DARRELL "DIMEBAG" ABBOTT (PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN): 20 YEARS AGO TODAY DARRELL "DIMEBAG" ABBOTT WAS MURDERED

 

  20 years ago today on 12/8/2004 we lost PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist DARRELL "DIMEBAG" ABBOTT . On 12/8/1980 we lost BEATLES guitarist, vocalist, peace activist JOHN LENNON, as both musicians died at the hands of murderers. .

 

Also,  today would have JIM MORRISON'S (vocalist of THE DOORS) birthday. 

 

 

 FROM UTOPIA RECORDS: 

TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY WE LOST THE LEGEND ALERT!!!

This one still hurts, an absolutely devastating waste of a human life for no reason.

Pantera's legendary guitarist DARRELL LANCE ABBOTT aka DIMEBAG DARRELL aka DIAMOND DARRELL, may you Rest In Peace for all eternity.

You will NEVER be forgotten.

#panteraofficial #dimebagdarrell #diamonddarrell #utopiarecordssydney

Utopia Records - Home Of Metal, DONUTS AND DEANS SINCE 1978

 

 

FROM MARK WORKMAN: 

 

Years before I began writing my first novel, FOREVER WE DREAM, I had planned to write a book called HUNGER FOR HELL. It was to be a memoir of my 33 years on the road with the famous heavy metal bands for whom I had worked as a tour manager and lighting designer. However, each time I attempted to type that critical first sentence, I couldn’t do it because I didn’t want to remember the things I had tried so hard to forget. I was still struggling with alcoholism back then, and the last thing I wanted was to face my ugly past.

Twenty years ago, I was on tour in Dallas, Texas, with the heavy metal band Machine Head. “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, the celebrated guitarist of Pantera and Damageplan, his brother Vinnie, the drummer of both bands, and some members of their entourage had come to see Machine Head perform at Trees, a club in Dallas, on August 18, 2004. It was an incredible show, and the boys in Machine Head were happy that their friends in Damageplan had come to see it. The Abbott brothers were from the area, and spotting them around town was like seeing Elvis in Memphis.

Less than four months later, on the morning of December 9, I was standing outside Machine Head’s tour bus at the Beogradski sajam - Hala 12 in Belgrade, Serbia, waking up with a Marlboro Red and a Diet Coke, my favorite breakfast at the time. Lunch was usually a few Stella Artois beers, and dinner consisted of many triple shots of Russian vodka with bits of food mixed in to con myself into thinking I was being healthy.

My phone rang, and my fingers, numb from the cold Serbian morning, fumbled to answer the call. On the line, I heard the somber voice of my friend, Mark Christensen, the lighting director at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. I stood there freezing while listening to Mark tell me that a few hours earlier, a lunatic with a gun had run onstage during Damageplan’s show and murdered Dimebag, Jeffrey "Mayhem" Thompson (Damageplan's head of security who tried to stop the shooter), Nathan Bray (a fan who tried to help the victims), and Erin Halk (an Alrosa Villa employee who also intervened). Minutes later, the deranged assailant’s rampage was stopped by Columbus police officer James Niggemeyer with a shotgun blast.

Stunned by what Mark had told me, I went inside Machine Head’s tour bus to break the devastating news to singer/guitarist Robb Flynn, bassist Adam Duce, guitarist Ahrue Luster, and drummer Dave McClain. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do as a tour manager. I pulled back the curtain on Robb’s bunk and shook him awake. When I told him what I had learned, I heard Adam scream, “What?” from a nearby bunk. None of us could believe it was true until we called the band’s manager, Joey Huston, who told us it was all over MTV in America.

Later that day, a friend of ours came down to the venue with her eight-and-a-half-month-old son. They attended a press conference that Machine Head held for the local media. Robb held the adorable little boy, and his happy presence helped us forget, if only for a moment, the horrible event that had happened in America. Later that evening, our friend came back to the venue with her husband and stayed for the show. Like true professionals, the boys in Machine Head fought through the pain, delivered an unforgettable performance, and dedicated the show to Dime and the others who had lost their lives in Ohio.

The next morning, I answered my phone again and heard the voice of our friend, but this time she was crying. After she and her husband arrived home from the Machine Head show the night before, they found their baby boy dead in his crib. To respect her privacy, I won’t say her name. Who knows what that little boy might have become today at the age of 20? I’m sure Dimebag would still be thrilling the world with his guitar virtuosity.

I never knew Dime that well, but I was friends with some of the people in his organization. Today marks the 20th anniversary of his murder. I don’t like to think about that day in Belgrade because of those two horrible memories. I wouldn’t even try to imagine the pain their family and friends still feel, twenty years later.

Some of the small details of these memories have become blurry as the years go by. Many of the people involved may remember the details better than I do. What’s important is that we remember. No one can take away our memories, which is why they’re the most valuable things we possess.

Two and a half weeks ago, I reached my ten-year sober anniversary. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during the past decade, it’s the importance of talking about the reasons I used to drink so heavily. Maybe that’s why I’m writing this. I know it has made me feel better. Put pen to paper—maybe it will work for you, too.

 FROM MIKE PORTNOY (DREAM THEATER): 

I post this photo every Dec 8th to remember the two amazing people that were taken from us all way too soon on this day (44 years ago and 20 years ago). One was my hero and one was a friend. Miss them both dearly... #ripjohnlennon #ripdimebag

FROM ABC NEWS: 

 

WATCH Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon: A WABC-TV special: https://7ny.tv/3haFQoE

Today we’re remembering cultural icon and The Beatles co-founder John Lennon.

We've perhaps never been more of an "Eyewitness" to a story as Channel 7 producer, Alan Weiss, happened to be at Roosevelt Hospital on December 8, 1980, the night Lennon was murdered.

Our special "Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon," tells the story that shook the world from a perspective you've never seen.

 

 

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-R.I.P. DIMEBAG