Heaven's On Fire |Dimebag Darrell

Very Last Bar Appearance

October 25th, 2004

  "Hey baby, can you grab my blackjack for me please?" Darrell called out from the garage; he was going over equipment they were taking with them tomorrow. Their new album New Found Power was released February 10th of this year, while it didn't sell like crazy like it would if it was Pantera, it still did great for Damageplan. The guys had already performed Freakers Ball last night in Dallas, but tomorrow they headed out to tour alongside with The Haunted and Shadows Fall for a few months.

  I wasn't going to go with them this time. Over time Darrell had obligations when it came to his business side, and me being his assistant, I need to make sure things run smoothly while he is away. That's what I tell myself at least. Truthfully, I just missed being home. Rita planned to stay with me that way I wasn't entirely alone, that was something Darrell did worry about.

  I walked past the kitchen and into Darrell's guitar vault. When we moved in, we had this additional room and Darrell figured it was big enough to store all his guitars in. Eventually the space started to fill, and it was possible that a new room was to be needed.

  Right away I saw the case that was labeled blackjack. When it came to Darrell's collection, his dime slime ML and his blackjack ML were my personal favorites. I know that for a while I had handled and worked personally with his concrete sledge, and I loved it, but it didn't hold a comparison to the other two. Darrell did end up retiring his great DFH after wearing it down over the years. I am sure with me snapping the neck off didn't help, even after gluing it. It now sat hung in the entry way for all to see. That guitar held a lot of memories for the both of us. There was no way we could ever part from it. Darrell began to design his own guitars, like his stealth model, but I always loved his ML models the most. Especially his Washburn ones.

  Snagging the case, I made my way back towards the garage and sat the case down near Darrell. I could see how focused he was, so I reached out and gently rubbed his back to let him know that I was here. "Think you have everything you need?" I watched him closely. Those focused blue eyes snapped in my direction, and I was greeted with a smile. "Yeah, everything I packed is already on the bus. Just making sure to grab all the guitars that I'll need. Usually this was Grady's responsibility, but he is not here," Darrell replied. I could see not having his best friend with us this time around really stung for him. Those two were attached at the hip. Now he was floating in unchartered waters.

  Looking towards the bus that was now parked off the side of our home. Earlier this year both Vinnie and Darrell went half in and bought a huge tour bus as a tax write off. It was to be used for Damageplan being on the road. Thank God it was no broken-down RVs.

  Walking towards the bus, I climbed the steps and already could see bags lay within the bunks. They were ready to go. Standing in the middle of the bus reminded me the good old days of touring with Pantera. Right way I could easily spot Darrell's bag from the rest. Guess it came with the territory of living together for over 12 years. I opened up his bag, just making sure he in fact had everything that he needed. Sometimes Darrell would forget essentials like a toothbrush for example. Cannot tell you how may gas stations we had to stop at for an emergency toothbrush. Darrell took care of himself; he was big on his oral health.

  Moving things around, I noticed two pictures peek out from the bottom of the bag. I couldn't help but smile when I held them up to see them close. One was a picture that Bobby had taken of me and Darrell. We were sitting in the back of Grady's old piece of shit, smiling as our hair blew wild around us from the window being down that hot day. The second one was just a random picture of me that he had taken himself a few years back.