A conversation with Dokken leader, Don Dokken, is featured on the latest episode of The Hook Rocks...The Ultimate Rock Community Podcast.

Don sits down with The Hook Rocks in an engaging conversation reflecting on his career as one of the most recognizable frontman in rock history. He talks his friendship with Eddie Van Halen, Lemmy Kilmister, and The Scorpions while also breaking down the history and drama pertaining to the band Dokken... and touches on an upcoming Netflix movie about the band as well as their new album, Heaven Comes Down.

In the following excerpt, Don talks about the accuracy of The Dirt and if the drugs and debauchery were depicted correctly, and the upcoming Netflix movie about Dokken:

"Well, you know, Sixx wasn't alive for about 10 minutes. You know, he overdosed on heroin. But I would say The Dirt was very honest. You know, I mean, they didn't hide anything about heroin and drugs. They didn't hide anything, you know. So I thought that was great. And interesting. You mentioned that movie The Dirt, and right now Netflix is actually making a movie about Dokken from the 80s. And it's the same director that did The Dirt.

"It's gonna be a good movie. A couple months ago, I went down, and they wanted to film me at The Whisky where we started. And they just asked me, you know, questions. And they said, 'We want to know, because there's been so much talk about The Whisky and The Rainbow and everything that went on and people don't realize The Doors were the house band at The Whisky at one point.' And I just said, 'Well, I'll try to come up with some stories, you know, because it's already been put out there in The Dirt and Netflix about The Rainbow.' And so I tried to come up with stuff that people haven't heard. And I told the director I said, but I really shouldn't be talking about this stuff because it's debauchery. I mean, like I told him a story about The Whisky you know, there's only one bathroom upstairs in the dressing rooms. And we could never get in the dang bathroom when we were playing with Van Halen because David Lee Roth made the bathroom his temporary sex office."

Don reflects on his relationship with Eddie Van Halen, the strip, and losing friends from that era:

"There was competition, which is healthy. I just remember, Van Halen got the record. And we played with Van Halen... and Van Halen came out to the US festival, their first jam came out. I got that record. It blew my mind. When Eddie Van Halen played 'Eruption'. And I had never seen a guitar player use two hands on the neck. You know, he played while he tapped, and used two hands. And I said, 'What the heck is he doing?' You know? And he was a genius, you know. And it was kind of interesting that I knew Eddie really well, we played on the strip and played with Quiet Riot, Motley. And then you fast forward eight years, and we're playing stadiums with Van Halen, the Scorpions at the Monsters Of Rock. So Eddie and I used to just sit up after the show, in the hotel and in the stairwell, and just shoot the breeze. Because by then he had had Wolfgang, and I'd had my son Tyler, and we brought the kids and they were like three years old. So him and I would just sit out in the stairwell and just talk about who would have thought, eight years ago from the Whisky A Go Go 600 people, 200,000 people. So we were just talking about that. But we did talk about amplifiers and guitars and people didn't realize he built his first guitar. Wow, eight years went by really fast from clubs to stadiums. And we had reached that stadium level too. So we would just shoot the breeze and yeah, I know that Eddie's passing, I mean, really, really hit me hard, you know, when he passed, and there's been a lot of great friends of mine from the Sunset Strip days, Kevin Dubrow, Frankie Bamali, Randy Rhoads, a lot of people have passed, and it's tragic, you know, but it was the glory days, I have no regrets. It was chaotic. But there was also a lot of beautiful women walking up and down the strip."

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Dokken will release their 13th studio album, Heaven Comes Down, on October 27 via Silver Lining Music. Today, the band release the new single and video, "Over The Mountain".

"'Over The Mountain' is a metaphoric song lyrically about people searching for better times and better days,” explains Don Dokken. “It seems everybody is always looking for their Shangri-La."

"My studio in the Sangre de Cristo mountains has wrap-around windows staring at three mountains ranges and the city lights of Santa Fe below,” continues Don. “Your environment affects what you write. I’m not staring at a black soundproof wall, I’m looking out ten windows where I can see Sandia, Ortiz and Jemez mountains, looking at the sunset every day, purple, yellow and pink, and it affects you… very inspiring.”
 
Watch the captivating video by Above The Void below:

Exchange the urban heat of the Sunset Strip for the warm wilderness of New Mexico, as Dokken bring their timeless convertible Ferrari rock’n’roll power to the table with some key modifications along the creative path. Working with engineer Bill Palmer over the course of a year at his studio in Santa Fe, the Dokken flavours remain as potent as ever, yet they’re also sprinkled with some desert seasoning which gives Heaven Comes Down a richness hitherto unseen on a Dokken album.

You want to rock? Sink your teeth into "Fugitive", which rides some shimmering guitar work courtesy of 20+ year member Jon Levin, and if you want ballads, head on over to "I’ll Never Give Up", hanging on that Coliseum chorus, Levin laying down a landmark solo. The pattern of Heaven Comes Down never falters in delivering the goods on both sides of the fence. "Just Like A Rose" brings the Pacific Coast Highway to desert plains with its smooth, effortlessly-driven gears, and "Saving Grace" carries a mystical malevolence. But "Santa Fe" is perhaps the most revealing with Don Dokken opening up with what amounts to a ‘life-moment biography’: a spartan acoustic arrangement allowing the rich yet road-driven vocals to frame what might well prove to be the defining moment of Dokken’s career.

Mixed by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa) and produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken, fans will love it, neutrals will be wonderfully surprised by some of the ingredients within Heaven Comes Down.

Heaven Comes Down will be released on CD Digipak, 12” Vinyl Album in Black and colour variants, digital formats and special D2C products and bundles. Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"Fugitive"
"Gypsy"
"Is It Me Or You?"
"Just Like A Rose"
"I’ll Never Give Up"
"Saving Grace"
"Over The Mountain"
"I Remember"
"Lost In You"
"Santa Fe"

"Gypsy" video:

"Fugitive" video:

- Produced by Bill Palmer & Don Dokken
- Bill Palmer: acoustic guitar on "Santa Fe"
- Mark Boals: special guest (background vocals)

Live dates:

November
8 - Jergel’s Rhythm Grille - Warrendale, PA
10 - The Robins Theatre - Warren, OH
11 - Piere’s - Fort Wayne IN,
17 - Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, NV
18 - Whisky A Go Go - West Hollywood, CA

Lineup:

Don Dokken - Vocals
Jon Levin - Guitar
Chris Mccarvill - Bass
Bj Zampa - Drums