GUITARIST GEORGE LYNCH REFLECTS ON CLASSIC DOKKEN LINE-UP’S INTERNAL CONFLICT AND 1989 BREAK-UP – “EVERYBODY LOST”

Lynch Mob / ex-Dokken guitar legend, George Lynch, guested on Talkin’ Bout Rock to discuss the new Lynch Mob album, Dance With The Devil. During the chat, he looked back on the 1989 break-up of the classic Dokken line-up of himself, vocalist Don Dokken, bassist Jeff Pilson, and drummer Mick Brown.

Lynch: “I’m not saying it in any kind of disparaging way, but the fact is that Don really wanted to control everything and have the lion’s share of the money, and that’s really what it all came down to. When you boil it down to its foundational element, most basic thing, that’s what he was trying to accomplish, and he let us know that. He got his own separate management and then he had his own separate record deal and he was trying to fire us, but he couldn’t do that because we all owned the band. So, he disbanded the band, or whatever, or left or whatever. He just started his own thing and then sued us. So we countersued, and the end result was nothing. Everybody just went their own way, I guess. But, really, everybody lost. We all did.”

“I had insisted that all throughout the band’s career, when we were intact, I was insisting that we be four for one, one for all, quarter splits on everything, regardless of who wrote what, regardless of anything. I wrote the most music and I suffered the most for that, if you wanna call it suffering, but I gave up the most. And I still believed in that, because I thought you get the best results that way. We’d all been out there for 10 years busting our ass. We all came up from the same place. We all played together in the garages and the kegger parties and the sock hops, and we all did our time. So, just because one of us has got the last name or one of us has more talent or identifiable style or something, the other person shouldn’t suffer for that. So I was very comfortable with that, and Don was not. And that was our problem. That was his problem with me. I didn’t have any problem with him other than the fact that he wasn’t comfortable us with being fair and sticking to the plan and the agreement that we all worked under for those 10 years. And then when it came down time for the big payday that we all worked for, he wanted to take it all and pretty much kick us to the side, off to the side. It’s not what good people do. So, I lost a lot of respect for him, and I fought him on that. And here we are today.”

Lynch Mob release their final studio album, Dancing With The Devil, via Rat Pak Records today (November 28), marking the final chapter in their storied career. Frontiers Music Srl will issue the album in the UK and Europe.

The band recently shared a visualizer for the new single, “Saints And Sinners”. Stream/download the single here.

Produced by Chris Collier, the album follows the success of their previous effort, Babylon, and showcases elements of classic Lynch Mob with a modern edge, fusing hard rock, blues, and soulful grooves with an unmistakable passion and energy.

Dancing With The Devil revisits the classic Lynch Mob sound: a potent mix of blues-based hard rock, razor-sharp guitar work, and soulful vocals, delivered with the swagger and confidence of a band that has nothing left to prove. Fans of the early Wicked Sensation era will find familiar fire here with this masterful completion of their musical legacy.

Additionally, George Lynch has decided to extend the bands legacy further. Due to high demand for additional performances and the upcoming release of the final studio album, Dancing With The Devil, George will continue to fly the Lynch Mob banner into the future with a trek of encore performances.

Pre-order Dancing With The Devil via Rat Pak Records here. UK/EU fans can pre-order here.

Dancing With The Devil tracklisting:
Dancing With The Devil
Pictures Of The Dead
Saints And Sinners
Lift Up Your Soul
Love In Denial
Machine Bone
Follow Me Down
Golden Mirror
Sea Of Stones
The Stranger
Somewhere (bonus track)

Recording lineup:
George Lynch – Guitar
Gabriel Colón – Vocals
Jaron Gulino – Bass
Jimmy D’Anda – Drums