JEFF PILSON On DOKKEN's 2016 Reunion: 'It Was A Much More Positive Experience Than We Were Expecting'

Former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson was recently interviewed on the “Music Mania” podcast. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked about the 2016 reunion of DOKKEN‘s classic lineup, which was immortalized in the CD, DVD and Blu-ray “Return To The East Live (2016)”, Pilson said: “I think we were all a little bit tense about it ahead of time — we didn’t know what it was gonna be like — but once we got all the negotiating out of the way and we got together and started playing, it was actually really great and it was a wonderful experience. We got to kind of be friends for a while, which was really cool. I mean, I do a lot of stuff with George [Lynch, guitar] and I see him frequently anyway, but it was really cool… And then we did a new song that came out amazing. And then we did a couple of remakes of old songs acoustically that came out amazing. So it was a really positive experience. The tour was really fun. All the stuff we did with recording was really fun. It was a much more positive experience than we were expecting, and I’m real proud of the record; it did quite well. And it’s just pretty special that I got to experience that.”

He added: “Maybe there’ll be some more somewhere down the line; you never know. It’s really hard to deal with the schedules that we all have. But if that was the last thing we ever do, it was a great way to go out.”

Lynch recently told SiriusXM DJ Eddie Trunk that he hopes the classic lineup of DOKKEN will regroup for more live dates. “I would like to revisit it, but I wouldn’t bet on it happening, although there is talk of at least one big show next year,” he said. “Just a one-off. I don’t know if that’s worth doing, but we’ll see.”

In October 2016, the classic lineup of DOKKEN — Pilson, Lynch, Don Dokken (vocals) and Mick Brown (drums) — reunited to play the Loud Park festival in Japan. Fortunately for fans outside of Japan, cameras were there to capture the performance and Frontiers Music Srl issued “Return To The East Live (2016)” on April 20. In addition to the Japanese performance, this set features footage from the classic lineup’s only U.S. show in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as well as newly recorded acoustic reworkings of “Heaven Sent” and “Will The Sun Rise”.

Since completing the reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group’s current lineup, save for a handful of shows in late 2017 that saw guitarist Ira Black (LIZZY BORDEN, VICIOUS RUMORS) fill in for Jon Levin. The group has scattered tour dates scheduled through the summer, including a performance at this year’s Wacken Open Air festival.