Music Blog
'80s Metal Time Warp: Don Dokken to Play Planet Gemini
December 4, 2012
The elite circle of 1980s heavy metal rocker royalty adhered to a set of stringent aesthetic guidelines: denim vests, feathered and/or bleached hair, leopard prints, women's make-up (on guys), boas and leather pants two sizes too small with codpiece (optional). Aside from finger-tap guitar solos—in the middle of every song—and a lead singer who was able to deliver falsetto and vibrato vocals simultaneously, there wasn't nearly as much time and effort put into the music side of the genre. But for some reason, nearly 30 years after many of these bands peaked, fans continue to come out in large numbers to see favorites like Poison, Ratt and W.A.S.P., who have been resurfacing over the past decade for reunions, festivals and testimonials about sobriety.
You can add Dokken to the list of '80s metal outfits resurrected from the Hair Band Graveyard. More specifically, it's Don Dokken (pictured above, second from left in sailor hat). And Monterey's Planet Gemini is hoping all the '80s metal heads come out of the woodwork Saturday, Dec. 8 when the Dokken frontman performs—mostly the old hits—solo. Don still takes pride in the fact that he was a part of the genre. Here's a little nugget from his website: "[Dokken's] belief is that rock will rise again, and he can take pride in the fact that he and Dokken will have helped pave the way." The video below, of one of Dokken's hits "Breaking the Chains," has racked up nearly 900,000 hits on YouTube. That's one example of just how adored this music still is.
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