We never really processed the enormity of Dimebag Darrell’s public MURDER. The evil damaged audacity of it. We never grappled w what it was, & what it meant. We never talk about what empty, self-aggrandizing BULLSHIT. Personally Armed violence ALWAYS IS. Instead? We got “tributes.”
Dimebag Darrell Abbott. I'm from Columbus OH (where he was murdered on stage) I was living in New Mexico at the time but if I lived in the C'bus area when it happened, I'm almost certain I would've been at that show since I always liked him and his brother Vinnie Paul pic.twitter.com/iIklRWLl4M
— George Ashburn (geo_ashburn @ Instagram & TikTok) (@jamdawg1) November 17, 2023
This is a full in bloom interview with original Pantera/Lord Tracy vocalist Terry Glaze.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW VIA THE EMBEDDED YOUTUBE CLIP BELOW. You can access the video directly on YouTube.
DESCRIPTION:
Terry talks about Rex Brown’s criticism of Vinnie Paul, Phil Anselmo, Jerry Abbott and explains why he chose to leave Pantera.
To read an excerpt from Rex Brown’s Book where he talks about Vinnie Paul as well as additional commentary from Terry, Phil Anselmo, Dimebag Darrell’s girl Rita Haney, Rex, & Vinnie, go HERE.
In the latest episode of “Icons”, Gibson TV sits down with Rex Brown of Pantera.
Renowned worldwide, Rex and his Texas brethren forged a blueprint with Pantera that’s been studied by nearly every metal act that has followed.
Throughout this intimate look into his musical journey, Rex shares personal stories surrounding his childhood, the bonds built between his band members and the enduring legacy of Pantera.
One Foot In The Gutter Tour diary- Rented a minivan, now trying to see if our tubs of merch will fit. It looks like all of the equipment that I was going to use for backing tracks and recorded vocals won't fit. My story telling will have to be me live & not to a tape…Weird huh pic.twitter.com/LAGBJdXavH
— Riki Rachtman on tour DECEMBER (@RikiRachtman) December 2, 2022
There can never be a PANTERA reunion without Vinnie and Dime. However, there is no better way to celebrate and honor Vinnie and Dime’s legacy, than to bring the music of PANTERA directly to the fans. We are honored that Charlie and Zakk, their very close friends and musical brothers, will share the stage with Philip and Rex, to unleash the power of PANTERA live around the world.
When Darrell (Dimebag Darrell Abbott) was killed, Vinnie (Vinnie Paul Abbott) wanted to kind of preserve his (Darrell’s) legacy and started his own record company in 2006 called Big Vin Records. He hired me to work at his record label. So, I worked for Vinnie from 2006 until his death, maintaining his social media, doing promotional stuff, videos, music videos. I drove his tour bus, limo, and he was just one of my closest friends.
When Vinnie hired me, he hired me because he did know that I was responsible. He knew he could trust me to drive for him, drive their tour bus, take care of things, so that he could take advantage of that and just get plastered. He liked Skyy Vodka; he would buy cases of that. He had a Big Gulp cup, and he would just fill that thing up with vodka and a little water and lime. He would just drink that all the time, and when you do that all the time…he had cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, and he just woke up one morning and had a heart attack.
He gave me opportunities that I would’ve never gotten had I not met him. I fully recognize that. He made my dreams come true of making music videos that played on MTV. I got to tour with him. I got to meet all these amazing people, and it was all because of him and his generosity. The dude would go to the store and buy two thousand dollars’ worth of steak and lobster and cook it for everybody, including the other touring bands. Everybody loved Vinnie because he was just so generous. When we were on tour with Hellyeah, some of the other opening bands, they were making so little money they could hardly afford food. He would cook for them. He would barbeque out by the bus and feed the other bands and crew.
When I put together a drum kit for my band, I said, “Hey, would you go down to Guitar Center with me so I could get a drum set?” He said, “Dude, we’re not going to do that.” He took me to his warehouse and pulls out a big Pantera road case, opens it up and says: “Man, Pantera hasn’t played since 2001. I play with ddrum now, this is all Pearl equipment. You can have it.”
“Vinnie did well with his investments. Some of the other band members, as we know, they didn’t do so well with their investments.”
Everybody in the world has been contacting me about my opinion on the ‘Pantera reunion.’ I try to reserve my judgement simply because I know that the people who are behind it are the people who now own the estate, and they need to make a living, and they want to do it. But I think if I listen closely, I can actually hear them (Vinnie & Darrell) spinning in the grave because every day this guy (Vinnie) would tell me about, you know, like, I was with him all the time. Every time we would meet somebody, they would walk up and say several things that would piss him off. They’d say, “Hey, I’m really sorry about your brother.” It’s like: “Oh, here we go. Every day of my life I’ve got to be reminded about the worst day of my life.” Then they’d follow it up with, “When is Pantera getting back together?”
He showed me an email, where he was offered, I don’t know, it was over ten million dollars to do a Pantera reunion tour, and he was just like, “Nope.” He goes, “Dude, I already got like six million in the bank, I don’t need more money.” He’s like: “Look, I love my brother. I don’t want to live in my brother’s shadow. I’m my own musician. There is no Pantera without Dimebag.” It’s like, there is no Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen. I mean, you can go out there and do it and call it whatever you want. Phil (Anselmo) has been out there performing Pantera songs for all these years.
He (Vinnie) was very bitter about it. He felt like if Phil and Rex (Rocker-Brown) hadn’t done what they had done at the time, Pantera would’ve continued. They never would’ve been playing a club where some fan would’ve jumped up. I mean, you can’t blame Phil directly for what happened, but at the same time, the butterfly effect of one person’s decision and how it effects the future is just the way he felt about it.
Vinnie was like, “Look, these two dudes destroyed this band. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction of cashing in on it later. I’m doing my own thing already, and it’s in the past.”
I’m sure a lot of you were sent this.. I know I have been sent it several times today.. Video Bob was not friends with Darrell, as a matter of fact, he was not allowed in our home, nor did he ever work for Pantera and is definitely NOT Bobby Tongs.. there are several “not true” facts in this video and for him to try and speak for Dime is absurd!
I cannot speak for his friendship with Vinnie, but I can correct the untruths he speaks about his embellished encounters and so-called relationships with Dime and Pantera.. to try and assert himself into Darrell’s life as to some kind of authority about his friends and family and say they had none, is ridiculous.. you should be ashamed of yourself for speaking about things at Darrell’s memorial that did not happen the way you claim.. you were not present nor privileged!
Just STOP!
I posted on the guy’s YouTube channel that did this interview and he hid my comments.. so here they are for any one who does care.. Thanks
Video Bob:
I would like to clarify that I never worked for the band Pantera or Damageplan. I started working for Vinnie when he started his record label with Fontana / Universal in 2006.
Whereas I did get some credits and awards for some video that was included on various tapes, the credit for the Pantera home videos and things goes to Darrel Arnburger AKA “Bobby Tongs” who was Dime’s close friend and video guy. I am often confused with him. He’s a great guy and deserves his credit.
I am proud of the work I got to do on Rebel Meets Rebel, Dimevision, the Dimebag Book, Hellyeah music videos and DVDs and other projects.
The only things I got to work with Dime on was the Drowning Pool tribute DVD “Sinema” when I interviewed him at his house.
I did get to attend parties with him, at his house and Vinnie’s house, but I didn’t get to know him closely before he was killed.
Revolver: Dave Mustaine looks back on the making of ‘Rust of Peace’ — and asking Dimebag and Slash to join Megadeth.
You can read the entire feature @ this location. An excerpt has been provided below.
From the Dave Mustaine book, Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece – BUY NOW
DAVE MUSTAINE We needed a guitar player. I called Dimebag Darrell Abbott from Pantera. We knew each other from touring together. The guy had one of my lyrics tattooed on his leg. He made a practice of getting a tattoo from every tour of something that would recall the tour to him. When they went on tour with us, he tattooed a lyric from my song “Sweating Bullets” on his shin. The song talks about a line from one of the spiritual books I read and says something about a black-toothed grin. Someday you too will know my pain and smile its blacktooth grin. He liked that blacktooth grin line, and they invented a cocktail they called the black-toothed grin, which, instead of a glass of Coke with a shot of whiskey, was a glass of whiskey with a shot of Coke.
Those guys were hard drinkers. And he was this great, shredding guitar player. He liked the idea of joining our band; he said he wanted to do it. I thought this would be the greatest thing ever, but then he asked if he could bring his brother. He founded Pantera with his brother Vinnie Paul Abbott on drums. We already had a drummer. That was a deal-breaker for Dimebag. He wouldn’t come without his brother. To this day, I still wonder in wondrous wonder what it would have been like with Vinnie and Darrell.
DAVID ELLEFSON We had reached out to Diamond Darrell from Pantera, who later was known as Dimebag Darrell but at the time was Diamond Darrell. I had met him one night in Dallas in summer 1988 and we had a bunch of drinks. The next night, I went to see them play at his club in Dallas and they were fucking amazing. They were great, super-tight. They invited me to jump up and play “Peace Sells” with them, which I did. Those boys could drink hard and play their asses off. And Darrell was definitely a guitar star. He was a big deal in the guitar magazines, and Pantera was modestly popular on a more regional level.
I talked to Dave about Darrell and we called him up. He basically said his brother Vinnie comes with him or nothing doing. We already had Nick, so we declined and moved on. Also under consideration to be our other guitar player was Jeff Waters of Annihilator. I don’t know that we ever reached him, but his band Annihilator was taking off, getting popular, so he essentially proved unavailable, whether or not we ever really connected with him to make the offer. We’d expressed interest and he declined.
Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc 17 years ago today. This Dimebag Darrell guitar was lost when the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi was destroyed during Katrina. It was found in the Gulf of Mexico as is.
This guitar was in the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood before being transferred to Hard Rock Casino Biloxi.
Happy Birthday to the late, great and never forgotten, @dimebagdarrell! He would have been 56 today. Make sure you do a blacktooth in his honor! 🥃 pic.twitter.com/8YUOzg4XWp
Happy Birthday Darrell Lance Abbott (8/20/66)! AKA Dimebag Darrell. He was the guitarist of Pantera & Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul. He’s often regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. #HappyBirthdayDarrellAbbottpic.twitter.com/li5TDEcFIJ
Happy Birthday Darrell Lance Abbott (8/20/66)! AKA Dimebag Darrell. He was the guitarist of Pantera & Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul. He’s often regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. #HappyBirthdayDarrellAbbottpic.twitter.com/li5TDEcFIJ
Hoy uno de los guitarristas y leyendas en la historia del Metal, mejor conocido por ser fundador de Pantera, Dimebag Darrell, cumpliria 56 años. @darrell_leyenda hasta el cielo el es pantera @dimebagdarrellpic.twitter.com/a1c2XV0GnC
A Very Happy Birthday to Dimebag, would have been 56 today. All weekend long pour yourself a Black Tooth Grin and getcha pull to the ole man!! RIP Dime, never to be forgotten!!! In 2008 our Grand Poobah and a couple of Sr Staff paid our respects. pic.twitter.com/N1rUrp6BvX
Darrell Lance Abbott yani “Dimebag Darrell” şizofreni hastası bir Deniz Subayı tarafından sahnede vurularak öldürülmeseydi bugün 56. yaşını kutlayacaktık. pic.twitter.com/D1tPOFwgvt
All month I’ve been writing dime bags, a poetic form developed by @RubenQuesada (10 lines/10 syllables). In honor of Dimebag Darrell’s birthday, here are a four of them. @Panterapic.twitter.com/8nmVYxi9qu
Ryan Roxie: AUDIO VERSION UP!!! “Michael Angelo Batio – Guitar SECRETS revealed!”. ⚓ You can listen to the entire interview @ this location or via the embedded widget below.
INTERVIEW EXCERPT:
On Pantera Guitarist Dimebag Darrell:
Michael Angelo Batio:
I had the one called ‘The Star Licks Video’ before ‘Speed Kills.’ I was still playing locally in Los Angeles. I hadn’t been signed with Nitro, but it was after the band Holland. That was right around when I did the first instructional program and people like John Petrucci (Dream Theater) watched it, got the idea of Jazz IIIs (guitar picks) because I always use jazz picks. He studied it. Michael Romeo from Symphony X, he told me he studied it, and then one of the biggest ones was Dime. Dime saw me in concert before they were big.
‘Cowboys from Hell’ had just come out. I hadn’t even done ‘Speed Kills’ yet. We were in Florida recording our second album, ‘Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S.,’ and we went to this little club. Nobody was there except for the band. We knew the bartenders there, so we were just hanging out. Then my guitar tech, he went by Dragon, he said: “Dude, you’ve got to hear this band, bro. They rule, dude.” You know, he was from Fresno.
So, I go there to see this unknown band named Pantera. Nobody was in the crowd. I’m standing in the audience, and I see this dude come out with this beard and these long shorts. This is the era of Larry Bird with the little, short shorts. He’s got these long shorts on and we’re thinking, “Boy, he looks out there.” And here we are, these L.A. hair metal guys, “No, we don’t look weird.” And he actually stopped, there was nobody around me for ten feet. There was nobody there, literally. ‘Cowboys from Hell’ had just been released and we’re in Orlando, Florida, and all of sudden Dime goes, “Is that Michael Angelo?” I’m like, “Yeah, dude.” He goes: “I got your instructional program. You’re like my guitar teacher, man.” And then he goes, “Pantera’s going to dedicate tonight’s set to Michael Angelo,” and I was just floored.
I had heard those songs from ‘Cowboys from Hell.’ I was already a fan before and, of course, shortly after that, they exploded. That album just blew up. But I talked to Dime afterwards, and we just got to be really friendly.
I was with Washburn for a while in the ’90s with Dime. So, we would do like in-stores together, and I got to know him really well. He was supposed to play on one of my albums called ‘Hands Without Shadows.’ The next tour stop was Chicago before he got shot. We were just devastated.
On Pantera Drummer Vinnie Paul:
I know this is off topic, but I knew Vinnie Paul and his brother pretty well. And because of Dean, you know, Vinnie was with Ddrum and that was a Dean company. We would go to Europe and we would congregate in these different music expos, like in Frankfurt, Germany.
Vinnie used to have a bodyguard at that time called Cowboy. So, it was me, Vinnie, David Vincent from Morbid Angel, who is our close friend. We were sitting down to have a really nice dinner in Germany, and we’re drinking beer. Vinnie told me…and I would never ask in a million years what happened. How rude can that be?… But Vinnie talked to me about it, about what happened on stage (The mass shooting at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio where four people were murdered and three others were wounded. One of those murdered was Vinnie’s brother, Dimebag Darrell).
He goes, “Man, the only thing that saved me was my drums.” He said the guy was pointing the gun right at his face and shooting, and the bullets were ricocheting off the hardware of his drums. To this day, I can still picture sitting there and me and David didn’t say a word. I mean, no comment. I didn’t ask him about it, but I can only imagine the feeling of that, you know, at point blank range. To live through that ordeal, it was just something else.
Backstage Auctions: The Vinnie Paul Estate Auction – Historical on so many levels. Backstage Auctions is proud and excited to welcome you to the Vinnie Paul Estate Auction, featuring nearly 700 lots of impressive collectibles, mementos, and personal items. More info @ this location.
Auction Starts: Thursday, May 26th, 2022 Auction Ends: Sunday, June 5th, 2022
Among the many highlights are several drum kits from his Pantera, Damageplan and Hellyeah tours including the kit he played last, a collection of guitars, including a vintage Dimebag Darrell Washburn, custom slot machines, every imaginable record award, clothing, artwork, autographed items, home furnishings, photos, posters, and just about every laminated pass ever issued to Vinnie Paul. Additionally, Vinnie was a huge hockey, football and baseball fan, leaving behind a massive collection of sports memorabilia with a heavy emphasis on his hometown heroes: The Dallas Stars, The Dallas Cowboys and The Texas Rangers. Highlight pieces include an array of autographed sports collectibles, seats from the original Dallas Cowboys stadium, hockey sticks, helmets, and a massive amount of jerseys.
Dimebag Darrell (Official): Designed by master guitar strap maker Jodi Head originally for Darrell, this 100% USA handcrafted leather guitar strap is recreated exactly to match Dime’s.
Each Strap comes with:
– Exclusive Pick Tin Set (not available separately)
– Numbered Card of Authenticity
Guitar straps are all handmade in the USA using high-quality materials and experienced craftsmanship to make the finest and most unique guitar straps available. Not only will you be playing in comfort, but looking great with a custom product made with care in the U.S.A.
Eric Bjorgum: On Sunday, I was shocked to learn that master luthier and master human being Buddy “Blaze” Webster passed away. I was lucky to represent Buddy in a dispute over the design of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott’s “Dean from Hell” guitar design. Buddy had helped discover the young Darrell, and when Darrell sold a guitar he won in a contest, Buddy secretly bought it back, had it repainted, and hot-rodded it into what would become Darrell’s favorite guitar. Things got weird after Darrell’s passing, money was made, the lawyers were called in, and blah blah blah.
(L-R) Buddy Blaze, Dimebag Darrell
But despite the rancorous circumstances of our meeting, Buddy and his wife Joyce (together since they were 16) quickly became my friends first and clients second. He had endless stories of famous musicians and giant jars of guitar picks he let me wade through. (I got a full set of Spinal Tap picks out of it.) Buddy’s enthusiasm for making guitars and supporting young musicians was unparalleled. After making a name in Dallas, he was whisked away to Kramer Guitars in New Jersey in the heyday of hard rock/metal to do artist relations and set up guitars for too many acts to mention. He designed the “Nightswan” with Vivian Campbell when Vivian was between Dio and Whitesnake. With the Dean From Hell and Nightswan, Buddy was the rare independent luthier who designed two classics.
In our case, when his reputation was questioned, I had to drag out of him that he had teched for or made guitars for a jaw-dropping list of guitarists/bands including Chris Isaak, Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Waddy Wachtel, Ronnie Montrose, Steve Vai, Tom Scholz, Slash, Mark Kendall/Great White, Larry Carlton, Geezer Butler, Kinley Wolfe, Dave Meniketti and many more. When I asked him why he had given up the lucrative job of being a traveling tech for top artists, he said that most of all he wanted to make guitars that musicians would play for decades. He hated it when his guitars were bought up for the Hard Rock to be on a wall somewhere. Before moving back to Dallas, he revamped his guitar shop in Hawaii, where the locals quickly accepted him and recognized his character.
Most of all, Buddy loved finding new talent and supporting bands. No matter what happened in Court, it was all a precursor to the adventure that Buddy and Joyce had in store for me later. When I first met Buddy in person, we had a series of emotional depositions in Dallas, and at night he and Joyce would ferry me around to different clubs to meet musicians and see bands. I was almost passed out from exhaustion when they insisted on driving 20 miles to a bar in a strip mall where we saw incredible soul artists on a random weeknight. Of course the bartender knew Buddy and all drinks were on the house. The day we argued in the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, one of Buddy’s clients paid for us to Uber 50 miles to see him play a Blaze bass at a BBQ, and Buddy was once again treated like royalty.
Buddy was so proud that he had been a mentor to Dimebag Darrell and discovered other talent like Sam Bam Koltun (whom he encouraged to leave home for LA and now plays with Faster Pussycat, making them sound better than they have in years). Last time we talked, he had a new kid, from Dallas, who he swore was going to be the next big thing.
There’s little doubt that with his passing Buddy’s reputation as a guitar maker will only grow. I was always blown away that he was not more famous, and he gave our firm a great lawyer compliment once, stating that if, earlier in his career, he had met lawyers like us who would really fight for him, things might have been different. That felt good to us, but it is small recompense for the loss that music and the world has suffered with the loss of Buddy “Blaze” Webster. I cannot imagine what Joyce is feeling. Buddy Blaze – RIP.
Dean Guitars: You can get the AXE HEAVEN Licensed Dean Dimebag Darrell HELL Lightning Bolt Mini Guitar Model @ this location.
Licensed Dean Dimebag Darrell HELL Lightning Bolt Mini Guitar Model – DIME OFFICIAL LOGO ON BACK OF HEADSTOCK
Approved by the Dimebag Estate & Dean Guitars. This collectible miniature replica captures all design details with vibrant hand-painted and airbrushed graphics.
AXE HEAVEN® Ornamental Miniature Replica Guitars Make Great Gifts!
Each AXE HEAVEN® miniature replica guitar is 1:4 scale and is individually handcrafted from solid wood, with metal tuning keys.
Each guitar model is approximately 10” in length and comes complete with a high-quality miniature adjustable A-frame standand an AXE HEAVEN® guitar case gift box.
AXE HEAVEN® Miniature Replicas Look Great But Are Not Playable
Gibson:
Riki Rachtman:
Vinnie Paul Estate:
Daze with Jordan the Lion: Home & Grave of DIMEBAG DARRELL & VINNIE PAUL w/ Stories From VIDEO BOB.
Video Bob:
Rita Haney (dimebagzhag):
Revolver: Dave Mustaine looks back on the making of ‘Rust of Peace’ — and asking Dimebag and Slash to join Megadeth.
PANTERA:
Phil Anselmo:
Ryan Roxie: AUDIO VERSION UP!!! “Michael Angelo Batio – Guitar SECRETS revealed!”. ⚓ You can listen to the entire interview @ 
Michael Angelo Batio:
Dimebag Darrell (Official): Designed by master guitar strap maker Jodi Head originally for Darrell, this 100% USA handcrafted leather guitar strap is recreated exactly to match Dime’s.
Dean Guitars: You can get the AXE HEAVEN Licensed Dean Dimebag Darrell HELL Lightning Bolt Mini Guitar Model @ 