I still remember when I was watching T.V., trying to find something worth watching and then this TV program was talking about Pantera in past tense, saying he'll be missed....man, I couldn't believe it....and I still can't believe it...
Such a great guitarist. I remember going into work the night it happened and hearing the news, and I had a hard time focusing my whole shift. My drummer was especially thrown by the whole situation, too. We've been in and out of bands together over the years, but whenever we did play together, we always played "Strength Beyond Strength" as a tribute to our fallen friend, and knocked back a few "Blacktooth Grins".
Dime is a bigger influence on me as a person than as a musician. I do my best to face each day and interactions with other people the way he would. You'll never hear someone say a bad thing about him and that's not a bad thing to be known for.
I honestly don't think I'll ever stop feeling sick when I think about his death. I can't watch the Behind The Music episode when it gets to the end, I fuckin' lose it every time.
My guitarist sent me a text before practice on Saturday saying, "It's Dime day!", I wrote back that we needed some Crown for practice that night and sure enough, he brought in a big ass bottle. We cranked some Pantera over the P.A. between sets and had a great time...
That dude lived how every human being should be able to - loving and enjoying every bit of being alive and having a GREAT fucking time doing what you're good at.