GEORGE LYNCH Says DON DOKKEN Is 'A Very Clever Con Artist'

In a recent interview with ElectricBasement.com, ex-DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch spoke candidly about the early underpinnings of his severely strained relationship with vocalist Don Dokken. Lynch claims the vocalist snuck material from him prior to him joining DOKKEN. Lynch was in a SoCal band called XCITER at the time. "Don said he had an interest in recording one of my songs," Lynch said. "He had a publishing deal in Europe. I said, 'I'm listening.' So next think you know, he's asking to come by and hear my material and do a deal. He wanted to record it for some money. I said 'cool.'

"But he never called me back or showed up. He went to Europe and sold the song, but didn't put our names on it. He put his name on it, made money and spent it. He came back to America and asked for me to form a band with him. During this conversation, I brought up the song issue.

"I asked to see the paperwork on the publishing deal. He was very nervous about it. In the back pages (of the contract) was a signatory page with his signature on it. It said 'Paris Is Burning' written by Don Dokken."

When asked why he didn't sue Don, Lynch explains, "When Don rips someone off, he covers his ass. He really does. That's exactly what happened." Lynch also said he didn't have enough to get a laywer at the time and also, suing in Europe would have proved too much of a hassle, "But what was I going to do, pay in Deutsche marks?! I drove a liquor truck, so I didn't make enough money to hire a lawyer. On the one hand, you can sue; on the other, you can join his (Don's) band. It's always a dangling carrot. He's a very clever con artist."

Read the entire interview at this location.