RIP "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott

[Steve]

I was holding back posting this for the last few days cause I might still be in shock over his death. I have been working concerts and hanging out with rock bands since I was 16 years old in Southern California. His death like others this year, has hit a little too close to home. I feel lucky enough to have gone to many Pantera Concerts, worked too many shows to count, seeing how his life ended is not how anybody that knew him thought it would end.
RIP Dime .... I had a drink for you last night.




"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was shot dead at a rock concert on Wednesday aged 38, was the lead guitarist of the hard rock bands Pantera and Damageplan, and one of the most influential musicians on the heavy metal scene.
Beefy, bearded and hairy with an armful of tattoos, Abbott was the epitome of the hard-living, heavy-drinking rocker. But he had an undeniable talent, and when Pantera, his first band, hit the big time in the early 1990s, his frenetic, ear-shattering guitar riffs re-defined the heavy rock sound.

[Steve]

News Story from China

News Stories have appeared on websites from around the world about his death...
This one came from China:


Top metal guitarist "Dimebag" shot dead
BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot to death as he took the stage Wednesday with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio.
Three other people also were fatally shot before a police officer shot the gunman to death.
The deaths shook the heavy-metal music industry, and fans flooded Web sites to share their shock.
"I'm absolutely beside myself with grief. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would do this," said Ozzy Osbourne, who often toured with Pantera.
Mark Hunter, lead singer of the metal band Chimaira, said Abbott "changed the way metal music was written with his guitar playing. I don't know anybody in a band who hasn't stolen a few guitar riffs from him."
A fan posting on the band's Web site read, "This is the worst day in metal history."
Pantera's fast, aggressive sound attracted a massive cult following in the early 1990s, and its third release, "Far Beyond Driven," debuted at No. 1 in 1994, surprising chart-watchers and critics alike. Other hit albums were "The Great Southern Trendkill" and "Reinventing The Steel," and a song by the band became the Dallas Stars hockey team's signature tune in 1999.
"When you think of '90s heavy metal or hard rock, Pantera is one of these seminal bands. They are quoted today as influences by many bands," said Tom Calderone, MTV's executive vice president. "Hard rock has lost a legendary guitar player."
Pantera was nominated for Grammies for best metal performance in 1995 for "I'm Broken" and in 2001 for "Revolution Is My Name." The video "The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits" hit the top 10 for music-video sales earlier this year; another video, "3-Watch It Go," went top-10 in 1998.
Darrell Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, left Pantera last year and produced Damageplan's debut album, "New Found Power," which was released in February.
Born in Dallas on Aug. 20, 1966, Darrell Abbott was introduced to music by his father, country songwriter Jerry Abbott, who owned a recording studio. The younger Abbott gravitated toward rock music and the styles of Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads.
The Abbott brothers and bassist Rex Rocker formed Pantera in 1983. Then Abbott went by the name "Diamond Darrell." Abbott later took the moniker "Dimebag" and was often referred to as "Dime" by fans and friends.
Early on, Pantera leaned more toward hard rock, but the band began to develop a heavier sound after singer Phil Anselmo joined in 1987. After releasing a few independent albums, Pantera signed with Atlantic Records in 1990. It was also the period when Abbott came into his own as a guitar player, developing his heavy, frenetic sound that can first be heard on the 1990 album "Cowboys from Hell" and then on the 1992 standout "Vulgar Display of Power."
Dimebag's exceptional guitar playing and flair for partying endeared him to friends and fans, and the band was known for post-concert backstage parties spiked with Crown Royal whiskey, said Paul Gargano, executive editor of Metal Edge magazine.
"He was just a huge fan of rock music and heavy metal and the lifestyle," said Gargano, who considered the guitarist a good friend.
Despite Dimebag's nickname, Gargono said, "It was funny because I never saw him smoke pot all the time I knew him."
Pantera's manager Kim Zide-Davis, who worked with Abbott from 1994 to 2003, called him larger than life, and said she often told the guitarist he was "a living cartoon character."
"He would do things that you wouldn't believe a real person was capable of," she said.
In recent years, Abbott also made recording appearances on Nickleback's "The Long Road" and with Frehley, of the band Kiss.
Besides the Abbott brothers, Damageplan also includes vocalist Patrick Lachman and bassist Bob Zilla.

[Steve]

More stories...

Shooter had grudge against rock band

Friends say his behavior frightened them
Saturday, December 11, 2004 Anita Chang
Associated Press
Columbus- The man who shot former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott lost friends as his behavior became bizarre, accusing the heavy metal band he obsessed over of trying to steal his identity, a onetime friend said.

On Wednesday night, Nathan Gale, a 25-year-old former Marine, charged the stage at a show by Abbott's new band, Damageplan, and gunned down four people, including Abbott, before a policeman shot him to death.

Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said on Friday that she did not know how many shots Gale fired, but he did reload his Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic handgun once.

The rampage ended when Officer James D. Niggemeyer, armed with a shotgun, shot Gale as he was threatening to kill a hostage, police said. Niggemeyer, 31, a five-year member of the force, has not been available for comment.

The officer gave a brief interview to his superiors at the scene and then was given time off, Mercurio said. As a standard procedure, Niggemeyer will testify before an internal review board next week, Mercurio said.

"People forget sometimes because they see these cop shows on television that police officers are real people," Mercurio said. "He had to see what was happening in there, he had to take the life of someone, and I think all of this could finally be setting in."

Fans who witnessed the shooting said Niggemeyer probably saved lives by facing a determined shooter even before backup officers arrived.

Police said they still didn't know Gale's motive. Some witnesses said Gale yelled accusations that the revered guitarist broke up Pantera, but police had not verified those reports.

"He was off his rocker," former friend Jeramie Brey told The Columbus Dispatch.

Gale, who lived in Marysville, once showed up at Brey's house with some songs he had written. Brey said the pages of lyrics were copied from Pantera. He told Brey that he planned to sue Pantera over the lyrics and for stealing his identity, Brey said.

"He used to be Pantera's No. 1 fan and has liked them for as long as I've known him," former friend Dave Johnson said.

Brey and Johnson said Gale's behavior frightened them and they distanced themselves from him several years ago. Johnson said Gale talked and laughed to himself and once appeared to be holding an imaginary dog.

"He just kind of snapped," Johnson said. "He went from being a cool guy to being a guy you didn't want to be around."

Gale's mother, Mary Clark, could not be reached for comment.

The shootings at the Alrosa Villa club came just after the opening notes by Damageplan, the band formed by Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott.

Gale also killed Erin Halk, 29, a club employee who loaded band equipment; fan Nathan Bray, 23; and band bodyguard Jeff Thompson, 40. Two other band employees, tour manager Chris Paluska and drum technician John Brooks, remained hospitalized Friday with bullet wounds. Paluska was listed in serious condition and Brooks in good condition.

[Steve]

Crazy Nate

From Australia's The Age .. theage.com.au

Nightclub shooter known as 'Crazy Nate'
December 11, 2004 - 4:19PM

The man who gunned down former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott during a US concert was an obsessed fan of Abbott's former band and people had been alarmed by his bizarre behaviour, a former friend said.

Nathan Gale had told friends that Pantera musicians had stolen lyrics from him and were trying to steal his identity, former friend Dave Johnson said.

Gale, 25, charged the stage in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday at a show by Abbott's new band, Damageplan, and gunned down four people including Abbott before a policeman shot him dead. Two others were wounded.

Investigators said they may never know Gale's motive.

Some witnesses said he yelled accusations that the influential heavy metal guitarist broke up Pantera, but police had not verified those reports.

Gale once showed up at a friend's house with songs he said he had written, said Johnson, 27.

He wanted to sing the songs with Johnson's band but one musician said 'No' because the lyrics were copied from Pantera.
"He'd been kind of weird before that. So we thought it was another 'Crazy Nate' thing," Johnson said.

"That was our nickname for him, 'Crazy Nate'."

Johnson said Gale then calmly said that Pantera had stolen the lyrics from him and he was going to sue them. He also said the band was trying to steal his identity.

Johnson said Gale was a "hardcore" Pantera fan and "that was all he listened to".

Johnson said he last saw Gale in their home town of Marysville, about 40 km north-west of Columbus, about six months ago.

He had distanced himself from Gale by then because of odd behaviour that included talking and laughing to himself and once appearing to be holding an imaginary dog, he said.

An imposing figure at 183cm, Gale had made people uneasy at a Marysville tattoo parlour, staring and locking them into conversations about heavy metal music.

When he played offensive line for the semi-pro Lima Thunder football team, he had psyched himself up before games by piping Pantera music into his headphones, coach Mark Green said.

Gale had had minor run-ins with police since 1997 but wasn't considered a troublemaker, authorities said.

He served in the US Marines in North Carolina until November 2003, when he was discharged after less than half of the typical four year enlistment, Corps spokeswoman Gunnery Sergeant Kristine Scarber said. She declined to explain the discharge, citing privacy rules.

The violence at the Alrosa Villa club came just after the opening chords by Texas-based Damageplan, the band formed by Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, after they left Pantera.

Gale dodged two band members, grabbed Darrell Abbott and shot him at least five times in the head, witnesses and police said.

In less than five minutes, Gale had also killed Erin Halk, 29, a club employee who loaded band equipment; fan Nathan Bray, 23; and band bodyguard Jeff Thompson, 40.

The band's drum technician, John Brooks, was released from Riverside Hospital on Friday, said Sergeant Mark Allen of hospital security. Tour manager Chris Paluska was in stable condition.

Vinnie Paul Abbott thanked fans for their support in a statement the band released Friday.

"With all his greatness and accomplishments on the guitar, DIME will be missed more for his giving personality, charisma, caring for others, love and most of all his HEART!! Twice as big as the state of TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!, Dime gave it all every day to each and every one of us and our lives have forever been hollowed without him...Thanks to all of you for reaching out to us in this time of our immeasurable loss. REST IN PEACE BROTHER DIME!!!!!!" Abbott said.

[doc]

Nathan Gale had told friends that Pantera musicians had stolen lyrics from him and were trying to steal his identity, former friend Dave Johnson said.

The thread on Schizophrenia in the Doc's Hospital section is relevant here.

[shaolinstylee]

I was thinking the same thing.. sad and scary...

[zachsan]

the night after it happened my band was playing a gig in a club in philly. to start the show, mike (my guitarist/lead singer) played an impromptu diddy about the event, which went something like "dimebag darrell smoked a lot of weed, and he got filled with lead". i don't remember the lyrics exactly. the audience seemed to appreciate it, and then i asked them not to shoot us. the show went on and in the end he threw his guitar into the drumset i was borrowing, fortunately, while the drummer from whom i was borrowing it wasn't there to see it. i think dimebag would have approved.

[Xiaobeeno]

Only the good die young........it's a big loss to the world of music.

[Steve]

Thousands brave cold to bid farewell

Thousands brave cold to bid farewell

Celebrities, fans pay tribute to 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott

ARLINGTON - Nearly 5,000 fans and friends joined rock royalty at a packed Arlington Convention Center on Tuesday night to say goodbye to guitar star "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was gunned down onstage last week.

Fans waited for hours in near-freezing temperatures, and traffic choked the streets surrounding the convention center.

The stage in the convention center's Grand Hall was flanked with 100 floral arrangements, which arrived in six vans, including several Crown Royal whiskey-bottle tributes and two floral guitars.

A tippling Eddie Van Halen and former Ozzy Osbourne guitar player Zakk Wylde traded anecdotes about Abbott in front of three large video screens that carried images of the departed star, 38, who continued to call Texas home even after winning international renown with Pantera.

Van Halen put his cellphone up to the microphone and played a message that Abbott had left him recently. The center went silent. Abbott told Van Halen how much he admired him and was glad to have had a chance to work with him.

When the fans heard Abbott's voice, they cheered.

Van Halen said he was going to make a CD from the message.

Abbott was playing with his new band, Damageplan, when he was fatally shot in Columbus, Ohio, last Wednesday.

Flanking the stage were a dozen poster-size magazine covers featuring the guitarist known for his fierce riffs.

Jerry Cantrell of the now-defunct Alice in Chains preceded Van Halen and Wylde. He performed Brother and Got Me Wrong on acoustic guitar as the crowd thrust fists in the air and sang along.

Cantrell said he had been at the private funeral earlier in the day, and he called the service "beautiful."

"Today's really been the start of the healing process," he said, adding that he was heartened by fans who came to the public memorial. "It makes me feel a lot better."

Many of the musicians and entertainment figures paid their respects at Arlington services earlier in the day.

"They had him dressed exactly as you would find him on stage," said comedian Mark Britten, who attended the services. He said Abbott was laid out in camouflage shorts with a yellow-and-black guitar that Van Halen had given him. "As bad as it is, he had a very good send off."

But the stars weren't the only ones who came in from distant points to say farewell.

"We started driving at midnight," said Brian Connelly, 26, of Albuquerque. "I said, 'We aren't gonna make it.' "

Instead, he turned back to catch a 6 a.m. flight to Texas.

"I would have totally regretted this if we hadn't come," he said. "Just gotta come here and pay respects to a great man."

At 8:15 p.m., the line at the convention center wrapped halfway around the building and snaked into the parking lot. Streets leading into the convention center at Ballpark Way were jammed.

Fans, wearing everything from black Pantera T-shirts to business suits, waited more than five hours to get into the memorial service. Young children slept on the sidewalk, where temperatures hovered in the 30s.

Once inside, fans faced heavy security, including metal detectors and pat-downs.

"It's very Secret-Service-like," said Anthony Davis, who flew in from Los Angeles to head the security team. "We felt it prudent to put extreme security measures in place."

Earlier Tuesday, a small procession of limousines left Abbott's Dalworthington Gardens home at about 3 p.m. for the funeral service.

The Abbott family requested that the funeral and burial arrangements remain private.

After the funeral, mourners said Abbott was buried in a KISS-themed casket. In recent years, Abbott made recording appearances with one of his influences, Ace Frehley, KISS' first lead guitarist.

As the sun went down, blue-and-green strobes lit up the sky at the cemetery, and dozens of luminaries led mourners from the parking lot to the grave site.

Rocker Eddie Van Halen and members of the band Slipknot attended the funeral, where Cantrell performed two songs, one acoustic and one folk, officials said.

"He was a prince of a man," said Chris Gipson, 34, who played bass in a band that used to jam with Abbott at the Tattoo bar in Fort Worth. "We all forgot that he was a rock star because he made us forget he was a rock star. He was grateful to his fans."

Fans were able to join the stars in toasting Abbott. Crown Royal and beer were sold in the lobby.

Comedian Jim Florentine was in the VIP section down front as Damageplan drum technician John "Kat" Brooks walked by. Brooks' right hand was still bandaged from the gunshot wound he received during the rampage in Columbus last week, and he declined to be interviewed.

"He just made fans feel welcome," said Florentine, who was a friend and fan. "Whoever was there, he would treat you the same ... really rare in a guy of his status."

Vinnie Paul Abbott took the stage and pulled a life-size cutout of his brother close to him. Darrell Abbott gave his heart to everyone, his brother said. "He went down doing something he loved; he loved playing guitar."

"The brightest star in Texas is shining tonight. That's my brother Dimebag. Give it up."

The fans erupted.



"Crown Royal and beer were sold in the lobby." ... I want that at my memorial too.

[shaolinstylee]

That's crazy... 5000 people

[Steve]

I find it funny how all these other Rockers are coming out and saying how much they loved Dimebag when not long ago they didn't really give a **** about Dimebag or Pantera in the past.

[zachsan]

well i for one still don't give a **** about dimebag or pantera, musically, but it's a disturbing thought to any performer to just be killed while you're up there on stage. gives a whole new meaning to "stage fright"...

[Steve]

well i for one still don't give a **** about dimebag or pantera, musically, but it's a disturbing thought to any performer to just be killed while you're up there on stage. gives a whole new meaning to "stage fright"...

And it was not security fault, the guy climbed over the fence and ran on stage. Reminds of a problem U2 had in Mexico, Head of Security and another bodyguard got hurt really bad during a show from the son of Mexico's President Security Force, but that never made it on the news.