UFO have officially recruited former EUROPE/DOKKEN guitarist John Norum as a replacement for Michael Schenker. Norum was last rumored to be possibly joining the band back in 1996 when the "Walk On Water" tour went belly-up, but now after a recent stint with DOKKEN, he finally joins the band officially.

L/P, the new group featuring former DOKKEN members George Lynch (guitar) and Jeff Pilson (bass/vocals), are about to sign a domestic deal with Spitfire Records and "we're over-the-top excited about it," Pilson wrote on his official web site. "A final release date has yet to be named, but my guess is March or April, shouldn't be any later than that. The label has been so supportive of the music and direction, and that was pretty much what made us go with them. I'm going to be working hard with them to try and incorporate as much of the Internet fan base as we can, so all of you can be active participants in the record campaign if you choose. We'd like to organize street teams, etc. in the hopes that more people will hear this than the usual release. It's funny how a lot of new heavy bands are starting to acknowledge us [DOKKEN, George, etc.] as influences, so maybe a new audience will appreciate what we do. I would be very happy if the record is made aware to anyone who will listen and they have an opportunity to judge it on its own merits. This could be an exciting year for us, and I'm hoping that everyone here can be an integral part of it. For those of you wanting to join in, get ready to start writing a lot of e-mails!"

In the same update on his web site, Pilson also once again addressed his decision to file a lawsuit against two of his ex-bandmates, singer/guitarist Don Dokken and drummer Mick Brown, to dissolve their musical and financial partnership.

"[The lawsuit] was never really intended to be a public issue, but apparently the rock press has a system for discovering any lawsuits filed which involve people in their data base," he said. "This suit is strictly a business matter, which I've been left no choice but to pursue. However this in no way affects what DOKKEN was, or what any of us have ever contributed to it. Someone on the message board posted something about how maybe we all should never have met, and it made him or her sick! I gotta say, I can relate to that! If I were to read about this kind of thing, I'd probably say, 'how pathetic!' And you know what, it IS pathetic, and unfortunate. But I will never say that I wish we were never to have become a band. Even amongst the dreadful string of memories, I still remain extremely proud of the work we did and the music we made. It is time to move on, however, and I think everyone involved owes the franchise DOKKEN a great deal of respect, and we'll all have to trust that the outcome will be positive for all parties. I'm sure it will, and I'd like nothing more than for everyone to get a clean start and their fair share of opportunities. I trust it will all be good in the end."

DOKKEN mainman Don Dokken, former BATON ROUGE/JOHN NORUM singer Kelly Keeling and veteran producer Michael Wagener (i.e. SKID ROW, HAMMERFALL, ACCEPT) are ensconced at a Tennessee studio mixing DOKKEN's forthcoming CD, entitled Long Way Home, for a late spring/early summer release through CMC International Records. Among the tracks that are tentatively scheduled to appear on the album are the following:

01. Sunless Days

02. Magic Road

03. Little Girl

04. Heart Full of Soul (YARDBIRDS cover)

05. Goodbye My Friend

07. You

08. Everyone Needs to Be With Someone

09. I've Found

According to Keeling, the song "I've Found" “may be my favorite song that I have written with Don. [The final] mix of it just floored me. The cellos are brilliant. I was allowed to play a classical guitar melody during the intro and mid section, along with some others I had not done so well previously that we were stuck with which kind of glued and married all the parts together. An honor since I am not really part of the band. There are no drums and we also added a proper piano part. It was a great vocal performance from Don. I don't think he has sung that well on a recording ever and it's an indication of what is to come from him in the future, brilliance. You will soon hear what I mean from this song. The song 'You' is also a monster, Michael Wagener's favorite track. It's just amazing and heavy. He is the best mixer I have worked with next to Pat Regan & Phil Kaffel.”