Heaven's On Fire |Dimebag Darrell

Damageplan

September 15th, 2003

  Plans with Phil eventually fell through. First it was needing a break which we all could understand. We agreed to it. Then Phil got wrapped up in his side projects, explaining that they were just to keep him busy, till next thing we knew he was touring with DOWN. Both brothers had tried to contact Phil with the question up in the air of when Pantera was going to get back on the road. 'But with every phone call, a voicemail was left unanswered.

  Pantera was officially no more.

  The fans took it hard, they were surprised and upset once the announcement was made. 'But no one was more destroyed than Darrell and Vinnie. Those two sweat and bled for that band. I did everything in my power for both brothers. Providing a shoulder for either of them to lean on, or an ear to yell at. I knew that the two of them needed someone, and I was here for that.

  Darrell mopped around the house at first, rightfully so. Pantera was all he knew. It soon began to eat at him after a year of not touring and playing. Darrell was not used to just sitting around with nothing to do. That man was born to play. To say that I was utterly disgusted by how Phil had completely disregarded his brothers was an understatement. After everything they had gone through together. The blood, sweat and tears all four of those men had shared.

  Darrell snapped and could no longer take it anymore. One day he invited his brother over and they both had agreed that they had a gift, and they just couldn't allow it to go to waste. With some time and encouragement from me, the Abbott brothers came up with the idea that they would form a new band. I was happy to finally see Darrell excited again. My husband had a purpose, and he was determined to use it.

  With Patrick Lachlan on vocals, and Bob Kakaha or what Darrell called him, Bobzilla on bass. Damageplan was created. First meeting Pat had made me nervous. The moment he had walked into our home, he began to flirt with me. Afraid that his behavior was going to cause a huge disruption among the guys. Darrell and Vinnie both pulled Pat aside and had that shut down fast.

  Number one rule was established, if you wanted to stay then hands off the Mrs. Pat understood and never once crossed the line with me after that. With this new band, a few small changes were made. With the end of Pantera, we had to let go a lot of the crew we once ran with. Big Val was let go due to finding out he was selling bootleg merch. The one that hit hard was when we had to say goodbye to Grady. When Pantera was around, Grady made enough money to support himself, but Damageplan wasn't making as much. So, Darrell gave his blessing to allow Grady to go off and tech for DOWN. Putting him out on the road with both Phil and Rex.

  Both Kat and Lenny continued to stay by Darrell and Vinnie's side. My role as Darrell's assistant stayed the same. I was honestly proud of my two men in never allowing what happened stop them from doing what they loved.

  Since Damageplan, Pat and Bob were over at the fortress a lot. The two of them and Vinnie would sit in Darrell's studio and they would spend time laying down tracks for an up-and-coming album. It was finally all coming together for them. I missed the early stages when it came to Pantera, but this time I got to see Damageplan. I was 100% invested if this was the path that Darrell wanted to take. I will stand by his side and follow him anywhere he goes.

  I cleared Carolyn's headstone while on my knees. I was making one of my regular visits to her. I had made it a personal goal of mine to try and visit her more now that we were home. I tried my best to make sure both of her boys did that same. "I kept my promise," I sighed. I couldn't help but find myself wishing that she was here to see how much her sons have grown. I wanted to believe that she would've been so proud to see how much they have accomplished for themselves.