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We went backstage after
the July 16th Dokken, Warrant, Firehouse show and, I don't know, even
though I'm there to do a job, I always feel a bit out of place when
I'm there. Maybe it's because I'm still just a fan of the music and
I have a great deal of respect for the people I'm doing an interview
with or maybe it's because I don't know anyone on a personal level
and I don't wanna be too forward for fear of coming off the wrong
way. Either way, those "out of place" feelings quickly came up and
I thought, "Well, I'd better do something here." I noticed Dokken
bassist Barry Sparks on the other side of the room and since I didn't
get to meet him the last time around, I thought I'd approach him and
see what kind of vibe I would get. Turns out, he's a really cool guy
and once I broke the ice, the writer/journalist in me took over...especially
since there was something on my mind that I couldn't quite figure
out. When I saw Dokken the last time they came through town, they
were getting ready to go to Europe to do their tour and, once that
was over, they were going back into the studio to finish up the "Long
Way From Home" album. So, in the time between the previous show and
this one, I knew what Dokken was doing. During this same time, I recieved
a copy of the Cosmosquad album, "Squadrophenia," which was something
Barry was involved in. So, if he was over in Europe and then in the
studio, when did he find the time to complete this record? He seemed
a little suprised at the question. "Oh...that's a great record. Actually,
that was finished, it was sitting around. We finished it and it was
in the can for some time before we would release it. It's been done
for about a year. We finally found a label to put it out." With that
question answered, I thought, well, when do you have the time to promote
it, to which he replied, "I don't!" I made my way over to Jani Lane
to say hello and I embarrassed myself with a stupid question about
his early days and he was kind enough to sign the CD cover that I
brought with me. Then the subject turned to music, "You know, I've
never said this publicly," Jani stated. "But, "Breaking The Chains"
is what made me want to play the music professionally." Don looked
up with a smile and replied, "I'm the grandpa of this tour!" To which
Jani replied, "That's not at all how I meant that at all." From here,
the conversation got interesting because it was clear that there was
mutual admiration going on between these artists. "I'll throw it right
back at you," Don said. "The first time I heard Warrant's "Cherry
Pie," I thought, okay, it's kind of poppy, I'm not sure what Jani
Lane's got in him. Then I heard "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and I went, that
is a fuckin' cool song. A perfectly arranged song, a perfect vocal
performance. It's clever, it's unique and the story content wasn't
baby, baby, I love you so bad, I wanna fuck you in the ass. It was
a great song!" And probably the best line I heard all night came from
Jani, who stated, "I swear to God...a blind squirrel gets a nut once
in awhile." This conversation went on a little more, but, with all
the people talking in the backround, some of the comments aren't exceptionally
clear and I'm not gonna attempt to put words in print that weren't
actually said. Anyway, I hung out for a little while just taking everything
in. Before Don was ready to leave, he sat down with me for a few minutes
for a chat. I had about five minutes before the tour manager told
me we had to wrap things up. So, I didn't get to ask all the questions
I had prepared for Don and I more or less had to breeze through my
notes. But, it was better than nothing and I appreciate Don taking
the time out of his busy schedule to take the time to talk with me...even
if it wasn't as long as I would have liked it to be.
 Paul
Autry: You've been around for twenty years now. What do you think
the key to your success has been?
Don Dokken: Being faithful to what Dokken's all about and not going
with the trends. I mean, a lot of bands follow the trends. But, Dokken
has their own sound and we've stayed with it and the fans dig what
I do and God bless 'em for that. That's why we've been around for
twenty years because we didn't sell out.
Paul Autry: "Long Way From Home" is your latest release. Now, what
did you want to accomplish with this album that you haven't done with
previous albums?
Don Dokken: I want to move on. I'm not interested in the 80's anymore...the
80's were great though. We're not out here for money. We're out here
because we get the buzz of being on stage. So, we made the record
this time, went a little retro, some Beatles influence and some Zepplin
influence. I just wanted to move on with my life. I don't wanna live
off "Breaking The Chains" for the rest of my life. Being a singer
is like being a painter...you don't wanna keep painting the same painting
every time. You have to move on and "Long Way Home" is an album where
we moved on.
Paul Autry: On your DVD, you had made the comment about wanting to
make an album that was like Sgt. Pepper meets Metallica. Have you
done that yet?
Don Dokken: Not yet. But, we've fringed on it with this new album.
You've got "Sunless Days," which is kind of like Metallica and then
there's "Little Girl" and "Everybody Needs To Be With Someone," which
is like "Day Tripper" by The Beatles. "Goodbye My Friend" is kind
of like Sting...but, no, I just fringed on that album. But, I think
the next album, spiritually, I'm going there, down the path. I'm just
waiting to get there. It'll happen when it happens. I was trying on
this album, but, I don't think we got there. It's a great album, but,
I think the next one will be more of the Metallica/Dokken/fusion/Beatle
thing. With this album, I wanted to accomplish something fresh...and
it is fresh.
Paul Autry: So, would you say that you've reached your goals with
this album?
Don Dokken: Yeah. Everybody says it doesn't sound like Dokken, it
sounds totally different or we don't like it and then a month later,
they're like, we love it. It's the kind of album that you can't listen
to one time and say oh, it's great or it's fuckin' amazing. With Dokken,
you have to listen to listen to it three or four times to see where
I'm coming from lyrically and...I don't sing, I tell stories.
Paul Autry: Well, from what I heard, your voice sounds as good today
as it did years ago and there's this one song that I really like,
"Maddest Hatter." There's this one note you hit, I don't know, it
just sounds unique to me, when you say "I" in the chorus.
Don Dokken: Yeah. I got that vibratto thing going on. It's a European
kind of style. I was raised on Ian Gillian, Glenn Hughes...everybody
knows that Dokken isn't an American sounding band. We're more of a
European style.
Paul Autry: Yeah, I agree. Because, in my opinion, you guys came out
and you had all these sophisticated songs.
Don Dokken: Well, look at all the bands we toured with...Aerosmith,
Metallica, Scorpions, Van Halen, Judas Priest. We've always toured
with the metal bands. We had pop, "Just Got Lucky," and then we've
got something like "Kiss Of Death." We've got a schizophrenic type
of music. We were never a hair band. I tried to do that whole hair
thing, but, it just didn't work.
 Paul
Autry: You know, we can't stop time. So, have you ever worried about
the day when, I don't know, say, your voice will give out or something
like that?
Don Dokken: My father is 65 years old and he's still singing. My father
has an orchestra and he sings every night. Will I be doing this at
65...probably not. I will stop singing when the fans don't wanna hear
me anymore. God's been very good to me and I can still hit the high
notes. As far as my voice giving out, that has never happened. I don't
worry about it.
Paul Autry: I noticed you also produced, you did the DVD and your
albums, and your art...I notice you also smoke. How do you keep your
voice in shape?
Don Dokken: I warm up every night...you like my paintings?
Paul Autry: Yeah, I thought they were pretty cool. I saw them on the
DVD.
Don Dokken: Yeah. I'm eclectic. I'm a renaissance man. I like to paint,
I like to produce and I direct films. I'm really getting into directing
now. The "Live From The Sun" DVD was really the first thing I directed
and produced. I got a few awards for that. I won first and second
place in a video award. That was really cool. That was exciting for
me.
Paul Autry: What do you wanna say to the people who have been following
you for the past twenty years?
Don Dokken: I don't know...if you wanna try this for a living, good
luck. The chances are one in a million and that's just reality. I
had to go to Germany to be discovered. It's not about how good you
are or how great you play. It's 50% luck and 50% talent, you know.
It just has to be the right time and the right place. There's a million
people out there who can sing better than I can and they haven't made
it yet. As for the fans, I wouldn't be out here if it wasn't for them.
I'm not out here for money or fame and glory. Did it, done it, been
there. So, I'm only out here because there's fans left and if the
fans want Dokken, they'll stay around and come to the shows. When
they stop coming, I'll come home. The day I show up at a gig and there's
ten people standing there, I'm packing my suitcase and I'm gonna go
home, get on my Harley and go for a ride.
At that was the end of the evening for me. We made our way outside,
got to the car and almost two hours later, I was home. Was it worth
the trip? Well, you know, it's like this...I've done interviews with
people that I admire, both on the phone and in person, and there were
times when I felt disappointed for whatever reason. That wasn't the
case here. Both Warrant and Dokken were everything I expected them
to be, very cool people and excellent performers. If you haven't seen
either band live yet, I would suggest catching a show when you can
because, if you don't...you don't know what you're missing. And that's
that...end of story. At least until I bring you my Warrant interview,
which was done on the phone the day after the show and you'll be able
to read about that right here!
http://www.dokken.net
http://www.warrantweb.net
© 1998-2002 Sinbad Productions / BallBusterHardMusic.com
No Material, Written, May Be Reproduced Without Permission From SinBad
Prods/Communciations and or the Recording Artist and Their
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