George Lynch Fires Back at Former Bandmate Don Dokken
The George Lynch vs. Don Dokken feud climbed up a few notches this week when the no-nonsense guitar god took some time to speak to Noisecreep about his upcoming new album, 'Kill All Control.' The album, a blistering 13-song collection that combines many of Lynch's various styles, comes out in July.
After providing Noisecreep with an advance listen of the record, Lynch agreed to an interview. While our conversation covered several key areas, Lynch's current war of words with his former lead singer quickly became a heated topic of discussion.
Lynch, who doesn't mince words, got annoyed after Dokken posted some thoughts relating to Lynch as to why he believed there would never be a Dokken reunion. Dokken also accused Lynch of getting undeserved songwriting credit. Lynch is having none of it.
"Absurd lies, that all this guy is about," Lynch told Noisecreep. "But it's just more of the same."
Lynch said the original friction between him and Dokken was originally something a publicist decided to market years ago to give the band an edge. However, the fictional feud was based on some very real differences.
"She [the publicist] played it up good," Lynch chuckled. "Having us pose back to back with revolvers and stuff like that. But there was truth to our tension. Don was the weakest link in Dokken and we always dreamed of having a different lead singer. Me and the other guys, we'd write all the stuff, then he'd just come in and try to match the scratch vocals. It was a joke. A pose. Don't get me wrong - he's talented - talented at using other people's talents and being manipulative, deceitful, and acting with absolutely no conscience."
Lynch went on to explain that despite what he thinks of his former bandmate, he wants to focus on his band and his new record.
"Look, Don can go off and do all that stuff and say all that crap, but when he hits at me directly with pure lies, I'll hit back harder," he said. "I've worked so hard to establish my reputation and my integrity, and I won't let him compromise that. He stole from the energies of everyone and he still does it. He wanted the attention, he wanted to be a giant rock star and he'd step on his grandmother's grave to reach the top. That's what drives him -- fame. What drives me is the joy of playing in a band with friends I love -- and he'll never know what that means. When fans hear my new record they'll know exactly what I'm talking about."
"There was a difficult process to this album," he said. "But it was so worth it."
Featuring a variety of singers including Will Marten (Earshot), Marq Torien (Bulletboys), and Keith St. John (Montrose), the album also features some of Lynch's most inspired playing in years.
Lynch said that he's anxious to take the new material on the road, and that July tour dates will be announced soon.
Lynch spoke to us fresh from a stint as a counselor at the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, where he not only helped campers discover their dreams, but got a taste of his own rock 'n' roll fantasy as well.
"The famous engineer Eddie Kramer did the sessions at the camp," Lynch said. "Now, if I could have ever gone to a camp and had my choice of counselor it would have been Jimi Hendrix. And Eddie sat me down in the studio control room and played me some of his original session tracks with Jimi. I'll tell you what, I left that camp a different person, too -- inspired, just like the campers."