List of tributes to Dimebag Darrell

I first met Dime in 1991. I was in Toronto preparing for the 'Painkiller' tour. I had MuchMusic TV on and saw this guy talking about metal and wearing a 'British Steel' shirt. From what he was saying and the PANTERA video that aired I knew right away that this man was a guitar god!

"...called MuchMusic and spoke to Dime and that night went to a club and hung with the band. We jammed 'Metal Gods'. From that point on, he and the rest of the band became solid friends. My gut feeling was that this band would be huge.

So PANTERA toured with PRIEST all over Europe. Many a night I would stand off stage and watch them tear up city after city leaving everyone stunned by their intense performances. It was a thrill to watch and hear Dime invent and advance with his playing. Soon the world became Panterarised!

Of course, so much has happened since those early times and I feel that it's important now that however we take the turn of events in recent years we all stay true to the same belief that Dimebag had about his love of metal, which was to play your heart out and be real wherever you are! Some things that happen in life make no sense at all, but out of pain comes strength, and I know the metal community will take that strength and use it as an enduring memory for Dimebag. "Love never dies."

He lived each and everyday to the fullest. In fact, I never could believe how he could even function (both on and off stage) with the way he partied and lived life. I feel so sorry for Vinnie and the rest of the band and family. Words really cannot describe the heartache I've had all day. This is as tragic and unbelievable as Lennon getting killed. But this hits home even closer because he was one of us.

In 1985 I was fortunate enough to meet both Darrell and his brother in Dallas on tour. The first thing me and my friend did as soon as that tour was over, was to head straight back to Dallas and hang out with Darrell and Vinnie for a long time, cuz they were the coolest mother fuckers that we had met after criss-crossing the states for three months. That was the beginning of a friendship that was anchored in love, respect, fun, outrageousness, music, booze, sweat, late nights, early mornings, hangovers, headaches, pounding eardrums, sore bodies... the list goes on.

There's a tendency in these fucked up moments to use the word "I" a lot and focus on one's own feelings of pity and shock... so instead let it just be known that through these eyes Darrell was incredibly warm, open, fun, nutty, forthcoming, talented, embracing, unpretentious, accommodating and he always had a very attractive innocence about him that obviously made him never threatening and always welcoming.

Darrell and his brother were the cornerstone of musical adventures that were always groundbreaking, pushing boundaries, challenging to themselves and to their fans, respected by their peers and always true musicians' musicians, and today the rock world is worse off because of this untimely and senseless waste.

Much love and respect and thanks for letting me be a small part of your life and I know you are already having fun and throwing it down with Bon Scott, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Jimi, Cliff B., and the rest of the musicians and troublemakers that you are hanging with so prematurely.

I remember when Fieldy took me my first Pantera concert, back in '92, '93. We both started breaking out crying because it was so fucking insane, so intense. You just get goose bumps, how badass that shit is . . . I feel numb that that shit can even happen. The metal community is such a tight community, everyone is just feeling it. I feel so fucking bad for his brother because those two were inseparable. I could tell Darrell was so full of fucking life and such a cool guy -- he was just the life of the parrty. He knew how to live life to its fullest, took everything in excess and just made life bigger than it is. The guy was so fucking cool.

To say that Machine Head were devastated... there aren't even words. We found out about this unbelievable event while in Belgrade, Serbia. The sports arena we were playing had no phone lines, no internet, virtually zero cell reception, no TV, no heat. We had nothing but patchy info for the next few days as we played more shows in Eastern Europe, and frustration started to boil. It was impossible to call anyone, check e-mail, anything. It's only now that I've finally been able to sit down and read everything surrounding what happened.

That night, we dedicated "Descend The Shades Of Night" to Dimebag, a man who inspired us in so many ways. I lost it on stage. We all lost it on stage. It's horrible. Things like this just don't happen. Musicians don't get KILLED on stage... while they're PLAYING... what the fuck? What the fuck is wrong with people?

Dimebag was one in a million. He was the Randy Rhoads, the Jimi Hendrix of our time. I'm not gonna try and make it look like Dime and I were best buddies, we weren't... but I would certainly call him a friend. I met Dimebag for the first time on Ozzfest in '97. He invited Logan and I into their dressing room, and I remember being so fuckin' stoked to be hanging out in the Pantera dressing room, like I had made it into some cool guy club. I loved Pantera, and tried my hardest to mask my excitement...I didn't do a very good job, 'cause Darrell kept coming up to me and saying "Damn dude, you look like you're doin' all right!", and all I could muster in the moment was "...yeah". He offered me a gazillion shots of whiskey that day, and over the next couple of months we hung out...not a lot, as I tried not to be a fan boy, but I couldn't help it, they were fucking amazing.

Eventually they asked us to support them on their headline run for Trendkill. It was here that we learned that it was okay to treat your support bands like equals - something we continue to practice to this day. That tour was one of the funnest, craziest, greatest god damned tours we have ever done, and none of us have, or will ever forget the opportunity, nor the experience. Like it was yesterday, I remember one night, Dimebag got wasted (as he sometimes did)...but I mean, WASTED! ...and during Coal Chamber's set, he grabs my backup guitar, goes out on stage and starts "air guitaring" with them during one of their songs. Coal Chamber looked around nervously and just kinda went with it... he then proceeded to smash my guitar down on the stage, completely shattering the neck. I thought to myself, "uh... okay, we're sorta on next... what do I do?" Then I figured, "eh, fuck it, I'll worry about it tomorrow".

After our set, we go out to watch Pantera. And let me just say, that to watch this man, who literally could not talk backstage, thinking all the while, "oh my GOD, this is gonna be a train wreck"... we all just stood there with our jaws on the floor as that motherfucker went out and played a perfectly fucking FLAWLESS show. Every rhythm, every lead... just NAILED it. It was in-fucking-human.

So the next day I go up to him and say "Hey man, do you remember what you did to my guitar last night?" He's like "Uh... refresh my memory"... so I say, "You... uh... smashed the neck in half"...to which he says "No shit dude?! I'll take care of you, no problem, don't worry!" He then had his tour manager give us TWICE as much money as it would cost to replace / repair the neck. And then a week later, while we're ON STAGE in Chicago, he comes out, and brings both Logan and I brand new, top-of-the-line Dimebag Darrell signature guitars - these things were worth probably 2500 dollars each - and he whispers in my ear, "Sorry about the neck, Carjacker" (a nickname he had for me)... I mean, COME ON!?

The next time we saw him, he played us some "just finished" mixes for the then-unreleased Reinventing The Steel record at he and Vinnie's Club. We were all worshipping. We drank shitloads, and he even rocked on the vodka with us, rather than the whiskey, just 'cause he remembered that The Head liked vodka. A week later I get a package at our hotel in Pittsburg... he had sent 4 one-liter bottles of expensive-ass Ketel One vodka, all the way from Texas, with a note that read "Carjacker, it was killer hanging out with you the other night. Remember, it's Goddamn Electric! -Your brother Dime". That's the type of guy he was, such a giving person. 200 bucks worth of vodka? Bah, no problem.

The last time I saw him was at Download / Donington this year. He told me he was "blown away" by our new record. "Record of the year" he kept saying. To hear him say that really meant a lot. I mean it REALLY meant a lot. To be honest, and this is just a hunch, but I think it was the first record of ours that he really liked. My impression was always that he thought our other records were... good.

So he's backstage warming up on my Black V after his guitar was rushed onstage, and he promises to send me more vodka for letting him "warm up"... to which I reply "Dude, don't even think about it".

Right after Download I got to thinking about he and Vinnie, and I ended up faxing him a letter to wish him well with Damageplan, remind him that he'd better not be thinking about sending me bottles of vodka, and to tell him how much of an influence Pantera was on me / us, and in particular, his playing, his guitar tone, the lyrics about unity - everything - had been on Machine Head, especially early on. It was something I'd always wanted to say to him, and even though we had toured with them, twice even...for some reason I always clammed up, or got insecure about saying it when I was around him.

Right before we went out on this last tour, he calls me up around midnight, I'm driving home at the time and happen to be awake. He tells me he has someone who wants to talk to me, so I say "Oh, yeah?", and he puts me on the phone with this HUGE Machine Head fan... apparently the kid had walked into this Mexican restaurant, ran into Darrell, and during their conversation they both got to talking about how much they loved Through The Ashes..., and the kid says to Darrell, "Robert Flynn's my idol, I'd do anything to meet him". So Dime whips out his phone and says, "Let's call him!". So there I am, talking to this kid for like 15 minutes, mostly about how much we both love Pantera...soon afterward he puts Dimebag back on, and we talk for another half hour or so, mostly about the aforementioned letter. He told me that he was genuinely moved by it.

In retrospect, I'm really glad that I finally got to say those things to him.

He had more of an effect on the four of us than he could possibly imagine.

Some people consider it "un-metal" to be a giving person, but I tell you what, that guy right there was one of the most giving people that you could ever meet, and he was as Metal as it fuckin' gets.

To Nathan Bray, the courageous fan who jumped on stage to perform CPR on Darrell and died trying to save his life...you are a true hero, and your death is no less significant than Dime's, nor were the lives of Erin "Stoney" Halk or Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson.

To James Niggemeyer, the policeman that shot and killed that twisted freak that had the gall to call himself a "fan", I commend you. You deserve a medal of honor.

To Blabbermouth.net, and the people that post there, you have all never stood taller in my eyes. The wealth of information that has been brought forward by the editor, and the class with which it has been presented, is truly unprecedented. In addition, the level of respect and empathy shown to each other - and especially to the mother of Nathan Bray, who wrote that heart-wrenching letter - was sincerely admirable.

To the politicians who are claiming that this is what Heavy Metal breeds. You don't know what the hell you're even talking about.

And lastly, to the hatemongering son-of-a-bitch named William Grim, from conservative website The Iconoclast, who wrote the most disgraceful, classless article I've ever read entitled "AESTHETICS OF HATE: R.I.P. DIMEBAG ABBOTT, & GOOD RIDDANCE".

You WILL burn in hell!

What would YOU know about love or values? What would YOU know about giving to the world? All that you know is teaching prejudice, and your heart is as black as the "ignorant, filthy, and hideously ugly, Heavy Metal fans" you try and paint in your twisted, fictitious ramblings. It's because of people like YOU, that there are Nathan Gale's in this world, NOT the Dimebags and Metal musicians who work to unite people through music.

You just don't get it.

You say, "Americans should aspire to greatness". Well, Dimebag was an American that did more than "aspire" to greatness. He was an American that "achieved" it. And you will NEVER know what it is to taste greatness William Grim. Because in order to achieve greatness, you must first believe in the greatness of people, no matter how "ugly" or "fat" or "stupid" they are, on the outside...and Dimebag did just that.

Long live Dimebag Darrell in the hearts of us all.

Dimebag brought the life out of everyone he met, why would anyone take his????

My phone has been ringing off the hook, everyone asking if it was true?

I didn't want to accept the reality, HOW COULD DARRELL BE GONE?

I just saw him! and just listened to the message he left me today.

I loved him, he was a true Friend. The phone calls in the middle of the night , talking about this and that. Playing KINGS X or KISS licks over the phone. I remember this one time we were both going through these anxiety attacks. I never had them, nor did he. We were talking about how we stopped them. I quit drinking alcohol and coffee and he said that he started drinking MORE ALCOHOL! HAHAHA, that was him. I had some great times with him, he always put you in a good mood, DAMMIT! What the fuck is wrong with people?? How the fuck does someone get into a club with a loaded gun, HOW?? WHY??

I thought for a minute about this - John Lennon was murdered the same way on the same DAY, some strange coincidence? (sorry, I'm delirious right now)

This guy didn't wait till after the show, he did it on stage. How fucking horrific. All those people freaking out, watching this happen. This will change things for the music world. It won't be the same vibe at shows... this is scary.

Dime was special, those who knew him would attest to that....

My heart goes out to Vinnie and Rita as well as the others who were injured.

Go play your PANTERA CDs or your Damage Plan CD.

Remember him for his music and his guitar playing, he was the best!

I love you Bro', I'll miss your face. Give him a double. whewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

cryin' and sobbin' - CB

All I can convey at this moment are my condolences to Rita and Vinnie and the whole family. My heart is with you.

Love, Scott

PS - I'm stunned. I don't have words for this. My logical brain keeps trying to make sense of it. It's just horrible. Humanity is an oxymoron.