Don Dokken recently appeared on WhiteLineFever, where he discussed the final incident that led to the tearing of Dokken’s original lineup.
Dokken has changed its lineup completely, with now the only original member being Don Dokken himself. The rest of the band consists of Jon Levin on guitar, Chris McCarvill on bass, and BJ Zampa on drums.
The band was split up in 1989 and reunited with the original members for a reunion tour in Japan ten years ago. Although the band only had three shows as a part of the reunion tour, they couldn’t hold it together and were once again separated from the original members.
During the recent interview, the rocker was asked about the three-day Japan tour, to which he shared his thoughts with the following:
“Honestly, I would say that we did the Badlands show to get back together and practice there and do a show and get used to playing together again. It’s been ten years. But I wouldn’t say the magic was there. Honestly, I didn’t sing good; we were tired, the magic was gone, let’s put it that way.”
Before their break up, Dokken consisted of George Lynch, Mick Brown, and The Foreigner’s Jeff Pilson. The lineup came together for the reunion show, all of which had different opinions about the reunion. Dokken continued:
“I think Jeff was thinking he’s more happy playing in Foreigner. He’s been in Foreigner for 20 years. I was really happy with my new lineup: Jon Levin, Chris McCarvill, and BJ [Zampa]. So we actually went to Japan as a test, and we thought, ‘Let’s go do four shows in Japan. If it’s working out, we could do a US tour or Europe.’ And after that, I said, ‘I don’t think we should do it.'”
Though it wasn’t a good show for the band, four years ago, George Lynch revealed that there had been talks about a ‘proper reunion’ show and that if it were to happen, it would be meaningful, carefully and properly prepared and rehearsed, unlike the last time.
More recently, Lynch also said that a reunion wouldn’t be possible since the original drummer, Mick Brown, sold his drumset and doesn’t return their calls. So now it’s uncertain whether or not a second reunion would happen.
Below, you can see the interview.
