In a new interview with Robert Edwards of Talkin' Bout Rock, legendary guitarist George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB) spoke about the 1989 breakup of the classic DOKKEN lineup. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The truth of the matter is, and I said this many, many times, and I'm not saying it in any kind of disparaging way, but the fact is that Don [Dokken, DOKKEN frontman] really wanted to control everything and have the lion's share of the money. And that's really what it all came down to. When you boil it down to its foundational element, most basic thing, that's what he was trying to accomplish. And he let us know that. And he got his own separate management and then he had his own separate record deal and he was trying to fire us, but we couldn't do that — he couldn't do that because we all owned the band. So, he disbanded the band, or whatever, or left or whatever. He tried to fire us, but he couldn't do that, so he just started his own thing and then sued us. So we countersued, and the end result was nothing. Everybody just went their own way, I guess. But, really, everybody lost. We all did."

George continued: "We've all done wonderful things [since then] and very satisfying and gratifying musically. But what we all gave up was the sure thing, which was what we had all worked for, which was we did the build. We did it the right way with the help of our incredible management, Q Prime — Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch at Q Prime, who managed QUEENSRŸCHE, METALLICA, even THE ROLLING STONES and other huge bands at the time. And we had that power of that whole machine guiding us. And we did the right records all at the right time. The timing was perfect. And on a wonky business level, everything was primed for us to pretty much turn the corner."

Lynch added: "So that's what every professional musician wants, at our level, is to get to that point where you have this negotiating power with the labels and promoters and others, but especially the labels, to have leverage to where you get the deal. And those deals last for many, many years. And then you go to another level — financially, security, music security. You have a home and you're gonna be established and it's gonna carry you through the rest of your life. And that's the point we worked towards, and we were on the cusp of signing that deal with Warner Brothers/Elektra."

Elaborating on the reason he didn't see eye to eye with Don when it came to DOKKEN's business affairs, George said: "I had insisted that all throughout the band's career, when we were intact, I was insisting that we be four for one, one for all, quarter splits on everything, regardless of who wrote what, regardless of anything. I wrote the most music and I suffered the most for that, if you wanna call it suffering, but I gave up the most. And I still believed in that, 'cause I thought you get the best results that way because you're letting the people that are contributing the most important music, you're letting them do that and you're not forcing people that are contributing inferior music to feel compelled to insist on their contribution musically to the album because they wanna make more money. This way you're paying the weaker writers to stay home, and they get just as much money. And I thought that was a good idea. And plus it was just fair. We'd all been out there for 10 years busting our ass. We all came up from the same place. We all played together in the garages and the kegger parties and the sock hops, and we all did our time. So, just because one of us has got the last name or one of us has more talent or identifiable style or something, the other person shouldn't suffer for that. So I was very comfortable with that, and Don was not. And that was our problem. That was his problem with me. I didn't have any problem with him other than the fact that he wasn't comfortable us with being fair and sticking to the plan and the agreement that we all worked under for those 10 years. And then when it came down time for the big payday that we all worked for, he wanted to take it all and pretty much kick us to the side, off to the side. And it's not what good people do. You know what I'm saying? So I lost a lot of respect for him, and I fought him on that. And here we are today."

Lynch concluded: "DOKKEN could have been a much bigger band — could have been on the MÖTLEY CRÜE level [or] BON JOVI level, which is a whole other level. We all would've been pretty set for life. And that got stolen from us, because he took the gamble to take it all."

Back in March 2024, George was asked by The Hook Rocks! podcast if he was still holding out hope for a new classic-lineup DOKKEN album happening somewhere down the line, featuring him, Don and bassist Jeff Pilson. He responded: "I wouldn't say I would say no out of hand to it, because I'm usually the guy that's trying to put it together and make it happen. We've had a couple, a few instances where we had big opportunities approach us and avail themselves to us that if we had taken advantage of them, would have been good deals for us to do, but obviously it didn't happen. So, on a practical level, I would probably want to do one, but it would be very challenging. Jeff and I could write the music — that would be beautiful — like we always have. I wouldn't have any qualms about that. We get Don involved and he does his thing and Don has a kind of a poetic — or at least did; I think he still does to some extent — a poetic sensibility. That's his kind of narrow little thing that he does that's cool. But his voice is not — I don't know if it's up to snuff to where we can even pull off a record; that's the problem. And on another note, on the personal side, when a guy just bashes you in the press, as he has, he does constantly with me and the other guys in the band, but especially me, when he pulls his character assassination stuff and just pulls a Trump and just lies about everything [laughs], trying to relitigate history and say that he did everything and we're all a bunch of fuck-ups. I mean, Jesus Christ. Okay, sure. Whatever. He just keeps pounding the table with these lies and hopes people buy into it. Very Trumpian. It's hard to go back to somebody like that and work with them. It's pretty awful and shitty thing to do. And I haven't called him out on it 'cause I really don't wanna even say anything, 'cause what good does it do at this point? But, anyways, I think that's the more difficult proposition, is working with somebody like that."

After the interviewer noted that it must be challenging working with someone who "maybe doesn't create the best environment" and takes credit for everything, George said: "Well, here's how records have always gone down with DOKKEN. Jeff and I, and to a lesser extent Mick [Brown, former DOKKEN drummer], get in a room — mostly Jeff and I — whether it was on the road or at home, and we woodshed, literally. We'd nail the doors shut. We ended up calling it Scrotum Sound because we wouldn't shower and it would end up smelling like a fucking sweaty scrotum in there. And we would just go for days and days and days and come up with these records — the bulk of the records. And Don had some input here and there — on good songs, important songs. Him and Jeff wrote 'In My Dreams', I think without input from me. Don had 'Alone Again'; I don't know where he sourced that out from, but that was his song. But 90 percent of the material was Jeff and I. And on later records, Don would come in and do melodies and lyrics, sometimes on his own, sometimes with Jeff's help, sometimes with all of our help, but 'Tooth And Nail' was — I was involved a lot with 'Tooth And Nail' lyrically and melodically. I came up with most of those titles, I think, if not all of them, and the lyrics… And then Jeff would sing. All these records that we did with DOKKEN, Jeff would sing all the guide vocals — most of them. And then we'd bring it in and Don would just ghost what Jeff did. But what we did was we raised the bar so high that Don really had to step up. We had vocal coaches and we had a lot of people looking at us and we had a lot on the line with the label and the management and the record deals and the public. So Don would step up, with our help, and we would support him. We said, 'It's gotta be this quality.' And Jeff's a great singer. So Jeff would lay down the vocal, which was our guide vocal, and Don would go in and match it, with Jeff's help. And that's how we got these records to be as good as they could be, as far as the performances and so forth. And so to go relitigate that and try to explain that some other way is absolutely ridiculous and untrue. But whatever."

Lynch continued: "But, yeah, to go work with somebody like that, it would be very difficult, very painful. And at the end of the day, yeah, you make a little bit of money and it might be a nice end cap for the whole DOKKEN story, for us all to come together again and do a viable record. But that's the question — how do you guarantee it's gonna be a viable record with the challenge of having a singer that can't sing anymore and who's very difficult to work and takes credit for everything at the same time? It's just absolutely insane. So, I don't know. 'Cause the worst thing would be to come out with a record that everybody just goes, 'Ugh. Why'd they do that? Why didn't you just leave the good DOKKEN in our memory? Why'd you have to pollute it with that piece-of-shit album?' So there's that scary. I don't know how you get around that. If somebody can't sing, they can't sing."

Circling back to Don's claim that he wrote most of DOKKEN's biggest hit songs without much input from other members of the band, George said: "Don is very good at one thing, and that's self-promotion, lying and using other people's abilities to further his agenda and then taking the credit for it. And he has a gift for it, and I will say, in all deference and honesty, that because he has that gift, I've been able to do things that I wouldn't have been able to do — have a music career — because he's the kind of person that's willing to do things I would never be willing to do: lie, cheat and steal. I'm not saying that I haven't probably cheated a little bit here and there, but Don does it on a whole other level. And he can sleep at night, because he's just wired that way. He can fuck you over and lie and know he's lying and you know that he knows you know he's lying and he doesn't care and he'll just keep lying all the way to the bank and be able to sleep at night. And I don't understand that, but it has benefited me. It's also hurt me in some ways. But it was the reason that we got a record deal initially and it's the reason that we got our foot in the door in a lot of different ways along our path of rock success in the '80s, which got us to where we are now. I've been able to support my family and make a pretty consistent living being a musician, and that's a very, very rare thing. And when I was growing up as a kid, my parents worried about that incessantly. They said, 'Nobody is really gonna be a rock star. That doesn't happen in the real world.' And it happened, on a certain level anyway. So I'm very proud of that. And I'm very proud of the consistency of it more than just… Maybe I never had a huge hit song, maybe I don't have a billion dollars, but I've been able to support my family and consistently work and do healthy, honest work and make some people happy over the whole span of my working life. And I think that's a gift and a beautiful thing. And grudgingly, I have to give Don a little bit of credit there — none of this would have happened [without him]. I'd probably be a district manager for a Payless shoe store or working in the fast-food industry or driving a truck or working in a warehouse if it wasn't for [Don] 'cause I have no education. And I'm not really good at holding down a job because I'm an insomniac and I can't get up in the morning and go to work. I've had every job on the planet — probably had 50 different jobs in my life. I'm a hard worker. I'm willing to work, but I can't hold down a job and I don't have any skills other than my inherent kind of musical aptitude. So, I have to acknowledge that, I think, just to be fair and balanced."

DOKKEN's current lineup consists of Don alongside bassist Chris McCarvill, guitarist Jon Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

DOKKEN's 13th studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", came out in October 2023 via Silver Lining Music. The follow-up to "Broken Bones" was produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken and was mixed by Kevin Shirley (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN).

In an interview with the "On The Road To Rock With Clint Switzer" podcast, Don explained why he and his DOKKEN bandmates decided in the beginning to split their songwriting royalties equally between the four members of the group. He said: "DOKKEN was a very unusual band. When I formed the band, even though I'd been DOKKEN for years and years before I met George and Jeff and Mick — I'd already toured Germany twice — but when we finally came together, I said, 'Let's make it simple. You write a hit, you write a hit, you write a hit, we'll just split it four ways. It doesn't matter who writes what. May the best songs win.' And that's how it was. Now, looking back, I could say it was a stupid thing to do, because I wrote a lot of the hits and I gave up 75 percent to the three of them. So instead of me getting four bucks, I got a dollar and Mick got a dollar and George got a dollar and Jeff got a dollar and the management took theirs and the accountants took theirs, and I thought, 'Jesus.' I go, 'I lost millions' writing 'In My Dreams' and 'Just Got Lucky' or 'Alone Again'. I mean, I can name a bazillion songs that I wrote by myself on the guitar and wrote all the music. But that's the deal we made. We were nobody. We weren't famous. Hey, if George wrote a hit, I get money. Jeff writes a hit, I get money. Mick's the one that scored. He didn't write. We rehearsed the songs for a week, go into a rehearsal studio, flesh it all out, pick the 12 best songs, Mick comes in the studio for four or five days, knocks out his drums and he goes to the drug dealer and then he heads off for the Rainbow [Bar & Grill in West Hollywood]. I said, 'Mick, you scored. You made millions of dollars and all you had to do was spend a couple of weeks playing drums.'"

Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME),Sully Erna (GODSMACK) and Kevin Figueiredo (EXTREME) took part in this year's "Turkey Jam" on Wednesday, November 26 at the Hudson Portuguese Club in Hudson, Massachusetts. Among the tracks which were performed was a cover of ALICE IN CHAINS' "Man In The Box", with Erna on lead vocals, and a rendition of LED ZEPPELIN's "Immigrant Song", with Sully on drums. Fan-filmed video of the concert — courtesy of the Bill Curran channel on YouTube — can be seen below. (Note: After each song, the YouTube player automatically jumps to the next song in the playlist.)

"Turkey Jam" is an annual, family-run rock concert tradition hosted by Bettencourt and his family during Thanksgiving week in Hudson, Massachusetts. The event features the "Bettencourt Clan" performing rock classics for friends and family, celebrating music and togetherness. Tickets often sell out quickly, and the event has been running for several years.

Bettencourt rose to rock superstardom as lead guitarist of the legendary rock band EXTREME. He has parlayed that success into an acclaimed career as a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum artist, songwriter, and producer, working alongside industry titans such as Sir Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, Kanye West, Robert Palmer, Rihanna, Janet Jackson and Perry Farrell, among others.

EXTREME's latest studio album, "Six", was released in June 2023 via earMUSIC.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, Erna has been a musical force since age three, beginning as a drummer before evolving into one of rock's most distinctive vocalists. As frontman of GODSMACK, he has achieved over 20 million albums sold worldwide, three consecutive No. 1 Billboard 200 debuts, and countless sold-out arenas. Beyond music, Erna is a successful producer, actor, and multi-instrumentalist committed to using his platform for positive change.

GODSMACK's "final" album, "Lighting Up The Sky", arrived in February 2023 via BMG.

This past April, GODSMACK announced the departure of longtime guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. The news was shared in a lengthy statement revealing that both men had decided to retire from the band in order "to fulfill their desire to live a more simple and quiet life away from touring."

Our hometown peeps have spoken !

2nd show added on the Eve of Thanksgiving!

Get a night of Rock & Roll into you and...

Posted by Nuno Bettencourt on Thursday, September 11, 2025

During an appearance on the November 25 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx spoke about the band's upcoming "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of CRÜE's groundbreaking 2005-2006 "Carnival Of Sins" tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. The 33-city Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on July 17, 2026 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania at the Pavilion at Star Lake and will feature support acts EXTREME and TESLA. Regarding how the tour came together, Nikki said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were looking for the right time slot and the right venues to play and also the right support. It's not as easy as fans might think when you're a specific genre of music that our fans are gonna like. So the fact that TESLA and EXTREME both wanted to sign on… I really like this package too, because from the very beginning to the very end, it's just a lot of great songs."

Sixx continued: "We talk about songwriting a lot and about how important songs are, and they really make a difference in a band. You could have a band that's a killer band, killer musicians, killer stage show, but they don't have those great songs or a lot of those great songs. And that was always super important to MÖTLEY CRÜE, whether it was stuff like 'Red Hot' off the 'Shout At The Devil', or songs like 'Generation Swine' off of that album. Anything we've done in our career, it was about how good the song was. It didn't matter how it was played. So TESLA and EXTREME, look at the songs they have. We're both fans of both of their bands."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk if MÖTLEY CRÜE reached out to some other bands from the same era or even tried to broker some reunions in order to team up with them for a possible tour, Nikki said: "You look at who's available. You look at who's alive, and then you're, like, 'Well, which bands are still drawing?' I don't wanna name names, but there's a lot of bands that I really like that only have maybe two members and they're playing to 200-to-500-seat clubs, and it's, like, I love 'em, but you're playing an amphitheater that can go up to 40,000 people. You wanna be sure that you got someone that's pulling in people. If you're an EXTREME fan or a TESLA fan and you like some MÖTLEY CRÜE songs, you may get really turned on to more MÖTLEY CRÜE songs or vice versa. MÖTLEY CRÜE fans may know one or two TESLA songs, and then they go see 'em live and they become a bigger fan of their bigger catalog. So it's not as easy as, like I said, as you would think. We go round and round and round. And there might've been a couple bands that agencies talked to their agent and said, 'Hey, why don't you guys just kind of pull it together and it'd be a great summertime for everybody?' And some people are just resistant to that. And I have to respect that."

As for what MÖTLEY CRÜE's setlist for "The Return Of Carnival Of Sins" tour might look like, Nikki said: "We wanna get into some songs that we either haven't played or haven't played the long time. And it's hard, because you have the hits., and you have a lot of hits up there, and then what are you gonna do? Take 'Dr. Feelgood' out and play 'Knock 'Em Dead, Kid' from 'Shout Out The Devil'? I think some people are gonna be disappointed. So how do you get some of those deeper tracks — 'Too Young To Fall In Love', 'Piece Of Your Action' — how do you get those in there and not obliterate the fact that people are there to hear also those big hits. [Those songs were] a big part of them growing up and workout playlists, the whole thing. We hear everything about how our music has been infiltrated into people's lives over the years, whether they were teenagers or young adults. So it's always a balancing act. And it's hard because you have a contract. And fans don't know this, but we have a contract that says we can only play a certain amount of time. And that's because TESLA has this contract, 'cause they have to play, and then EXTREME, and then there's the changeover, and the whole thing is, like, it can't run late. As you know, you run past curfew and then it starts to get into all kinds of problems with stage hands. So it takes a lot of real conversations to be, like, 'Well, how many songs can we take in there?' We've been doing this really fun medley for years, and that's an easy one, to take that medley out and add two really cool tracks in there and people haven't heard in a long time. So we're starting to talk about it. We are, like — what? — eight months away till opening night. So it's nice to have the time."

Sixx also talked about Vince Neil's performance during CRÜE's recent return to the stage in Las Vegas. The residency shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM had initially been set for spring but were rescheduled after the singer revealed he had suffered a stroke last Christmas. Nikki said: "I'm proud of him, the fact that he had the courage to get up there. And when the whole thing went down and he had the stroke and we had to cancel the first residency, there was doubt. We didn't know, like, is he going to recover from this? And I know he had fear. But you put the time in, and there's a lot of stuff that you can do.

"Your health is everything," Sixx explained. "I don't care how big your band is. I don't care how big of a star you are. I don't care how wealthy you tell people you are. If you don't have your health, you've really got nothing.

"We've worked all these years, 40 years together, and been touring the world, and now it's something that could literally make it so he could never get on stage again," Nikki added. "So the fact that he did get on stage… And I'm appreciative that he went out and talked about [his health scare in a couple of interviews recently], because there's a lot of people that when stuff goes wrong in their life — and I could just speak about myself with addiction — people either write them off or they can't survive it. They can't survive it. And we were there, and we were there the whole time along, talking to him and him focusing on doctors and health and stuff. And we spent a lot of time in rehearsal to give him that opportunity to really get that muscle in shape, the vocal cords. And I was so happy. It just sounded so good. And it felt good."

Nikki wasn't the only member of CRÜE who was full of praise for Vince's vocal performances at the Las Vegas residency. During a September 15 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 was asked how he, drummer Tommy Lee and Sixx felt Neil would perform less than a year after his health scare, John 5 said: "Well, we didn't really know, but when we got into rehearsal, we were, like, 'Oh. He's moving good.' And then he started singing, and we were, like, 'Oh my God, he's singing great, actually.' So I don't know what happened, but he is — I've been in the band for three years now, and he's singing so well. I'm, like, 'Wow, this is incredible.' And he looks great. And I just go into his room all the time and tell him how proud I am of him. Because in the [Las Vegas Review-Journal] interview [where Vince first revealed his stroke], he said, yeah, he had to learn how to walk again and all that stuff. I mean, that's serious stuff. So maybe he was just, like, 'Oh, okay, and then just everything clicked. I mean, he's killing it. And there's no tracks or anything like that. He's just singing great… When I heard 'Home Sweet Home', I was, like, 'Holy shit. This is really, really great.' So I'm just so proud of him. And the guys in the band were, like, 'This is some of the best shows we've ever done.' So, we're super, super excited."

In a separate interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, John 5 stated about CRÜE's latest Vegas residency: "The real magic was Vince Neil. What he went through and his struggles and how he performed and how he sang, I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. He did such a great job, and I was so proud of him because I knew what hell he went through, and I was so happy for the guy. What he said — he even said it — he was in a wheelchair and then he had to learn how to walk again. And I was, like, 'Oh my God.' The struggle and how terrifying that must have been. So that was the real magic of that residency. And I'm telling you right now — every single show was amazing. There wasn't a bad show. And I listen and I read those comments and I listen and I'm so focused in on every show. And every show was awesome. I was so proud of him."

Asked if there was a point, in his mind, when he found out what happened to Vince, that he thought he might never be able to play with MÖTLEY CRÜE again, John 5 said: "Well, I wasn't sure. Nobody really knew anything. And I would text with Vince, and he would say, 'Oh, I'm doing good, I'm doing good,' and things like that. But no one really knew what was going on. You heard rumblings. So it was wild."

A couple of months after Vince's health scare, MÖTLEY CRÜE announced that its residency at Sin City's Dolby Live at Park MGM — originally set to run March 28 through April 19 — had been delayed until September. At the time, MÖTLEY CRÜE's statement said only that the singer required a "medical procedure." The CRÜE also canceled May's planned performance at Maryland's Boardwalk Rock festival.

Two months ago, Vince revealed that he had actually had a series of strokes before he suffered the "big one" in his sleep last Christmas night, rendering him unable to get out of bed when he woke up the next day. Speaking to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" on September 24, Neil said he'd had "four strokes throughout the years. Two of 'em I didn't even know I had. One of 'em was a mini stroke that happened and I just lost feeling in my hand. And that was it. And I got over that pretty quickly. But then this last one, it was a big one."

When Trunk asked how doctors could tell that Neil had had previous strokes, the singer explained, "because they could see it in your brain. It's scarred right around the same spot. I had four scars in my brain, and the neurologist said those are all strokes." Neil added that you can have a small stroke and not even realize it.

When MÖTLEY CRÜE originally postponed the Las Vegas residency, the band said it was because Neil needed a "medical procedure," but offered no further details. Neil told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he went to sleep on Christmas night and then woke up and couldn't get out of bed.

"I'm, like, 'What's going on?' And my left leg wouldn't work, and my left arm wouldn't work. So I had to get help out of bed. I couldn't push myself up to get myself comfortable in bed. And I had to have help," he said. "And slowly but surely, the sensation came back in my legs. And I had to learn to walk again. I went from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane to — I can walk now, but for five months it was just off and on, not knowing what's gonna happen. And the doctor said that I probably wouldn't be on stage again. And I was, like, 'No, man. I can't do that.' And so I just tried. I worked my butt off to get back in shape to go on stage. And I was really sad to have to cancel those shows, but I just wasn't ready yet. I wasn't ready to be back on stage yet. It was really sad, but it's really worth it now, 'cause I can get on stage and sing and all that good stuff."

The deluxe box set version of the 40th anniversary of MÖTLEY CRÜE's "Theatre Of Pain" album is out now, featuring reimagined artwork, the newly remastered album on color vinyl and bonus material including a 1985 Long Beach live concert, rare demos and a 76-page hardcover book with never-before-seen photos and memories from that era.

In a new interview with Rad Jet, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman elaborated on his previous comment that "the problem with paying your dues is it never ends, even when you achieve your ultimate goals." Asked if he sometimes still feels that he is paying his dues right now, Marty replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Every single day. And that can be in all caps. It just never, never really ends. I'm not complaining about it, but I think it's interesting that you picked up on that because it's an important thing because, myself included, and most people in their teens think once you've made it and you've made a record, you're done, you're set on a trajectory that's just all rocking the whole time. But to maintain things and to continue to do new things and to continue to create new, exciting, influential things, it's constantly, constantly paying your dues and giving up things that would be possibly more fun. It never changes. It's constant. So, yeah, it never, ever ends. [I'm] always paying dues, always being disappointed — disappointed, but not always with everything, but every time something great happens, it only happens because you've been disappointed before it. You know what I mean? If all things good happened all the time, you wouldn't have anything to compare it to. So there's a lot of hardships that go into every good thing that happens, and it's always worth it, but you just can't be surprised that every single thing that comes your way is not always good. It's, like, bad things paved the way for good things, and it's a very manly thing to be able to overcome those things. And I've been very lucky with that, and I haven't had too many streaks of bad luck or anything, but nothing has come terribly easy."

Friedman defined modern guitar playing with Jason Becker in CACOPHONY, was a key element in the wildly successful rise of thrash pioneers MEGADETH, and with his "Marty-esque" improvisations and exotic fusion of Eastern and Western music, has achieved global success with his 15 solo albums.

Friedman left MEGADETH in 2000 due to creative differences and pursued a solo career, having released his most recent album, "Drama", in 2024.

Friedman first visited Japan in the late 1980s with CACOPHONY, and came to Japan regularly with MEGADETH, all the while studying the Japanese language. After he quit the Dave Mustaine-fronted outfit, he moved to Tokyo.

Since also embracing Japanese music and eventually relocating to Japan, Friedman has cemented his image as a unique and unpredictable solo artist while further solidifying his celebrity rock star status. He has earned several top 10 spots on the Japanese charts and has performed in Japan's largest venues — from the Tokyo Dome to Budokan. He has also guested on over 700 television programs, acted in four motion pictures, and appeared in several commercials and TV ad campaigns. On November 4, 2016, the Japanese government named Friedman an "Ambassador Of Japanese Heritage."

Friedman's autobiography "Dreaming Japanese", was made available last December. Written with veteran music journalist Jon Wiederhorn ("Louder Than Hell", "Raising Hell"),"Dreaming Japanese" debuted at No. 1 on Amazon's Heavy Metal Books chart and has received praise from major outlets including Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Decibel and Publishers Marketplace. The autobiography shares Friedman's inspiring journey from landing a gig as the lead guitarist for legendary thrash metal outfit MEGADETH during their peak years to his emigration from the U.S. to Japan, where he became a prominent television figure and Japanese pop culture household name as well as being appointed an official "Ambassador Of Japan Heritage".

In a new interview with Argentina's Rock & Pop 95.9, legendary bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) was asked what it feels like to be called "the voice of rock." He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, it's a very special thing to be called. I've been called this for so long. I'm very honored to be the voice of rock. It's fantastic. But it's something that I'm very thankful and grateful that I have been given this recognition, and so I'm really happy to be here with you again so I can perform."

Regarding how he takes care of his singing voice, Glenn said: "I do a lot of warmup exercises. I do yoga, I do breathing exercises. I get a lot of sleep. I drink a lot of water."

Hughes also talked about his musical influences, saying: "I've been doing it all my life, from [when I was] a teenager. The music I listened to when I was very young is a cross between American and English. And black American music and British hard rock music, when you combine these genres together, you have the soup that is Glenn Hughes. So it's a mixture, again, of American R&B and British blues music. That's who I am."

On the topic of how his music has evolved over the course of the last few decades, Glenn said:  "I think there's a difference in who I am, really. With each year I grow, there's a new version of me that's being created. When I look back at my life, I look back at the whole thing and realize, as a very young man, I had the success I had as a young man. And all through my life I've had things happen to me — good, bad, weird, wonderful, crazy. But I embrace all of it. I'm not ashamed of anything that I've ever done because I am here now talking to you about what is happening now. It's really important."

Asked if there are any new artists that he listens to, Glenn said: "With the new music, I don't hear a new Prince. I don't hear a new Jeff Buckley. I don't hear a new LED ZEPPELIN. I don't hear a new ROLLING STONES. I don't hear anything. So, for me, I'm waiting to hear something special — I mean, really something special. I'm hoping that happens."

He explained: "Today, with A.I., I think it's very fake. I don't think it's organic. I think behind the scenes, it's not real. It's not the way it should be. What I would like to hear is someone with a piano and a vocal or a guitar and a vocal, and nothing else. Just something very simple, three minutes long, something very organic and something that grabs you immediately, like it used to be. Look, I don't talk about 'like it used to be' for me; I'm thinking it would be better if we could just have something really original and very melodic."

Hughes recently announced a 2026 spring tour across the USA. The trek will kick off on March 27 at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California and wrap up on May 10 at The Marquee in Tempe, Arizona.

"The Chosen Years" show promises to be a dynamic, turn-back-the-clocks, two-hour live extravaganza paying homage to Glenn's illustrious career spanning five decades in music — featuring songs from TRAPEZE, DEEP PURPLE, HUGHES/THRALL, IOMMI/HUGHES and BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, some of music history's most seminal and influential rock and roll groups. Not only that, the shows will also feature brand new music from Glenn's latest solo album, "Chosen".

Joining Glenn on lead vocals and bass guitar will be Søren Andersen on guitar and Ash Sheehan on drums.

"Chosen" came out on September 5 via Frontiers Music Srl.

This year will also saw Hughes busy touring across Europe and South America, with "The Chosen Years" tour starting in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, on September 2 and ending on November 29 in Bogota, Colombia.

Glenn, a native of Cannock, England, absorbed all kinds of influences, including early British hard rock, THE BEATLES and, most importantly, American soul and R&B. The sleek Motown sound from Detroit and the gritty Stax/Volt sound from Memphis left their mark on him.

Hughes first found success in the early '70s with the band TRAPEZE before joining DEEP PURPLE in 1973 during a pivotal lineup change that introduced him and David Coverdale to the group. Despite initial skepticism, the revamped band silenced critics with the release of "Burn" (1974),a powerful album that revitalized PURPLE's sound and remains a classic. During this era, the band headlined the iconic California Jam in front of over 300,000 fans, toured the world aboard their private jet The Starship, and released two more studio albums, "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band", before disbanding in 1976.

Glenn's first solo album "Play Me Out" was released in 1977. He joined former Pat Travers guitarist Pat Thrall to form HUGHES/THRALL, which released an acclaimed self-titled album in 1982. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Glenn Hughes made countless guest appearances (both credited and un-credited) as a vocalist, bass guitarist or songwriter on other artists' albums. The endless list includes — among others — Gary Moore, John Norum and Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH.

Since 1992, Glenn has started a prolific solo career with a dozen studio albums where he explored all the different sides of his songwriting and influences: from hard rock to funk and more contemporary sounds. He collaborated — among others — with such musicians as Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),Dave Navarro, John Frusciante and many others. He also founded or took part in some amazing musical alliances such as CALIFORNIA BREED (with Jason Bonham and Andrew Watt),BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION (with Joe Bonamassa and Jason Bonham) and THE DEAD DAISIES.

Glenn has collaborated with Robbie Williams on his new single "Rocket", which was released on May 22, 2025. The track also features a collaboration from Iommi and will be the first time Glenn has been featured on a record with Tony since 2005, when they released "Fused" together.

Glenn also recently joined forces with SATCHVAI, a new collaboration by legendary guitar icons Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, by writing and singing on their new single "I Wanna Play My Guitar".