GEORGE LYNCH: DOKKEN Reunion May Happen Next Year

Abrasive Rock recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB). A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

Abrasive Rock: You were supposed to tour with John Sykes this summer, correct?

George Lynch: "I wasn't supposed to."

Abrasive Rock: There was talks about it?

George Lynch: "Yeah, this is the second year that that's been talked about, and it's kind of strange. I just thought I'd run the idea by him, you know, one guitar player to another. I got his number from Carmine Appice, who lives by me, who I know, and I just thought I'd give him a call and say, 'Hey, I'd like to call John and run something by him.' So he gave me his number. No big deal. And I called him and left him a message. Well, apparently this guy got all bent out of shape and he called... didn't call me back, but he called Carmine in New York, and said, 'Did you give this guy my number?' Like I was going to abuse it, like I was a stalker, or something. Dude, don't worry, I'll tear it up. I don't care. I don't need your phone number. And who the hell are you? You live down the street, you're a guitar player, I'm a guitar player. I thought maybe we would tear up and go do something, because we've talked about it before. It was just amazing to me. Why don't you just call me and ask why I called you? And he's never called me back! I talked to Michael Schenker, and he was just... I had this hour-and-a-half discussion about philosophy, and I was just calling him for the same reason, and then I guess apparently it got back to me that he thought I was trying to trick him. So he has some paranoid delusional thoughts going on in his head. I'm like, 'What the fuck is wrong with these people?' Jesus Christ! All I'm trying to do is go out and get a tour together with a couple of guitar players, so we can get some butts in the seats, and make some noise. I just don't get it. Bunch of kooks out there. Anyways, whatever. I had Robin Trower on the table. That was pretty cool. But the only way we could tour with him — we had a tour set up for that, but that fell through for various reasons. . . I talked to Jerry Cantrell, who was a very sweet guy, very nice, and just, he didn't feel it was the right package for him. He plays with sort of newer bands, and a little bit more progressive. I appreciate that honesty. That's fine. Okay, we'll do that. We won't tour. I hit John Clive up, and he felt that it probably wasn't right for him, either. I'm really kind of looking for this ideal package. So then I called up, my managers called up Don, and we talked about opening up for them, being like DOKKEN, with LYNCH MOB opening. And that didn't fly. So now there's talk of a DOKKEN reunion, so that could happen next year."

Abrasive Rock: I was actually going to ask you about that, because I think it was in May you were talking about a DOKKEN reunion. Now, is there anything new on that front, or are you just in talks now?

George Lynch: "It was on the table earlier this year, then Jeff [Pilson, bass] decided he didn't want to do it. And so now it's being brought up again, but probably without Jeff's participation. That's his choice. He could always be involved if he wanted to be, but he doesn't want to. So it will be just Don, Mick, and I, and not sure who we would use."

Abrasive Rock: There's always been a lot of press about — I don't want to use the word "hatred," but it's... You haven't been the best of friends, you and Don Dokken. He takes jabs at you, and you kind of take jabs at him. What's the relationship with you guys now?

George Lynch: "We don't really have a relationship. He calls me here and there. We were talking for a few minutes about a year ago, back and forth a little bit. He wanted me to come in and play on his record, which I kind of declined. But, yeah, there really isn't a relationship. I ran into him at a drugstore once. He showed me-we kind of compared drugs we were taking, and that was about it. Yeah, there really hasn't been much of a relationship. But the whole dissension that we had originally was always over money and control. He wanted all the money and all the control, and we felt, or I felt, that that wasn't fair, and it should be more equitable. That was always the battle. Nothing else, really, but that."

Read George Lynch's entire interview with Abrasive Rock at this location.