TALKIN' BOUT ROCK - PRESS

 Don Dokken recently clarified his previous statements about retiring from music. He addressed comments he made in a spring 2025 interview, explaining that his earlier remarks about a potential final concert were misunderstood. According to Talkin’ Bout Rock, the legendary rocker emphasized that “retirement” for him means slowing down rather than stopping completely. 

 He stated: “I don’t know what retirement means. When I say I’m thinking about retiring, kind of what I meant was we’re gonna slow down. We don’t wanna do 250 shows a year.” 

The musician pointed to lifestyle changes that come with age and success. “You get older and you have other interests. You wanna be home, you wanna enjoy your career, all the success you had. You wanna be home in the garden and working and building things and stuff like that, and renovating the house. And you don’t wanna live on a tour bus, ’cause we’re older now,” he explained.

Dokken noted that many veteran bands have made similar announcements about stepping back. “A lot of bands — KISS, I can name… There’s a plethora of bands that are saying, ‘All right, we had a good ride, we had fun, we were famous. Let the youngsters come in and take over,'” he said. He referenced artists like David Coverdale, David Lee Roth, and others considering retirement.

However, he left the door open for future performances. “But you know that stupid saying, you never say never, right? I mean, if we get a big festival in Europe, like Wacken [Open Air] or Sweden Rock or a big festival, we’ll probably go do ’em. But it’s different now. When you’re 27 years old, you go on the road ’cause you have to. Otherwise you come home and your electricity’s off. You go, ‘Damn it, I didn’t pay the electric bill,'” Dokken concluded.

 In a new interview with Robert Edwards of Talkin' Bout Rock, Don Dokken spoke about the possibility of making a new EP with some of the other members of the classic DOKKEN lineup, including guitarist George Lynch and bassist Jeff Pilson. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, we talked about it, 'cause [George] comes on the road [when we play gigs with the current DOKKEN lineup] and he plays [on the same bill] with … [LYNCH] MOB. So I said, 'Look, if you wanna do an EP,' it'd be up to them to do it."

Referencing the complications from his November 2019 neck and spinal surgery which rendered his right arm nearly paralyzed, Don continued: "I can't play guitar anymore, which is one of my biggest bummers, because if you see my hand, [the left hand is] fine; [the right] one doesn't move. That's all I got. So I can't play guitar anymore. It was a botched spinal surgery, and the doctor was a butcher. And so it was just one bad calamity after the other. So I said, 'Well, we'll keep going.' I can still sing."

Addressing his previous comment from an spring 2025 interview in which he said that would play his final DOKKEN concert "probably within the year", Don said: "I don't know what retirement means. When I say I'm thinking about retiring, kind of what I meant was we're gonna slow down. We don't wanna do 250 shows a year. You get older and you have other interests. You wanna be home, you wanna enjoy your career, all the success you had. You wanna be home in the garden and working and building things and stuff like that, and renovating the house. And you don't wanna live on a tour bus, 'cause we're older now… A lot of bands — KISS, I can name… There's a plethora of bands that are saying, 'All right, we had a good ride, we had fun, we were famous. Let the youngsters come in and take over.' I just saw that [David Coverdale was retiring]. David Lee Roth, he kind of comes and goes. You've got Coverdale. I mean, look, the list is endless. I think I talked to [WINGER's] Kip Winger. He's doing an orchestra album. He's gonna retire. George Lynch says he's gonna retire. But you know that stupid saying, you never say never, right? I mean, if we get a big festival in Europe, like Wacken [Open Air] or Sweden Rock or a big festival, we'll probably go do 'em. But it's different now. When you're 27 years old, you go on the road 'cause you have to. Otherwise you come home and your electricity's off. You go, 'Damn it, I didn't pay the electric bill.'"

Circling back to the possibility of playing more shows with Lynch as well as the likelihood of a new EP featuring the classic DOKKEN lineup, Don said: "Yeah, it's fun [to share the stage with George]. And George and I, we get along. And people like to see him up there play a couple of DOKKEN songs. But you get older and it becomes harder and harder to play. And then you come home and you wanna rest for a couple days. But to go on tour now costs a fortune. Gas is tripled in price. Bus rentals are tripled in price. Hotels are tripled in price. It's kind of a negative return. Now when we play, it's kind of just for fun. I've done a hundred shows this year so far. That's a lot of shows, for me. So we've done a hundred. And we have another one in two days. And I said, 'Let's take a break for the holidays.' So we are — we're gonna take a break for the holidays. But I wouldn't say retire. If those guys wanna get together and write me some music, I'd write the lyrics and sing it. And I'll participate like I always did. So that's where we're at now."

 Rikki Rockett recently addressed tensions within the legendary rock band Poison. He revealed significant rifts among band members in a statement shared on Talkin’ Bout Rock. 

 The drummer discussed the current state of relationships within the band. Communication has broken down between certain members, particularly between himself and frontman Bret Michaels. 

I talk to C.C. all the time, at least once or twice a week,” Rockett explained. “His mom and my mom were really close. My mom passed away, and his mom’s going through a lot right now. That’s kept us close on one level. I talk to Bobby less. Bobby keeps to himself a lot these days, which is okay if that’s how he is. Bobby can’t help himself but to talk about business, and sometimes he doesn’t want to talk about business, so he just doesn’t want to pick up the phone, you know what I mean? But Bret and I do not talk, unfortunately. That’s a shame—honestly, it is. So we get bits and pieces of stuff.”

The communication breakdown has had direct consequences for the band’s touring plans. Rockett clarified the status of a potential 2026 anniversary tour. Three of the four members had agreed to a contract presented by Live Nation, but Michaels has not signed on.

“I’ll set the record straight as far as Poison touring: at this point in time, there is nothing on the books for a 2026 40th-anniversary tour,” Rockett stated. “I said it months ago when we got presented a contract from Live Nation to go on tour next year. C.C., Bobby and I agreed. We thought it was great. We thought the money was great. We thought the lay of the land looked great. Then Bret looked at it and has not agreed to anything. So literally that is where we’re at.”

The current impasse represents a significant shift in the band’s touring prospects. Metal Wani reported that earlier in the year Rockett indicated Poison received “a great offer” for a headlining tour in 2026 to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary. The drummer had proposed an ambitious plan involving “40 shows all across the country and maybe Canada” to commemorate four decades since Poison’s 1986 formation.

 In a new interview with Robert Edwards of Talkin' Bout Rock, drummer Rikki Rockett was asked if he is still in communication with his POISON bandmates Bret Michaels (vocals),Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar),more than three years after they last played together. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I  talk to C.C. all the time, at least once or twice a week. And his mom and my mom were really close. And my mom passed away, and his mom's going through a lot right now. And that's kept us close on one level. I talk to Bobby less. Bobby keeps to himself a lot these days, which is okay, if that's how he… Bobby can't help himself but to talk about business, and sometimes he doesn't wanna talk about business, so he just doesn't wanna pick up the phone, you know what I mean? But Bret and I do not talk, unfortunately. And that's a shame — honestly, it is. So we get bits and pieces of stuff." 

Rikki, who has spent the last few months playing sporadic shows with his new band THE ROCKETT MAFIA, also talked about the possibility of POISON touring in 2026 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album, 1986's "Look What the Cat Dragged In". He said: "I'll set the record straight as far as POISON touring: at this point in time, there is nothing on the books for a 2026 40th-anniversary tour. And I said it months ago when we got presented a contract from Live Nation to go on tour [next year]. C.C., Bobby and I agreed. We thought it was great. We thought the money was great. We thought the lay of the land looked great. And then Bret looked at it and has not agreed to anything. So literally that is where we're at."

He continued: "I'm not trying to bash Bret. I'm not trying to start any fights… But one thing you have to understand is, for instance, the Bret Michaels [solo] band tours very differently from the way POISON tours. POISON tours the way DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE and Luke Bryan or whoever [tours], where we basically kiss our families goodbye for three-plus months, or however long it's gonna be, and go out on a tour bus and trucks, and we're playing five nights a week, sometimes six nights a week. And that's not how Bret tours [with his solo band]. He does weekend-warrior stuff, which there's nothing wrong with that at all. Joan Jett does it — I mean, tons of bands do this. THE ROCKETT MAFIA does it. We can't play in Omaha, Nebraska on a Tuesday night and make any money. We'll be upside down. But at the level we've managed to get to [with POISON], and DEF LEPPARD and bands like this, you can play on a Tuesday night and people will come, at the right time. You still have to manage it correctly."

Asked if POISON's long-delayed North American trek with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS — which was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022 — was a "good experience" for him, Rikki said: "Oh, it was great. Look, it's so funny, because people go, 'Man…' You would think that in these stadiums, there would be so much room to do everything you want. It's weird, because it's set up for sports. It's not set up for a bunch of trucks and buses and all that stuff. So most of the time our bus would be two miles away in a parking lot somewhere and we'd have to take a golf cart or an Uber or a van or something like that to get to the venue. And then you get to the venue and it's, like, MÖTLEY and DEF LEPPARD got all the nice dressing rooms and we're in the electrician's room or something. [Laughs] So from that standpoint, it wasn't as nice as when we headline. But we were playing these massive places for amazing fans. I mean, it was literally a once-in-a lifetime experience.

 We've played some big shows — we've done Donington, we've done a lot of these… Texas Jam, a lot of these things like that — but to do it kind of on that level, or close to that level, for 40 nights, or whatever it was, that was amazing," Rockett added. "And it keeps you on your toes, man. You can't go out there half cocked. I mean, we don't ever do that anyway — I don't think any of us ever go out there on stage nonchalantly. We're a band that pride ourself in giving it everything we got. Even if everything that we have isn't as good as it was the night before, I'm still gonna give it everything that I have, you know what I mean? And I know the rest of the band's like that. Bret's like that, C.C., Bobby, We never half-ass anything." 

In a new interview with the Talkin' Bout Rock With Rob Edwards podcast, LAST IN LINE singer Andrew Freeman commented on the status of the songwriting sessions for the band's fourth studio album. Freeman is joined in the group by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE) and drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO). Andrew said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't have any information, honestly. I wish I could tell you more. We started working on a record last year. So, that's kind of where we're at. It's a side project. [There is] not a lot of information there right now. So [we're] just working on a record."

Andrew continued: "It's not a place where you can make a living, that's for sure. Again, it's a side project, so you try to facilitate it when it comes.

"For me, I was put in a position, [with] the original DIO band getting back together and me being at the helm of it was quite an honor, for me as a fan of that band," Freeman added. "So, I just kind of feel like I have an obligation to facilitate it for as long as it goes. So if I can do that and try to do gigs around it and make it make sense when it makes sense, we'll continue on. But, honestly, it's all about what Vivian wants to do, if he wants to continue on, if he's got the time to continue on. He's a race car driver now too, so between his day job and his race car driving, there's really not a lot of time to do anything."

 In a recent appearance on the Talkin’ Bout Rock podcast with Rob Edwards, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet opened up about the evolving challenges of being a Christian metal band more than four decades into their career. 

 When asked whether it’s harder to be a Christian rock act today compared to the early days, Sweet reflected on how the obstacles have changed over time. 

I think it’s different,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “There are challenges now that are different from the challenges then. So back in the ’80s, the challenges for us were the different sound and the different look and basically singing about Jesus. It was difficult for people to take the lyrics and look at the image and listen to the sound and combine the three. People were, like, ‘Wait a minute. This can’t be Christian music.’ Now it’s more about just the message itself.”

Sweet went on to describe how opposition to STRYPER’s message has become more direct in recent years, even at their own concerts.  “The Christian message, from my experience, is a message that is persecuted to no get-out, man,” he continued. “I hear it and I read it in e-mails, I hear it from people, I see it at our shows, those people that come to just speak out against the faith and Christianity. I don’t get it. It’s bizarre. But I see that more often with Christianity than I do with other religions. And for some reason… I mean, it seems to me like certain religions are off limits — you can’t say anything bad about certain religions because if you do, you’re a bad person. But yet it seems like you could say anything you want about Christianity. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. Somebody else out there, convince me that I’m wrong. But this is from my personal experience. And it kind of bums me out, but at the same time, it also drives me to do more. That’s the way I’m built. It’s never stop. Get up. You get knocked down, get back up. Keep going.”

 In a new interview with Rob Edwards of the Talkin' Bout Rock podcast, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet was asked if it is more difficult being a Christian rock band today than it was when the band first started out more than four decades ago. Michael responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's different. There are challenges now that are different from the challenges then. So back in the '80s, the challenges for us were the different sound and the different look and basically singing about Jesus. It was difficult for people to take the lyrics and look at the image and listen to the sound and combine the three. People were, like, 'Wait a minute. This can't be Christian music.' Now it's more about just the message itself." 

 He continued: "The Christian message, from my experience, is a message that is persecuted to no get-out, man. I hear it and I read it in e-mails, I hear it from people, I see it at our shows, those people that come to just speak out against the faith and Christianity. I don't get it. It's bizarre. But I see that more often with Christianity than I do with other religions. And for some reason… I mean, it seems to me like certain religions are off limits — you can't say anything bad about certain religions because if you do, you're a bad person. But yet it seems like you could say anything you want about Christianity. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. Somebody else out there, convince me that I'm wrong. But this is from my personal experience. And it kind of bums me out, but at the same time, it also drives me to do more. That's the way I'm built. It's never stop. Get up. You get knocked down, get back up. Keep going." 

 In a new interview with the Talkin' Bout Rock podcast, drummer Danny Schuler of the reunited classic lineup of BIOHAZARD spoke about "Divided We Fall", the band's first studio album in over a decade, which will arrive on October 17 via BLKIIBLK. Regarding why it took so long to get the LP out, Danny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " Well, the album was a long time coming because the band wasn't really doing anything for a long time. 

The band got back together in 2023. We started doing some shows, we started touring, and everybody started talking about, 'Hey, why don't we do a record?', our managers and everybody. And that was it. It was just we started talking about it. We started getting together with the purpose of writing songs and seeing how that went. After a while, we kind of hit our stride and the songs just kind of came quick. And, yeah, boom — next thing you know, we're making a new BIOHAZARD album, 'Divided We Fall'. Here we are."

In a new interview with Talkin' Bout Rock, TRIUMPH drummer and vocalist Gil Moore spoke about ongoing plans for the legendary Canadian rockers to develop a high-tech concept that would bring their music back to the stage. 

 He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[It's] something I've been working on with Paul Dexter, who's our lighting designer from back in the day. And Paul's really kind of a genius behind the lighting board. And he was involved in the early stages of holograms — he did Ronnie Dio from [BLACK] SABBATH and he did Frank Zappa as well. And we got together, 'cause I was trying to look at a way to bring TRIUMPH back to life because people wanted us to tour, but I knew I couldn't because I didn't have the time. And you reach a certain stage after we did the [2021 TRIUMPH] documentary ['Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine'] and we performed, and I said, 'You know what?' The type of performance we did, like the vocals were so high and there was so much high energy… I saw the THE EAGLES this year, and I thought certain types of music are easier on you physically. The hard rock power trio is probably about as tough as it gets. Singing and playing drums, for example, that's another thing — it's like a double whammy. So, I wanted to see if there was a way, through technology, to do something completely different, 'cause I didn't really like the hologram situation. The hologram itself was pretty cool, but it's just the way… I was sitting with Paul afterwards and he said, 'What do you think?' And I said, 'The hologram's cool, but it's not a platform. It's just a feature on a platform.' And that became the turning point. He said, 'A feature on a platform, not the platform.' He was, 'Well, what do you mean?' And I said, "Well, we, we need something that surrounds that. That's just one effect.' So we set out on this path towards mixed reality, which was starting to become something that was being talked about in research circles and so on at the time. A.I. hadn't kicked in yet. And there were some additional types of projection technology that were coming along that were more sophisticated than how these original holograms were produced using the Pepper's ghost technique. And so we just pursued it, pursued it, pursued it over a bunch of years. So we've got it to the point now where we really think we've kind of nailed it." 

Skeoch talked about the possiblity for a new band in a recent interview with Talkin’ Bout Rock:

“We’re all doing our own thing, and I don’t know when we can ever get together, all of us. Although, when [Brian] asked me about that, I did think it would be cool — I would like to play with that guy [Chris Holmes]. I think me and him would have a cranky guitar thing going on, probably. He’s kind of cranky like me. But it’s just if we can all get our schedules together, like if we’re not doing nothing. But we’re all busy. It’s hard.”

In a new interview with Talkin' Bout Rock, former TESLA and current BAD MARRIAGE guitarist Tommy Skeoch confirmed that he has been in discussions with TESLA bassist Brian Wheat and former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes about launching a new project together. "Yeah, [Brian and I] talked about it," Tommy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We're all doing our own thing, and I don't know when we can ever get together, all of us. Although, when [Brian] asked me about that, I did think it would be cool — I would like to play with that guy [Chris Holmes]. I think me and him would have a cranky guitar thing going on, probably. He's kind of cranky like me. But it's just if we can all get our schedules together, like if we're not doing nothing. But we're all busy. It's hard." 

Asked if he has "kind of mended the fences a little bit with the guys in TESLA" since his last exit from the band, Tommy said: "Uh, yeah, for the most part. I mean, whatever. I don't even deal with that stuff until I do interviews, and then it comes up. But, yeah, I'm cool with it."

Circling back to the prospect of playing with Wheat and Holmes, Skeoch said: "It was talked about, you bet. If he calls me up tomorrow and says, 'Hey, let's go,' and I've got a week open, I'll go up there and jam with Chris. That would be fun as hell, man."