Don Dokken: How I Avoided Dr*gs In The 80s Rock Scene
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2023
- Don Dokken: How I Avoided Dr*gs In The 1980s Rock Scene
Watch the FULL INTERVIEW: • Don Dokken on His Firs...
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Watch the FULL INTERVIEW: ua-cam.com/video/2r-E3lH07MQ/v-deo.html
I was at a Dokken concert with my ex (we were both huge fans) and when Don saw me getting emotional in his presence, he told his crew to bring us backstage after the show so we could meet him. He was such a nice and friendly person and remarkably very sober. I wish him nothing but the best! Thank you Don for a memory I will always cherish. God bless you and yours!
Great story .. Joel in Florida
I'm sure he was after your old lady's panties, and that's it.
oh donnie, it was more than just cocaine lol but yes 80'swas the coke era, scarface was one of the best 80's movies too
He did coke, my sister did it with him at the channel in Boston in 88
Thanks for sharing Rachel ... that's very heartwarming.
@3:04 - "All I cared about was making it." - Don Dokken
And so you did. **applause**
🥳🥳🥳
Now that I see Don talking about avoiding the drugs, I can understand why the other guys in the band talked shit about him. Druggies don't trust clean people, and Druggies overstep bounds that piss off normal people.
100% right!!!!
"druggies" are normal people with a problem. " there are "druggies who are some of the best people you'd ever meet-- to generalize and label like that is ignorant at the very least
Druggies are no longer normal people once they lose themselves to the drugs to become druggies or junkies. They are broken people who ruin their own lives and the lives of people who love them because they are weak.
@@earld158never trust a druggie
@@earld158"normal people" can have professions and families and hobbies and interests and lives. Everyone I used to do tons of coke with was in education, entrepreneurship, law enforcement, healthcare, etc... One of my best friends is a multi millionaire who owns half a dozen farms. Beautiful wife, lovely children, helps his elderly parents out. But he does lines all day and night. That's where the distinction comes in.
"Druggies", however, are not normal people. They're flailing in the middle of the street, screaming at themselves, barfing everywhere with needles sticking out of their arms, getting aggressive with people who don't want to give them change or a cigarette. There's a big differece. If some normal looking guy crosses the street in front of me, I won't think twice. If some psychopath comes banging on my windows and screaming nonsense... I also won't think twice, if you know what I mean.
Pretending "walking dead" fiends are even remotely comparable to normal humans who contribute to society is ignorance at its' finest.
I went to Don's house in Hermosa Beach in 1988. We met and that was it. We were a Texas band (Dangerous Toys) recording our first record in LA and Billy White was a long time friend. Billy wanted to show me what he and Don were working on so he introduced me to Don in the house then we went to the rehearsal room next to the house. Patrick Young (Black and Blue) was the bass player at that time. I think those guys lived in the rehearsal room also. I think Don owning a house far from Hollywood also helped keep him grounded and away from Drugs. I never tried coke, pot, even a cigarette but beer was free. Don was a businessman and wrote cool songs.
Too bad he can't play anymore. I saw him play Break-in The Chains without George Lynch in Albuquerque. George got hit in the head with a glass bottle, finished the song sitting off stage and never came back. Don talked forever to see if he was coming back then grabbed a black LES PAUL with a Kayler Tremolo and played the last song of the set. He played a different lead than George would and I remember he ended it with just a lot of whammy bar stuff and they were gone. Good stuff.
Loved your band man! My band covered Teas'n, Pleas'n for several years in the 90's. Thank you!
What instrument did you play?@@robertgrayson4406
Vocals@@ModernMountainLiving
That would have been cool to see.@@robertgrayson4406
You know a dude named Rusty, that owns a landscaping business & lives in Pflugerville? I wanna say he played with yall at some point or at least definitely knew you faily well. Insanely good drummer. Jammed with him for a bit, in his garage, back in like '07. Miss that dude. Super good guy.
Don seems like an awesome, down-to-earth dude. I respect those types of people. He was in it for the music.
Well said Ryan. Don definitely, 'made it' with me ... I missed out on the American metal hair band era ... got into blues instead. 40 years later a friend had a cover band of Krokus. I listened to Krokus via Pandora & iHeart Radio ... and then stumbled across Dokken. Wow! I was hooked, and always will be. Don's song writing & arrangements are right up there with the best. Whenever I'm driving my car, I'm either listening to Dokken, Krokus or The Lynch Mob (and of course other hair metal bands from the 80s).
@@Jonathan-L awesome 🤘
I can relate to Don's story. I don't drink and there have been times when friends and my dad would bust my ass and act like not drinking is not normal and wrong. Like, why the fuck does it matter to other people if I drink or not. Me not drinking doesn't stop others from drinking so why the fuck is that anyone else's concern? Anyway, that's some of the weird shit that's I've experienced.
It's a strange thing. I like to casually drink but not get overly impaired. So when I stop after my 3rd drink sometimes I get the pressure from the folks around me, wanting to buy me a drink and what not. I always tell them I appreciate the gesture but I really have had enough.
Some folks have to share in the experience I guess, like kids who need their parents to pee lol.
Never got that either, but for me it was the drugs thing, I was probably one of the biggest drunks around but had no interest in drugs and it would piss people off, it was never like I had an attitude or preached to anyone, I didn't ever have an anti drug stance except for myself
Don is a heavy drinker though.
you guys act like fucking aliens. it's because you change when your under the influence and if you're sober you just have a different vibe. it's not compatible at all. i don't drink often but i wouldn't want to hang out with a person that doesn't drink while I do. Personally, i would just drink nothing in that situation as well but not everybodyy can adapt like that. and that's why. goes also for every other drug
I'm in my 40's now. I never smoked, been high and only maybe once or twice a tad buzzed. I don't drink and yet wherever I went I was the kid/guy the people wanted around. I'd hang out at this local bar for years and the girls there would be it's boring when you're not around. Even bartenders that met my friends who didn't know they were people would bring up my name and be like oh the non drinking guy he's awesome. At the same time I was judged too. I get what you mean. I just never cared for it. I liked sports, adrenaline shit and girls. I'm a homebody more than ever these days too. I got a sweet tooth though and I need to curb that haha. I'm still tall, thin and people think I'm a lot younger than I am even with the hair loss. I got a friend I've known for over 30 years now. He's OD many times, rehab, drug addiction etc. was a troubled kid who finally turned his life around and is clean today with a family and is a great man and always was a great person just troubled...not once in all the years including teenage times did he ever push me to smoke or drink. Why I will always respect and love him whereas some friends who hung around wiht me more pushed it. I know women now over 40 with kids from multiple men on drugs not being responsible. Nothing cool about that. Some of them actually over 40 think it's cool to still party and not be a parent. Sad. And I'm far from perfect.
I was hooked for most of '88, saw all my friends lives spiral out of control all around me,,,my girlfriend and I took a 12 day cruise to mexico from LA and as soon as we set sail i told her i left the drugs at home and we are getting clean..she was pissed for a minute, but we made it. we got sick for a couple days, but we quit forever. came home to LA to find out two of our friends got sh0t in a deal gone bad...we got out of LA ...her and I have been married 33 years now.. we smoke weed in our 50's out here on the farm lol
"We got clean"
Next sentence
"We smoke weed".
@@ZackMorris1015 open your beady eyes old man. can't you even read??
looks like the sentence LITERALLY says " told her we are getting clean"
and the "next Sentence " actually says " she was pissed" ..
how can you not read that ?? and weed is really nothing compared to coke addiction old man, go back to your child hood "reefer madness" panic of the 30's and stay there, the world has progressed past your ignorance , Gramps
@@ZackMorris1015 ok boomer , weed isnt even illegal , and you should learn to read before you misquote everything boomer
@@ZackMorris1015it's the new Cali sober
From a Ex Graduate Student in the drug world, now a semi senior very proud of you Don!!
Same here. I was one of the idiots that did way too much coke/speed in the 80's and beyond. Don Dokken made the better choices. Respect to Don.
Thanks for this interview!
Don is the king of rock “love songs” very underrated but people who are lucky enough to have his music know what I’m talking about
Good for you Don. In my humble opinion you most certainly made it. Your band was one of my favorite 80's bands. Keep rockin'.
I was an addict from 87-2002- In my case,it interferred with me even being able to establish a music career. Whacked outmot the time, pawning my gear, never rehearsing- itkilled it.I almost think it can be worse when you do start making it big despite that because there is nothing to intervene until it gets so bad you are literally dead or completely destroyed
I can relate to Don. I was the weirdo who didn't do drugs. Yeah, I smoked pot a few dozen times in five years but just stopped. I watched family, friends and acquaintances fall apart, suffer and die over the last 40 years. It was tragic how talented and smart some of them were and just throwing it all away on getting messed up due to addiction. I may not be rich but I didn't lose my soul to drugs. I may drink alcohol but I very rarely get drunk or even tipsy, I want to keep my wits about me.
I was working..still going to high school..not drinking ..doing drugs..
A lot of my friends were...I enlisted in the Air Force in 1988..kept buying Dokken albums..saw George Lynch at the Mason Jar in Tempe AZ in 92..I was still in the AF then...that whole drug scene wasn't my bag..I have even been to Amsterdam and offered hashish ..pot ..etc ..yeah..not my thing...keep rocking Don...
Saw Dokken back in the 80s. Was one of my favorite bands back then too. Don had one of the best voices around. Outstanding.
I got to rodie for you guys in the 80's at the shark club in Vegas' Along with Great white. Was a good time!! You guys are the Best!
I saw Dokken open for Priest a couple times and then on the Monsters of Rock tour. I know what he's saying, being a musician that doesnt partake. I dont drink or do drugs either. I smoke but no coke or anything like that. I get those looks too.
You learn something new everyday, I've been a fan of Dokkens for years but never new this part, makes an even bigger fan and it makes Don one of the smartest men around.... 😊
Saw them in 83' opening for Dio,great show. Good job Don & God bless.
My first concert in Houston TX '86
Judas Priest/ Dokken
Summit?
@@barryshaw7304 yes it was called The Summit back then. Renamed Compaq Center now Lakewood Church
Very, VERY important question to ask. Don lost a lot of peers, the 80s were just wild. We can't be afraid to have these tough conversations. Your mental health is everything
Don, you're an excellent dude.
😁🤟🤟🤟🎸🎸🎸🤙
Good job dood! Good for you!
70 years old now, looks and sounds good for his age. probably wouldn't be here right now if he chose drugs and booze in the early days.
Ya like Keith Richards right ?
@@Kane6676, yeah, and that's why i said "probably".
@@Kane6676 meh I think a lto of rockstars are portrayed to do more than they say they did. Keith seems like a fraud to me at least today. Mainstream media has a way to make people act certain ways to brainwash the youth to think it's cool and I think Keith was and still is one of those.
@@Kane6676richards was more prune like by 70 😅
Keith & Mick cleaned up a long time ago.
I love Don more than ever now !!!!!!! One of the BEST songwriters the earth has ever seen !!!!!!! I don't do drugs and alcohol either so knowing he is like minded is AWESOME !!!!!! SO MUCH MORE RESPECT !!!!!!
kelly keeling wrote his solo album and hell to pay and long way home he gives him no credit and collects royalties - i used to respect him a lot. thye lies are too much. damaging and not a way to repay the respect
Keep in mind, Don was like 10 years older than everyone else back then. When Ratt, Poison, Crue, GnR etc were doing blow they were early 20's, Don was in his 30's, he was over that. BUT, Don was a Jack Daniels drinker, still is! Oh, and he did a lot of opioids according to Pilson. Who cares, they are rock stars. Loved his voice back in the day. His nasal high notes were badass!
We sat up and took turns wacching over him to make sure he was still breathing
Your Welcome don. He won’t remember that just like I was not chasing dealers and getting lost with them or on tso bus
When they see that they’re gonna sue you you big dummy. Do you think it makes you look cool dancing around like a sober person. Coke was i minute. Years ago way before I knew you right outa rehab. That’s how long it’s been 2001 … lame don very lame. And I was in there quitting clonopin how many a day don …? OxyContin. Thought you were my friend bro. I am highly offended. Get your lick in too
This interview is some of the most elaborate mental airbrushing I've ever heard and everybody here is just taking it at face value. Don may not have been doing coke but he was doing literally any other tranquilizing drug you can name including oxy, and gallons of booze on top of that. That's why he's been to rehab more than once, a fact he's trumpeted in numerous interviews.
Always liked Dokken. Great songs!
80% percent of my friends when I was growing up in the 80s were on drugs, in and out of jail, rehabs ect, I'm like you Don I watched everything they did I didn't get it or understand why you want to poison yourself every day some of them wound up dead young and it carried over till later in life with the over dose crap, just lost another recently kid I grew up with now like 60 years old still doing it, it was sad watch them all my life even lost the love of my life to it I don't get it either never did
News flash: Don loved Jack Daniels. That if anything, is poison.
He is also a chain smoker.
☠️
No secret
Don't kid yourself here. He was no saint, anti-drugs. Don Dokken was fortunate to survive heavy addiction of "prescription drugs" during the '80s. Can be quite lethal when mixing alcohol.
@@ziggyscatworld he's bipolar no secret he's talked about it
Dokken was my favorite band as a teenager. I liked a ton of hair bands but nearly all of them talked a lot about partying and such and I never did so I didn't feel like I could relate to them as much as I did with Dokken..
I drank free beer but never a drug or cig.
I only had Back For The Attack but I really loved that album.
Wow! That’s awesome and honest 👍👍👍👍
Good for you Don!
Saw Don catching major Drains on stage.
Monster of Rock 88
Can't wait for the new album don🤟
That is commendable. Good for him!
You dont need Drugs to be Rock n Roll Man.
Rollins !!
I went through the entire 80's playing music and not doing a single drug. I had already grown out of them by the time I finished high school. It was silly kid thing to me. BUT....I was very hyper and played on stage like a manic Angus Young so everybody THOUGHT I was on drugs. I never let on either way. I saw way too many people die and destroy themselves doing them though. Not to sound like a dick head here but I was accepted in "that" crowd because I was a very good guitar player and other musicians respected me. I wasn't a "shredder" but I could play things live on stage that none of those metal guys were doing or could do so I was accepted. Imagine Angus on speed?! I preferred the metal clubs because the people were just nicer and more down to earth and friendlier. I have lifelong friends from that era still to this day.
Even though he didn`t like doing coke, Don knew what the good stuff was back then.
Lol, exactly.
I saw Dokken open for the Outlaws way back in the 80’s.
I actually wasn’t a fan of either band and I knew little of their music. I actually do not know why I even bought tickets for the show. Both bands were mesmerizing and made me big fans from that night on.
legend.
I met Don Dokken at the Troubadour 40 plus years ago. I was the 15yearold bass player in a band that night. He was tall and humble easy to talk to cool guy
I Totally believe him!!....I knew a couple guys that tried Crack and Meth, and actually HATED it, never touched it again!!......some people just have crazy will power, and are able to "put" things down, and completely walk away.....some people just can't deal with being in certain altered states, freaks them out, so addiction never sets in......crazy shit, but Very real.
Love Don !!!!!!!! awesome truth !!!!! thank you sir!!!!!!!
What is the name of the song at the end? Sounds nice.
DD is a well put together blessed man. I hope he is a Believer. Great guy.
Don is one of the very few musical purists who actually performed because how much he loved music. Musical genius plus his voice on stage is ridiculously sharp and good
cool interview, Please some Ratt menbers ( Pearcy, Blozter or Croucier),Doro Pesh(new album is comin)or Lita Ford.
Thanks… KK interview in my channel!
We love you, Don.
Why does the word DRUGS need to be censored? People are too sensitive.
Because youtube sucks. DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS
If I had to guess it probably has more to do with UA-cam's ridiculous monetization rules rather than anyone being "sensitive."
He needs to write a tell all book
I wasn't a rock star and I was, ......it's what we did in the late 70's and early 80's. Chicks at discos and rock bars, loved it. It was good quality too. Great memories. I'm 63, and I'm still working every day, still alive.
Don dokken...
I sent you a stack of pink vinyl disks years ago..
I used to have your phone number to the studio.
Im friends with dave meniketti..
Cinder used to work at kawasaki..
I love the fact you tell it like it is..
We love you.. Lets go ride some harleys..
Remember that guy named Chase that was always hanging around everyones parties? He was nicknamed that because he was always chasing an eight ball, he was such a cheeseball, glad to see ya doing good Don 🙂
I give Don a high five for not getting into the drugs. I am 62 years old now. Am so happy to be one of those who did not get into the drug scene
.
Someone should do a documentary about the 80s rock stars who didn't do drugs. Apart from Don Dokken, Stryper, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, I don't know who else could claim being clean those years.
Whatever you say Don. Hes right about one thing. EVERYBODY was coked out of their mind.
Love Dokken
Dokken❤hell ya!!!
"dr*gs" lol
It's not a cuss word, people
me and my bands never made it big. and even then we did too many drugs and alcohol. i have been a sober/recovering addict for over a decade now after 30 years of on and off active addiction. i always figured if we had made it, i would be dead. cause those that make it are spoon fed drugs and alcohol 24/7 with no one trying to make you stop. rather enabling you to do more.
yeah looking back to the 80's, it's like you were fucked up if you weren't an addict.
Course you did as who you'd toured with, they were on drugs & drinking. That was AEROSMITH.
I would know as I'd gone to a AEROSMITH/ DOKKEN show 35 years ago as all I'd watched was DOKKEN!
Carlos Escobar? 😂
Juan Valdez?😂😂
I was heavy in the drug & alcohol life when I was a teenager in the 80's. By the grace of God, I left that life behind at 18 years old. Unfortunately, the crew I hung with (there were 5 of us) did not & now they're all dead. The 1st one was only 19. The last one was only 41. I'm 55 now & praise God every day for turning my life around.
A girl I went to school with just died a few days ago from drug use. Meth or coke I dunno. Soo glad I only smoke weed and do psychedelics every once in a while. I gave up drinking in 1998.
@@chrisw5742 I'm sorry that you still struggle with that addiction. I know it's extremely difficult to give up. But I can tell you from experience that God has a better plan for you.
@@scotteffinger4653What addiction? I was partially spinally decapitated and got my neck fused front and back and now have occipital neuralgia for life. Smokeing weed helps my pain and so does psychedelics. It is anti addictive actually. VERY VERY good for you. BTW Hail ODIN. Today is Odin's day. Paganism was here first. Odin made this world from the body of a frost giant. My videos prove it.
The word "god" is derived from Odin or Godan. Look it up.
I had many surgeries and avoided the nasty drugs of big pharma btw. Now I smoke weed and WORKOUT. BOOOOOOOM
Great way to live!
He didn't avoid trying to pick up my buddy's 16 year old sister before a show.
''melony, didn't know it was a felony'' haha, good for him.
most of these guys would have endless lawsuits back then if there's solid proof.. but when underage girls/women throw themselves at em and enjoyed it, it's really 'not' lol.. thats the irony of it all that the m2 moment don't take about~
@@user-tt6be2zx3h She was walking with 2 friends outside the venue. Unlikely a group of 16 year olds going for a walk would throw themselves at 33 year old men.
Being that Dokken was my second favorite band, I say he made it. Black n Blue #1.
Black N Blue was very underrated. Their first album was excellent. 🤘
Don remember Double Tree hotel in Anaheim. Tell me you don’t do drugs
Up from the Ashes..
was a step up and away...man..I didn't like that the band broke up but I'm understanding it more and more..
U rule Don!
They all had choices and Don made the best choice.
1:57 Pablo Escobar and Carlos Lehder 😉 if you know, you know 🥳 ...maybe '77 to '85 were the 'Holy Shit!' years. Unbelievably spectacular! Bolivian Express via Colombia and Peru 😵
80s was one hedonistic decade, a perfect time to be wild and young. Surprised I survived those years to be honest, but oh my, am I glad I partook. Sex. Drugs. Rock. One concert after the other, one party after the other, one girl after the other and sometimes a pair at the same time. Wouldn't give up my experiences and memories for anything. Neither would I now recommend that lifestyle that wrought them.
aw, best way to look at from your perspective is you got to partake and you survived, I loathe drgus/booze, but am into sex and music, haha, and as I am sure you know being sober around drunks is great!
AIDS in the 1980s was as scary as drugs tbh.. 🙏 u got out in one piece~ (but then there's the MAGIC Johnsons of the world that could afford the treatments etc)
He seems to be the only sane guy in the band. I’m surprised to see George , mick, and Jeff still alive.
tons of people survived the great wild 80's coke era, many got lucky, who didn't do cocaine in the 80's, ask fleetwood mac and toto lol
I think me & DD would have gotten along just fine...
Don is a smart guy and always been a business man. Anyone notice, Don has a terrible case of Trigger finger? He has it on his whole right hand it appears. He's always played guitar, I'm sure that affects it.
Don always saw himself as a guitar player who could sing on the side. If he had his way, we would have had 2 lead guitarists in Dokken and a much fuller live sound as a result.
@@GorditoCrunch343 I think you're right about that, he definitely could play pretty well. I'm not a big fan of many two guitar bands. I definitely hate playing in them, it's just too muddy when you don't have a pro-FOH guy all the time and a good rehearsal mix. I think it may have been too regular having two guitar players. Don did play live though, I heard. To be sure he wasn't as good as George, right?
Don't forget Ecstacy, Don...lol
He's right. Coke became cut with speed. It sucked. Teeth grinding, can't sleep.
Hey Don, just listened to Beast from the East and remembered why it is one of my favorite live albums.
He should have avoided cigarettes too, being a singer he would have not lost as much of his range!
Carlos Escobar??
Wasn’t he dealing for awhile?
DOKKumentary
Never cared for the band but he seems like he could be cool to hang with.
You should leave then.
@@max7even284 Ok.
I used to do drugs in the 80's, but nowadays i do them in all temperatures!
He's a Notorious liar.Liar.. ask anyone that knows him
Carlos Escobar
Don enjoys his vino 🍷??!!...wow! Rt on! Wonder what his favorite is?👍🍷
The only thing more unlikely than becoming a rock star is becoming a rock star in the 80s that didn't do coke.
That’s like saying Tommy Lee avoided drinking JD in the 80s
You know how to avoid drugs? Don't do them.😑😑😑
Is it ALWAYS the way , the sober one ends up in worse health overall than the bash heads in hi band? I'm not famous but exactly the same thing with me in my old bands I never did cocaine once though was offered it and I'm the one in the shitiest health now damn!
Why is he wearing a beanie in doors
Truth.
Bring back the pure coke !!
Now.. I Don here just could have avoided " CIGARETTES "..... Maybe.... ( he could still sing )..
Don is one of the few lucky ones drugs just didn't work for him
Funny…when you hear from the others, he didn’t do nearly as much as HE says he did.
Jeff was just flipping out on a show a few weeks ago about something he said he did but was flat out bull.
Axel Rose tient un peu le même discours en disant qu'il préférait la gnole et les gonzesses à la came.
I appear in the 1987 year book at my high school as "Don Dokken"😂😂
Just say NO. LOL
"I could do a couple of lines and go to sleep" unless he misspoke...... that's the thoughts of a person who did Coke more than ONCE or even a Few Times.
Nah, just trying to act hard. One of those people who exagerates to impress. He either snorted chalk or is lying.
Maybe drugs were a little different then? I know a few old hippies that claim weed nowadays is like 100x stronger than it was in the 60’s. Different drugs and different times for sure but maybe there was a similar thing with coke back in the day? Idk I’m 40 and was just a lil kid back then and I never did anything anyway.
@@misterknightowlandco Yeah possibly. I've only ever known it to make you incredibly alert but I have heard good cocaine doesn't make you so speedy. And everyone reacts differently. You're not missing much with regards to coke but there are a whole wonder of drugs out there to be discovered :)
@@CheximusHe plainly made the point that he thought it was making people jittery and sped up because it was cut with meth and other crap.
He made two points,...He just really didn't like it and based on the actions of those a few years after he had long put it down,...He didn't ever think it was really just cocaine.
@@misterknightowlandco💯 drugs were different back then even where u would get it.. unless you're a pharmacist and examine everyone before u partake, the regular joe or jane simply won't know.. nor care, in the context of a party etc