 Foto: Steve Mårtensson Intervju - Don Dokken, Dokken Dokken är ett band som för mig är förknippat med många härliga minnen från mitten av 80-talet. Tooth and nail - Under lock and key - Back for the attack för är evigt förknippade med förfester och skoldiscon. När bandet beslutade sig för att komma hit till Sverige var det som förband till AC/DC 1988 och lyckan var gjord. 13 år senare var de tillbaka i Sverige i samband med Sweden Rock Festival 2001 och återseendet var positivt. Ett år har passerat sedan dess och bandet har släppt en ny skiva - Long way home - som nu följs upp med en Europa-turné. I samband med Helsingborgsspelningen den 22 maj fick jag möjligheten att intervjua bandets sångare Don Dokken. Från början var intervjun tänkt att hållas på ett av stans bättre hotell men vid utsatt tidpunkt var Don spårlöst försvunnen. Problemet löstes dock snabbt av bandets svenska konsertarrangör Stefan Lundström på Scandinavian Entertainment (Tack Stefan!). Istället fick jag gå ner till konsertlokalen The Tivoli och väl där mötte Don upp. Då det var strålande sol och varmt så genomfördes intervjun nere vid Helsingborgs hamn. Don visade sig vara på mycket gott humör och var trevligheten personifierad. Steve Mårtensson  Don Dokken och Metalshrines Steve Mårtensson. So Don, you have a new album out called "Long way home". What can you tell me about the new release? Don Dokken: It's got some good songs. Lots of Beatles influences...Led Zeppelin. Influences from the 60´s and 70´s with a hard rock feel. The press so far in the US says it's our best release in ten years. How is it different from "Erase the slate"? D: "Erase the slate" was more of a traditional record. More like traditional 80´s sound...you know..."Tooth and nail" and stuff like that. It's getting boring for me to keep doing the same album over and over again and I wanted to do something different. A lot of the 80´s band are making the same record over and over again. For me it's boring. I have to move on. I'm not interested in making the same painting every time. Everybody changes and you're getting older and music changes. It's a reflection on where we are at now. You have two new members in the band. Swedish guitarist John Norum and bassplayer Barry Sparks. Why did you choose those guys? D: John played with me in 1991 on my solo album and I've known him for ten years. He likes to play Dokken-music and he knew the songs. Barry Sparks is one of the top 5 bassplayers around and he has played with Michael Schenker and Yngwie Malmsteen. Barry is a great bassplayer. He sang good and he wanted to be in Dokken. That's the main reason. He said he wanted to be in the band. And Jeff Pilson and Reb Beach are out of the band? D: Yeah! They left the group. Jeff wanted to go solo. Jeff is tired of playing the bass, I think, and wanted to be a singer. And Reb is back with Winger. You played Sweden Rock Festival last summer. What are you memories from SRF? D: First time back in Sweden for 13 years. It was fine but cold. The fans were great but I thought that there would be more people there. And it was a strange lineup, I think. I didn't recognize a lot of the bands playing there. And you're back touring in Europe again. D: Yeah. The first dates since the AC/DC tour. The AC/DC tour was great, playing stadiums. We played Wembley Stadium two nights. I wanted to come back all the time but our bassplayer Jeff didn't like Europe so he didn't wanna come back. It's very difficult when a member of the band don't wanna come back. And George, in the old days, he didn't like Europe either. Why? D: I guess the food, the people, the language... We didn't have as many fans here and we were not as famous. In US we got limousines every night, five stars hotels...I think they got a bit spoiled. So I said what's the point...only playing US and Japan when there is a whole world out there that likes rockmusic. But Jeff just didn't wanna do it so we couldn't come until he left the group. You've just done some dates in the UK. D: Yeah. I was surprised. First dates in 14 years so we didn't expect that many people. But we sold out London. Sold out Bradford. It was pretty exciting that we sold out. You're going on a big tour in the US this summer. With Ratt, Warrant, LA Guns and Firehouse? What are you expectations on that tour? D: I think we'll do all right. 10 000 seaters. It's hard to tell...there are 8 tours going out this summer in America. A lot of tours going out...a lot of competition. Poison, Warrant, Tesla, David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, Dio and Scorpions. Everybody is going out on tour. But it will be a good test to see how many Dokken-fans there are out there. You are headlining. Is that your choice? D: The promoter asked us to close the show. It's the best time to play...I think. I´d rather play last. It's the best slot. How do you feel about the new kind of metal scene? With bands like Slipknot and Limp Bizkit? D: I don't like it at all. I like the other new bands. I like Stained and Nickelback. Good rockbands like that. Slipknot I don't understand it. It's not that it's bad music...it's just not the music I like. Somebody likes it...they are selling millions of records. To me it's more like kiddiemusic. Do you like any Swedish bands? D: No, I don't know much about Swedish bands. There is a band that used to be together called TNT. I think they were good. I think they were Swedish. No, Norwegian I think. D: Even better, I'm Norwegian. But I don't know much about Swedish bands. All I know is Europe cause John was in that band. I also got some records from his sister Tone Norum. She was like the original Britney Spears. We live so far away that we don't know much about your music. You've been around now for 20 years. How do you think you've changed besides being older and wiser? D: I don't know if I'm wiser...I'm just more peaceful. I'm at peace with my life. I enjoy life. I don't look at touring as a work anymore. We're sitting here by the ocean and it's a beautiful day...beautiful architectures. We don't have that in the US. Everything in America is new and that's a bit boring. Every place looks the same. Here it's different. Different city, different buildings. Everything is older and nicer. I think it's more elegant. Europe in general is more elegant. I think the Swedish people, no offense to the American people, are more educated, more intelligent. In America now the education is going way down. People just go for 5 year at school and then they quit and go on welfare. I'm not really happy the way things are going in America right now. Europeans are great. You live in Los Angeles? D: Yes, California. I'm living right by the sea. What's your reaction on the September 11th attacks? D: It's terrible. It changed the world. It showed the Americans that we're not invincible. American mentality is like we're Americans and we're invincible. There's been wars in Europe and a lot of countries been invaded. America is the only country that's never got invaded. Because of that people thought no one could ever touch the Americans. And that proved that's not true. Now everyone is changing their thinking. What is your best and worst memory with Dokken? D: Best memories I guess...the glory days. Playing Monsters of Rock in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Playing with all my favourite bands like Metallica. Metallica is a great band. Scorpions, Van Halen and Kingdome Come. Kingdom Come was a great band as well. It was like great times for me. Flying around in jet airplanes and helicopters. Making millions and millions of dollars every month. Everything was great. But it was also the worst times. It was my best times and my worst times. The band was fighting and all the drugs, cocaine, alcohol and egos. What a shame. We fought so hard to get to the top and then the hole band completely lost their minds. Started doing drugs and alcohol. The same story you hear about every band. Every band has the same story. Would a reunion with the original lineup be possible. D: With Jeff and George? Yes. D: Impossible. I don't see it. Never. Not with George, he's crazy. Why would anybody want us to get back together. It's just for money. I'm not doing this for money. I don't need more money. I got enough money for my whole life. Why do a tour and get together if you're unhappy. I don't go along with George and he doesn't like doing rock music. He wanna do rap and hip-hop and Jeff wanna do alternative music. If we got back together it wouldn't be like Dokken was in the 80´s. It's like looking back. I don't look back. I look forward. The past is the past. I have no interest in making money and be unhappy. I don't think that George have changed at all. No way I would play with him, never. If he want to come onstage and jam with us and play a song. Great. But do an entire tour or make a record would be a mistake. Because the record wouldn't be good. I promise you that it would be a bad record. Thanks for the interview and thanks for your time. D: Your welcome. Thanks! Dokken - Official website
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