Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson appeared in a new interview with Full In Bloom where he revealed the one ‘very bad move’ his bandmate Don Dokken made.
The host went on to discuss his earlier interviews with George Lynch and Don Dokken. Apparently, Lynch stated to the host that Don Dokken wanted all the money and wanted to do a deal after quitting the band because the rest of the band ‘completed the contract’ and were due a ‘big payday.’ When asked about his thoughts on the matter, Pilson referred to Dokken’s actions as a ‘really bad move.’
“I don’t remember Don doing much talking to Mick and I about it. I guess he did kind of mention it, brought it up, but it was never really seriously talked about. He just wanted to leave is how I always understood it. I tried very hard to talk him out of it because I thought it was a really bad move. Yes, we were up for renegotiation, we made a sh*t load of money that we didn’t get to make, and he went and signed a deal with Geffen. I believe Geffen thought they were going to get Dokken as a band and they ended up getting Don Dokken solo, so that kinda went sideways for him a little bit. But no I don’t remember it ever being anything but Don wanting to leave.”
Dokken Reunion Is ‘All About Money’
In October 2016, the original members of Dokken – Don, Lynch, Pilson, and Mick Brown – came together again to perform at the Loud Park festival in Japan. Luckily for fans beyond Japan, cameras were present to record the show, and Frontiers Music Srl released ‘Return To The East Live 2016’ in April 2018. Alongside the Japanese performance, the collection included footage from the classic lineup’s sole U.S. concert in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Right before their reunion in Japan, the frontman shared his excitement to play with his bandmates and the reunion has been all about money and not because the bandmates were ‘madly in love with each other’:
“I’m looking forward to playing with George and Jeff. Of course, Mick’s still in Dokken, the current lineup. It’s not glorious. But when someone sticks an ‘X’ amount of dollars with a lot of zeroes attached, what are you gonna say? ‘No, I’m busy’? I mean, c’mon. You think David Lee Roth went back with Van Halen because he just felt like it. I mean, it’s about money. And Guns N’ Roses — do you think they’re doing it because they’re all madly in love with each other? I don’t think so.”
You can watch the interview below.
