“He was 16 or 17, and he was already jumping on people’s tables with cocktails on them, flipping the guitar backwards while playing it”: Pantera’s road crew share their memories of Dimebag Darrell – and why he was a guitar hero from the very beginning

“With Pantera the thing is that their crew was such an important part of the band,” says legendary Pantera producer Terry Date. “They were like family, too.”

If you’ve seen the infamous Pantera “Home Videos,” you know just how true Date’s statement is.

As you can see below, we managed to track down a few of the original Pantera road crew to ask them what made Dime a true one-off.

Grady Champion (Dime’s guitar tech)

“Dime was just so special – not only as a guitar player, but also in the way he treated people. It was always next level. Nobody was a stranger, everyone was a friend. And his playing was pure passion and skill.

“He always played from the heart and soul, and I don’t think that’s lost on anybody who listens to him play. As a guitarist and a guy, he was absolutely the complete package.”

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Guy Sykes (tour manager)

“I think the biggest thing is the way Dime plays with so much feeling. Every note just resonates. It’s as if he took Jimmy Page, Brian May, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Ace Frehley, Billy Gibbons and so many more and threw it in a blender with his own unique playing style and a bit of Texas shuffle. His playing seems vaguely familiar but is absolutely unique.”

Sterling Winfield (ex-bass tech, engineer and co-producer of Reinventing the Steel)

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“As Eddie Van Halen said, Dime was an original. It takes an original to know an original; Eddie recognized that, and I think we all knew it, too. I think things like that endure; they stand the test of time.

“All these people you hold in high regard – Eddie, Hendrix, Page, Clapton and Iommi – they’re originals; and I think there’s a continuing timelessness to any original, when you hear them, you immediately know who it is.

“The same is true of Dime; when you hear that sound and that style you immediately know it’s him. That’s why Dime endures; no-one did it before him. A million afterwards, but no-one before him.”

Sonny Satterfield (lighting director)

“I first saw him at a very young age. He was 16 or 17, and he was already jumping on people’s tables with cocktails on them, flipping the guitar backwards while playing it; what a showman and an amazing player he was. He was doing all these tricks while playing the songs and licks perfectly. So, even back then I knew he was destined for greatness.

“I think that just like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen, his legacy is going to carry on for generations, because Dime is in the same category as the other four gentlemen I just mentioned.

“His playing and his music stand the test of time – you can see it at the Pantera Celebration shows today. Me and Grady are there, and we see guys our age with their kids and their grandkids! And the 9-year-old is rocking out with their 60-year-old grandpa!”

• Special thanks to Rita Haney for her help gathering quotes.