In a new interview with Guitar Player, Reb Beach talked about how it was to replace George Lynch in Dokken.
“And Lynch, that was definitely a tough one!” the guitarist said before recalling his first show with Dokken. “The first Dokken gig that I did, I got a sneaker thrown at me, but I always played the exact same solo live as on the original records. I think people liked that in the end, because George would always play different things each time they did the songs.”
Beach just recorded one album with Dokken, 1999’s ‘Erase the Slate.’ “I had a great time in Dokken. When I played George’s songs, I tried to play the exact same notes that he played,” he reflected on his time with Dokken in a 2020 chat with Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx. “I tried to get as close as I could to his notes as possible, but it just doesn’t sound like him, because it was me.”
The rocker continued, “I just don’t do what he does so I just did it my way. Dokken was really fun. It was a big freaking party. There was no management. It was do whatever you want. Drink as much as you want. Just show up on time [laughs]!”
“Don was totally hammered at the time, he would leave the stage in the middle of the song and go take a leak [laughs]! I would get these opportunities to improvise and jam,” Reb also added. “Jeff [Pilson] and Mick [Brown] didn’t care if they played along. It was like the ‘Reb Beach Hour’ so I had a lot of fun [laughs].”
“I would end up playing the solo for five minutes. People didn’t care, nobody cared! It was a good run with Dokken and we had fun,” Beach also told Metal Talk in 2020. “I love that band. I actually did a few socially distanced shows with them again like last month and it was great to see Don again. He has got a great band now too.”
Beach performed two socially distanced shows with Dokken on July 17 and 18, 2020. Both shows ended with a special encore featuring Lynch and Don Dokken.