Into the fire.
Don Dokken, frontman of the ‘80s metal band Dokken, has opened up about the band’s “disaster” reunion tour.
On the Dec. 25 episode of the SDR Show, Dokken, 72, talked about how the band reunited in 2016.
Guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson, drummer Mick Brown and singer Don Dokken of the glam metal band Dokken in 1983 in San Francisco. Getty Images
Heavy metal vocalist Don Dokken attends Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia 2017. Getty Images“We did an experiment, and we said, ‘We’ll write one song together.’ And that was ‘It’s Another Day.’ We recorded it [and] made a cool video.”
When they discussed the possibility of playing it live, he explained, “I said, ‘I’m not doing America.’ We’ll go to Japan, and we’ll see if we don’t kill each other.”
The band’s “Unleashed in the East” tour included six shows in October 2016, plus a gig in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“We did the Japanese tour. It was a disaster, mostly because of me. I just wasn’t on my game,” he said. “We just came back, and I said, ‘I don’t think this is gonna work.’ So that was the end of that.”
Known for songs like “Into the Fire,” “Alone Again” and “Dream Warriors,” the band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 before splitting in 1989 and getting back together in ‘93.
Dokken in 1986 in Los Angeles. Getty Images
Don Dokken performs with Dokken at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, in 1986. Getty Images
Don Dokken performs onstage in 2015 in Irvine, California. Scott DudelsonIn addition to Dokken, the band’s main lineup included guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Mick Brown, and their 2016 reunion marked their first time playing together since 1997.
Dokken and Lynch have a rocky history, even reportedly getting into a fistfight in a limo in 1988, but he told the SDR Show, “We’re old. “We’re too old to bicker and fight.”
He said he’s not ruling out a future reunion.
“I said, ‘I might be up for an EP only.’ But I said flat out, ‘It has to sound like Dokken. I’m not trying to insult you, George, but I’ve listened to all your records. It has to be Dokken. That’s what the fans want.’”
