Dokken is one of the few bands from the 80’s to continuously put out great music. Ever with losing a critical member of the band, George Lynch in 1997, Dokken has still managed to remain a relevant hard rocking band.
 
In 2006, Dokken has one of the strongest line-up’s in their history. Dokken consists of Don Dokken, on vocals, Jon Levin on guitar, and Barry Sparks on bass, and Wild Mick Brown on drums.
 
Dokken have recently signed to Rhino Records for a U.S. release, and Frontiers for a European release.

I had the privilege of hearing a demo clip from Dokken's upcoming "Lightning Strikes Again" CD. This is as close to the early vintage sound of Dokken as you are ever going to get. The guitar work has very catchy riffs that follow in the "Kiss Of Death' vein. In other words, when you hear the three bars of the opening song, you will know it is Dokken, just like back in the day. There are going to be a lot of happy Dokken fans in 2007! Hang tight, the wait will be well worth it. Don Dokken, Jon Levin and Dokken are dedicated to bringing their die-hard fans their best work to date.
 
As 2006 comes to close, we are excited to bring you an Exclusive interview with Dokken guitarist Jon Levin. In this feature, we will take a look at the upcoming Dokken release- "Lightning Strikes Again,” the longevity of Dokken, what it is like to work with Don Dokken, and future touring plans of the band.
 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!! Because in 2007 you are going to be Rokken with Dokken!!!.

Jon, First of all I would like to wish you Happy Holidays.
Thank you very much. 
 
We are going to end the year at GlamMetal.com TM with your interview. Because Dokken is one of our favorite bands over here.
Glad to hear it. Thank you.
 
I recently heard that Dokken has signed to Rhino Records for the U.S. release, and Frontiers for the European distribution. Is this correct?
That is correct. We are very excited about it. We are happy we made the deal.
 
That is awesome. Is there any release date yet?
Well Rhino is going to be putting out a few things. Our new studio record is going to seemingly the main push to what everything is building up to. I say there is nothing firm, but we are looking probably looking at May or June. We really want to do it right, and we want to do a lot of pre-promotion and really have a good set up for us. 
 
Is there another album of the Dokken greatest hits in the works?
The greatest hits records for con tractional reasons was put on hold. But Rhino is going to be rereleasing the old videos; you know the "Unchain The Night" video? They are putting that out on DVD. They are also rereleasing the catalog. Because those releases are coming out, we sort of decided we would hold off on the recorded greatest hits. Those two releases are going to come out first, after that the new "Lightning Strikes Again" record will come out.
 
Let's talk about "Lightning Strikes Again." I know everyone is really excited about it. Tell me how the directions are going in musically in the band. Is it more like "Hell To Pay?" Because I really liked the direction you took the band with that record.
To be honest with you Deb, it is nothing like "Hell To Pay.' I don't think so all. The twelve songs that I have been working out so far sound like vintage Dokken. If I played you the demo, you would probably be pretty shocked. 
 
Is it going to sound like the "Tooth and Nail” era ?
It is going to sound as good as that or better. Turn your tape recorder off and play some for you. (Jon then plays a few minutes of a demo and Deb gushes like a school girl.)

There you go, you are the first person to hear a little something. That is just demo.
 
It well with the wait. The guitar sound is so much a part of Dokken. You have to have the right sound for Don's voice to fall into place. Do you know what I am saying?
Yes, that is true.
 
I am so impressed. Is there going to be any ballads on "Lightning Strikes Again?"
Maybe one. It will probably be either one or none. We will probably do one. I wrote three ballads so far, that we have been messing with. We will probably pick the best one. Likely there will be one ballad, and maybe one "Jaded Heart" type of song. That is it, the rest are going to be all rocking.
 
I can't wait for it to be released. How did you come up with the title,” Lightning Strikes Again." Was it Don's idea?
Yes, Don came up with it. We actually have the artwork all done too. It is amazing, the album cover looks like "Back For The Attack's" brother.
 
Does it really?
Yes, absolutely.
 
I think it is a step in the right direction then.
Yes, I am so far really pleased and couldn't be happier.
 
Dokken is known for their great guitarists. How does it feel to be part of that legacy? 
I think it is great. I think it is great. I never really looked at it that way. But now that you have asked that question. It is certainly cool to be in a band that had good guitar players in it. I look at more, as there was a good open canvas for me to play how I play. If the band wanted me to play with them, and there wasn't really the foundation or the format, that I would be able to do what I do, it probably wouldn't appeal to me. 
 
You were a big Dokken fan back in the day too?
I was a Dokken fan, there is no question about it. 
 
Was it your idea or Don's idea to bring the band back more in that direction to sound like the 80's? I know the grunge scene, and the "Shadow life" album was kind of like the downfall for Dokken. Would you agree?
I just want to make a Dokken record. I think Don does too. That's it. I just wanted to make a record that is a Dokken record, not so much something that sounds like the 80's. I don't think it is going to sound like the 80's. But it sounds like Dokken. You heard it a little for yourself. No one is going to believe me, but they will believe you. So I will leave you to comment on the thirty seconds that I played you. 
 
Thank you, I am a Dokken fan for many years. It sounds awesome, just like early Dokken. In the studio, what is like working with Don?
We get along great. We have been working in my place. We have a Pro-Tool studio here. We are just doing demos. It is really great. He comes over and we play, have a couple glasses of wine. It is great.
 
I can remember when you were writing the "Hell To Pay album and everything fell into place. One of the first songs that you wrote with Don was the song about the war. 
Yes, the last record was a much different record. Years go by, we wrote that in 2003, and it came out in 2004. So much of what you do, just really mirrors what goes on in your life at the time. Back at that time, to be honest Don and I were both having depression problems. A lot of that sort of permeated the melancholiness that was going on there. I went through a divorce that was pretty nasty.
 
I am sorry. I didn't know.
That's o.k. This was years ago. I am in a different headspace now, Don is in a different headspace now, it is reflecting in what we are doing. We are happier and more positive, and it really does reflect in the music.
 
How do you think Dokken has grown musically since back in the day, when you were a fan, and now you are playing with them? How has Dokken grown musically since the 80's?
That is a good question. I think what we are doing now, if we stay on target, is that it has come full circle. It has come back to where I think it was suppose to leave off. I think at times in the past, the band started going in directions that didn't make sense as fan of the band. I think we are on track, to back to where it should have been. All of that is a growing process, all those records have happened in between that time is a reflection of the musicians state of mind of what was going on. People grow and people change. You can't stay in the same place forever. Sometimes you have to look backwards in order to look forwards. It is an evolution.
 
In my opinion, Dokken is the strongest it has ever been since maybe back to when they first started. Dokken featuring Don, you, Barry, and Mick seems like a brotherly thing now. It is so cohesive.
We definitely have a serious chemistry between the four of us. There is no question about that.
 
Would you say you are form the Randy Rhoads School of guitar? Who are your influences?
I was a big fan of his. I learned all of his solos as a kid. I learned all of those Ozzy Osborne songs. I was a big Randy Rhoads fan. Absolutely. Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads, those were my two favorite guitarists growing up as kid. 
 
Now you use to play in Warlock. Ever run into Doro at all?
You know I ran into here once, during the last couple of years. I can't remember where. I saw her once. I think it might have been at the Universal Amphitheater.
 
What was your favorite metal moment and gig of 2007 with Dokken this year?
My favorite gig would be the second show that we did at Jaxx. We played Jaxx two nights in a row. The second show was absolute magic.
 
Was it?
Yes, I think it was probably one of the best Dokken shows that we ever done together. 
 
Barry was telling me not to long ago, there was one show in Colorado that Mick was sick, and the band had to come out and perform an acoustic set.
Here is the whole scoop on what happen with that. This is good, are you ready?
 
Yes.
Mick got sick. We actually ended up leaving him in Denver. Because he was too sick to travel. It was a bad situation for him. The next night we did an acoustic thing. We really couldn't continue to do the rest of the tour so we ended up flying Adam Hamilton in. He is the bass player from LA Guns, he also plays drums. He was going to cover for Mick for one show and the show that he came to, we rehearsed doing sound check. We sold out the show. In fact the promoter, who was very nice to us, said "You guys have the set the attendance record here, I am turning away people now. Don calls me a few minutes later, and says Jon I don't feel well. I said, "You are kidding, you better get down here." So Don comes on the bus, and I took one look at his face, he was white as a ghost, and I turned to the promoter and I said,” This show isn’t happening." (Laughter) Don was literally passing out. I mean there was no way. They wanted to wheel him onstage in a chair, and just try and have him sing a couple of songs. There was almost a riot, the cops came, and I thought they were going to destroy the tour bus. But they got all of the people out of there. Poor Adam Hamilton. Who thought he was going to do a show, calls me the next day and he got sick. Once someone gets it on the bus, everyone gets it. That is what happened there.
 
Oh my God! I think that has to be one of the greatest Dokken stories.
Yeah, that is a pretty good one. There is more, that is actually an average one, but that is what you asked about.
 
Any favorite albums of 2006?
(Laughter) Here is how far I am removed from my little microcosm of a world. Tell me some albums, and I will let you know if I heard any of them?
 
Black Label Society- "Shot to Hell?"
He is great man. I think what he does is really cool. I think I actually have that record. I don't know it well enough to comment on it. I am sure it is good. 
 
What about Rob Zombie- "Educated Horses."
Didn't hear the album. But I like Rob Zombie.

I play my guitar, I write songs with Don, and that is really the extent of it. I really don't even listen to stuff on the radio. To be honest, most of the stuff is just crap to me. I was always about being as good as I can on my instrument, and writing the best stuff that I can. These songs don’t even qualify as musicianship to me. I can't even hear it. I put on talk radio.
 
How you noticed to, the fans of today are turning back to music like the 80's, because they want to hear lyrics again?
Well, I think the whole 80's resurgence thing is that the fans have kids, and those kids are now finding out about these bands. Back in that day, there were songs and people that could play. That sort of thing has got away from us, people are like "Holy shit man, they are finding out about guitar solos." They are finding out about hooky choruses. I am not saying everything is good from the 80's. There was certainly a lot of stuff that was out there that actually hurt everyone else out there, that was actually doing real music. But you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
 
How is your Signature guitar coming along The Jester?
I am waiting for the second proto type to be developed. The first one came out good. There are some things that I didn't like about it. But I am Fender Endorsee as well; I am working with them with Charvel. They own Charvel. They just made me a guitar that is so unbelievable, to be honest they really captured my undivided attention. I don't know if you have seen a picture of it, it is on my space page. It is really unbelievable. 
 
Are you going to attending NAMM this year?
I am going. I never like to play in one of those booths. Because, I just think it is silly. I think it is just like a bunch of people looking at a lion inside a cage. Ok Jump through that hoop now. To mean that is just too silly. I am not going to be playing in any booth. I go and see all of the people, that have been really kind to me and kind enough to give me all of this gear, and help me through these last two years. I will say Hello to them, have a cocktail and go home, as quickly as I can before it gets too crowded. I really don't like being around crowded conventions. 
 
Jon, Is there anything else that you would like to say to the fans of Dokken out there?
We appreciate all of your support. We look forward to seeing you on tour.
 
So Dokken will tour definitely the U.S. this year?
There is no question about it. We just changed booking agents. They called me and they are putting us on the road for six months. 
 
That will be great.
So we are definitely going to tour. We have a major label record company behind us. There is going to be promotion. The best way to promote an album is by touring. We are going to do a lot of it.
 
Great. So hopefully in June or July whatever, Dokken will be on the road.
They mentioned April, but I am not sure about April. I think it might be too soon. But certainly by May.
 
It is long overdue, we need DOKKEN on the road.
We are coming, believe me. We are just absolutely going to be on the road in 2007.

www.dokken.net www.myspace.com/jonlevin