DON DOKKEN Says Record Labels 'Don't Get' His New Solo CD

Mydenrocks recently conducted an interview with DOKKEN mainman Don Dokken. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Mydenrocks: So you literally stumbled across the tapes for the new "From Conception: Live 1981" CD?

Don Dokken: We store all of our master tapes at a vault in Hollywood. They are temperature controlled so they don't go bad. I was down looking for the master tapes from the German recordings of "Breakin' The Chains" to do a remix for a 25th anniversary. I saw some old faded boxes with two-inch tapes that just said "Dokken Live". I didn't really know what it was because they're were really no other markings on them. So, I took them with me, put them on the machine and found they were old recordings from way back when.

Mydenrocks: How much other unreleased material is stored in the Dokken vaults?

Don Dokken: That's it. We got masters, etc. There's nothing unreleased in there. Everything has been released from what I could see. I actually looked through the tapes, but unfortunately these new live tapes were it.

Mydenrocks: Do you have a target release date for the new studio release "Lightning Strikes Again"?

Don Dokken: We wanted to put out in June. But, it doesn't look like we're going to make it. Like all albums they always take longer than you expect. It looks like it will be out late summer or September at the latest. We've already booked the European tour starting in September and then we'll do the U.S. tour right after that.

Mydenrocks: Any particular songs stand out to you for the new studio release that you would like to give a little advance on?

Don Dokken: No songtitles yet. I haven't even titled the songs yet. (laughing). I got the music. I got the lyrics. In about a month I should have some pretty concrete titles to throw out there. It's hard to describe the music without matching it up to a song name. So, no one will know what we're talking about anyhow. As far as the sound as a whole for the new material, I would say it's good hard rocking music that is in the veign of the classic DOKKEN sound.

Mydenrocks: Where does your solo CD stand right now? Any release date planned?

Don Dokken: Nowhere, apparantly. I finished it. It's done. I gave it to a few labels. A lot of people don't get the solo CD. They don't get the songs. They think it's too mellow and there's no market for it. It's a different kind of music. It's new age. It's different. It's not signed to a label yet. I'm really proud of the record. I just have to find the right label to put it out on. A rock label is not the way to go with it.

Mydenrocks: Do you look at the new studio release as a make-or-break-type milestone for the band? If it doesn't sell, will that mean an end to DOKKEN?

Don Dokken: It is a make-or-break album. If this album doesn't have some success, then I don't know what to say. We got great label. They're marketing it, promoting it, doing whatever they can. If it doesn't sell, then what's the point in making new CDs? I won't disband the band if it doesn't sell. But we'll just stop making new records and be like POISON — we'll go out on tour every year and just play our hits.

Read the entire interview at Mydenrocks.