Planes, Trains and Dokkenmobiles.

I fly a lot more than most. It's a great time for me to write and sometimes even get some work done. Airports are old hat to me, and save the occasional hick-up, it's not even a thing to be waiting 3 hours for a flight or catching a sky tram to the next terminal. I've gotten so good at packing, I never stress about it, and I can usually get my ass in gear with plenty of time to spare. I've only missed a few flights in my life, and I refuse to ever miss one of I can avoid it.

I often wonder why I never seem to run into any famous people that I actually recognize at airports. You hear the stories all the time, but not from me. I know I've seen athletes, football players inpaticular, but out of uniform, unless they are sporting a Kiesel like beard, I have no idea who they are.

Last week I saw this cut dude with long straight hair walking through Dallas/Ft Worth, and for a minute I thought it might have been John Petrucci from Dream Theater, but I was mistaken.

I always seem to be seated next to other salesmen off to the next assignment. It makes for good conversation sometimes, but just once I'd love to find myself next to Phil Anselmo, Nancy Wilson, or George Clinton. Someone famous for being a musician. That would be fascinating. Maybe Bob Seger? Idk. That's assuming that any of those people actually fly coach and fly during normal business hours.

A safer bet would be someone on the "C" list grinding out a living playing music. Like a Don Dokken or Dickey Betts.

I heard once that you could hire Don Dokken to play an Acoustic Event for $2500.00 + expenses. For >$5K, you and your poser co-workers can sing along to intimate acoustic versions of "Into the Fire," "Alone Again," and "In My Dreams." 

At the time, I actually wanted to do it just to say I did. Mortgage be damned, Dokken is playing my quarterly sales meeting! Alas, it never came to pass. I had a little more $ to throw around back then, but never would have actually pulled the trigger, or would I? I never confirmed that you actually could hire Don at this discounted rate... So don't send me e-mails calling me an asswad.

Am I really blogging about Dokken? Wow.

Maybe the price tag has gone up, as Dokken has been in the news lately. George Lynch was recently featured on Counting Cars, Jeff Pilson is killing it with his Foreigner cover band called "Foreigner," and Mick Brown was touring with Nugent.

The current Dokken buzz is the possibility of a "Classic" Dokken lineup reunion. I'm sure the Rocklahoma crowd is losing sleep with anticipation.

Dokken is an interesting story. At their peak, they were on par with the hair bands of the day, opening for the same acts that Bon Jovi and Ratt were opening for, yet here in the states, they just couldn't get to headline status. The material wasn't the problem. "Tooth & Nail" and "Under Lock and Key" are both very good albums, and who can forget "Dream Warriors?" That riff was probably on par with "Smoke on the Water" to beginner guitar players for a few years.

They had a frontman, a guitar god, music videos and decent sales, but they just couldn't get to headline status.

And then, they broke up. It was well documented and in general a very amicable split (at least in the Press).

Lynch started Lynch Mob, and got right back to making music. Don put out some rubbish solo LP and his star started the rapid decline into fade away status.

Pilson stayed busy. He's a worker. His path took him in interesting directions, including a role in the Mark Wahlburg move "Rockstar," and eventually becoming a fixture in today's version of Foreigner. He's been sober for over two decades and is doing well.

At some point, Don took back the band name Dokken, and started on the cycle of nostalgic touring to grind out a living. When I think about that circuit, I have to assume that LA Guns, Great White and other bands from the era must really love what they do. It's got to be a pain in the ass, but maybe there are hints of life being an endless summer? A Tribe of Lost Boys that never have to completely grow up.

Society in general puts musician stars on strange pedestals. The well grounded ones can deal with it with dignity, some don't. Coming down from the height of popularity has to be strange. In today's market, bands have to actually work to make money. Million dollar deals just don't happen anymore for 99% of working musicians.

And that's what the heroes of past generations are today, working musicians. The market for hair metal ebs and flows, but in general it's very much a shrinking market, which makes it that much harder to earn a living worth a damn. The smart ones saved money, but they still have to work.

According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, Don Dokken has an estimated worth of 10 Million dollars. Yeah right! I'd have to see that bank statement to actually believe that. They haven't had a hit anything in 30 years. That one really made me spit out my coffee. Haha.

Lets assume that Don Dokken at one time was a millionaire. If he invested his money, he probably wouldn't be available for a dude like me to hire off the street to play a birthday party.

I'm pretty sure pissing away a million dollars is pretty easy if you are famous. I've known normal people that pissed away fortunes, and the two new trucks eventually broke down, as did the 4-Wheeler, and the big new house needs a big new roof.

So back to work they all must go because the roof won't fix itself.

I'm a road dog, and like it that way, but it's not for everybody. There is something about being away from home for long periods of time that grows tiresome. Some assume that it's all dinners and socializing, but it's not, and even if it was, that gets old. You have to be solid in your home life, you have to be disciplined enough to not drink away your evenings, and you have to be comfortable in just about any setting. You sometimes have to really dig to find something good about the hotel off of I-64 in the middle of nowhere, where the menu consists of hotdogs from the Circle-K and a bag of Doritos.

You miss events, ball games, supper and TV with the family. You're not around for emergencies and every relationship in your life is somewhat long distance. Sometimes the rewards don't come for long stretches, and you burn out. 

Working musicians know this grind better than anyone, and worse yet, they get to sleep in a bunk (at best) or sitting up in a van (at worst). Makes my life seem simple and comfortable.

Back to Dokken, if Don Dokken were sitting next to me on a plane. I bet he would tell me that getting paid a few thousand dollars for 2 hours work with all expenses covered ain't working, that's the way you do it. Pull that off once a week and you're generating six figures. You can't support a mansion in Beverly Hills, but you can afford a ranch house in Vegas.

Money for nothin' he may say. He also may tell me that he invested well and is worth 10 million dollars. I'd call him a liar.

Nago 

Star Warsy after all these years.

Oh Star Wars... What is your appeal? How did you capture my young mind so well that after 40 years I still get excited?

It is simple I guess. It was an epic space adventure with all the trappings of a Greek tragedy. Good vs Evil, redemption, friendship and family. It's appealing to the young boy still inside me longing to battle evil with a personalized light saber.

For those of us to have grown up on (and with) the Star Wars saga, we've seen its ups and downs. We sat through rereleases, novels and prequels. We debated the relevance of the extra rubbish thrown at us, and we've criticized its creator like a family just before an intervention.

I like to claim the title "nerd," but in truth I am a fan. A true nerd can tell you weird obscure things about a certain topic. In some cases, I can, but with SW I am truly a nerd's padewan. Yes, I can tell you about the series from a fans perspective, but I don't always remember supporting characters and I can't tell you weird details about some Planetary system mentioned breifly in Revenge of the Sith. 

With that in mind, maybe just being a fan is better? I can actually enjoy the movies and television series without getting overly worked up or bogged down if I don't agree with the direction.

I was disappointed by the prequels, and some things do bug me about them still, but I understand that the author took necessary steps to get his story told. It's George Lucas' baby afterall. I couldn't have done any better.

Recently, I read somewhere that a true fan should also watch the animated series to understand the back stories in better detail, so I found myself finally sitting down and watching "Rebels" and "Clone Wars."

The former I really enjoy. New characters causing a minor headache for the Empire set between chapters III and IV. It's crafty, and looks to be even cooler with season 2 right around the corner. Darth Vader is finally getting some love and I'm excited for that alone. "Rebels" is so well done that I felt forced (pun intended) to look back and discover the Clone Wars series, which is about as bad as I assumed. 

I never did like how they developed the Aniken character in the prequels, and the Clone Wars series is focused around his "adventures" during the war just before his demise (between episodes II and III). Count Doku is reduced to a Scooby Doo villain, constantly foiled by the meddling Jedi in installments that go no where.

I just watched an episode where Aniken had to rescue Jabba the Hut's son, foiling Doku's plot to win the loyalty of the Hut Clan to the Federation. 

It's really not great. The story line hasn't advanced much (I'm starting season 2), and a whole new set of questions have me scratching my head like "huh?"

Aniken has a padewan? That's kind of weird.

As far as I'm concerned, the prequels will never matter as much as the originals,  and the Clone Wars are very much a continuation of that shit show... but it did introduce an entire new generation to the franchise, so it's not all bad. I will continue watching so I'm in the loop and hope to find a peice of something palatable to keep my interest before I deem it too stupid to watch.

Of course the big news is Chapter VII coming to Theaters in December 2015. The blogs are a bustle with info about the plot, the character interaction and advancement of the story.

Here's what we think we know. It has something to do with a light saber falling into the hands of some people that would like to return it to its owner, one Luke Skywalker. Luke has aged and grown powerful like his predecessor, Obi Wan, but standing in the way is a new band of dark siders. Drama ensues.

Supposedly Han Solo bites it at some point, but we will see. I'd rather watch and find all that out in December.

The best any of us can hope for is a back to basics storyline filled with adventure and intrigue. The franchise lends itself well to the Luke era because it's not overly political. It's simpler than the prequels, and I for one am looking forward to turning into a wide eyed child for a few hours when it comes out. I may even see it twice.

The force runs strong in my family. I have it, my father has it, and my sister has it. My kids definitely have it, and my cat has it too. Our turtle has it, my Lisa has it, and the kid who made my coffee at Starbucks has it as well.

Nago