Europe guitarist John Norums is featured ina new interview with Guitar World. Following is an excerpt from the chat.
Guitar World: What aspect of the guitar would you like to be better at?
Norum: "To not just play licks and fast runs and things like that. It’s just pretty pointless to me at this time. In the ’80s, I was very much into playing fast and wanting to be the best and all that stuff. Later on I realized it was just a waste of time. I try to keep the playing as melodic as possible. I’ll always try to come up with a melody, kind of like how a singer does, so I’ll listen to what’s going on in the chorus and vocals. When I come to do a guitar solo, I’ll take a piece from either vocal or chorus line and add that into the solo.”
Guitar World: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Norum: "I should’ve made my focus a bit more on the rhythm side of playing. I was pretty much just playing leads instead of focusing on groove and rhythm. I didn’t become a good rhythm player until I started working with Don Dokken on his Up From The Ashes album in 1990. That’s when I realized how important it was. I learned a lot from working with Don. In the studio he’d often say, 'It doesn’t groove enough, so do it again.' And because we all played live in the studio, the rhythm and groove became very important. It was hard work at first, but after a while I enjoyed it. Guitar is not just about playing lead; rhythm is very important.”
Read the complete interview here.
Dokken frontman Don Dokken guested on the Battleline Podcast in lates 2023, and during the chat he discussed the release of his 1990 "solo" album, Up From The Ashes, and being sued by his former bandmates George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown for the rights to his own name, ultimately losing the lawsuit.
Check out the excerpt below.
Don: "It wasn't a solo album. It was going to be another Dokken album but the band sued me. Up From The Ashes is one of the best albums I ever did; I'm so proud of that album. If I just had the name 'Dokken' on it, it would have sold four times more, but the judge split the baby. Jeff, George and Mick wanted to go on as Dokken, and I said 'I will fight you to the ends of the earth for you guys going on as Dokken without me.' At the end of the day, the judge says 'You guys can't use the name, Don can't use the name, but I can't legally keep Don from making records as Don Dokken.'"
