him, and I’ve got it. It’s in my house.’ I was playing it, [it was a] great guitar. I said, ‘I’ll come by and drop it off.’ That’s what happens when you’re a drug addict, you’re just not thinking clearly.”
DeVille’s Past Struggles With Substance Addiction
During his tenure with Poison, DeVille had issues with substance abuse. Conflicts within the band, especially with lead singer Bret Michaels, resulted in a backstage fistfight at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, leading to the guitarist’s departure from Poison. He later formed Needle Park and rejoined Poison for their 1999 Greatest Hits reunion tour.
DeVille’s battle with addiction also impacted his personal and creative life. Post-recovery, he spoke about the challenges of reconnecting with his music and social skills:
“I got sober, but the first couple of years of me being sober, I had no passion. I had no passion for writing songs. I had no passion sexually.
Everything was always connected to drugs. I would do drugs and have sex. I would do drugs and write a song. I would do drugs and socialize with people. Everything was based on the drugs. Once I stopped doing the drugs, I had to relearn all my people skills. I had to relearn how to live.”
Since his return to Poison in 1999, DeVille has been continuing his career with the band, and he is now sober.
Dokken and Poison’s Future Plans
Meanwhile, Don Dokken’s band, which released ‘The Elektra Albums 1983-1987‘ earlier this year and their twelfth studio album ‘Heaven Comes Down‘ in October, continue their stage shows. They are scheduled to perform in Las Vegas and West Hollywood later this month.
As for Poison, despite their success on The Stadium Tour in 2022, Michaels expressed uncertainty about the band recording a new album, though admitting there is hope for new music remembering the fans of their earlier hits.
You can watch the interview below.
