[Vacant]

good read.

[Kane]

I dunno... I know how drugs can fuck things up. Me and my friends were tight as hell until we got into speed. The last time we were all together was 10 years ago, in the middle of the street, and I was ready to fight them all. I've seen a couple of them since then. I joined the Army, the rest of them either went to prison or ended up dying. Drugs fuck with people's minds, relationships, lives...

[Ken]

This is hard for me to read. I guess it's because I haven't been a "fan" for years now. I just don't care what Phil said or didn't say, what Dime did or didn't do. I couldn't care less where Vai is, what he's doing, how much he makes (although that WAS a funny/sad thread on Jemsite )etc.

I only care that the world lost a world-class musician and an American original.

It's just sad that some of the fans are too true to their nickname (short for fanatic) and get caught up in this shit so much that they forget why they like(d) the musicians in the first place; the music.

It's sad that we feel the need to "buy in" or not. In some way, everyone is to blame for Dime's death. Same with Lennon. They participated in the media circus by talking about it in interviews to sell magazines when they should've kept their shit private, and we "bought in" to one side or another when our noses should have been in our own shit instead of someone else's.

[Shawn]

Great article.

[SHREDDER]

I still think Phill is a duech bag, It's a sham that it took a tragedy like this for him to finally open his mouth(1 year later mind you)....Personally I think he's full of shit.

[Digital Black]

If what he says is true, I have no other choice but to reform my opnion of him and extend some props.

I wish him luck.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Ken Burtch

It's sad that we feel the need to "buy in" or not. In some way, everyone is to blame for Dime's death. Same with Lennon. They participated in the media circus by talking about it in interviews to sell magazines when they should've kept their shit private, and we "bought in" to one side or another when our noses should have been in our own shit instead of someone else's.

agreed.

it's almost like a soap opera, and i admit to sometimes getting into it as well . like, i would read an article hoping to hear about a new guitar or amp or something, and the interviewer says something like, "hey, i heard that someone's been talk'n shit behind your back. how does that make you feel?" eh, well. i guess we just need to forget that stuff, and get back to the music!

[7slinger]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

I hope Phil is being honest with himself and his fans. I don't know that he isn't. But it doesn't sit right with me... just something about it seems self-serving.

+1

[Hawksmoor]

Originally Posted by Scott

I personally don't buy into what he says. About how it was all the media twisting his words and shit. I mean, if you read in a magazine that you said something you didn't, then it isn't hard to correct yourself by calling Dime and saying "Hey man, I never said that shit" But if you look at some Dime interviews with GW or whatever, he says that Phil wouldn't even talk to him. This is up there with the video he released after Dimes death. It just rubbed me wrong.

+1
There was a fued, now he denies it.
Total bull.

[Sentient]

Indeed, that was a good read. While it is hard not to be skeptical, I find myself wanting to believe what he says... but of course, like so many other things in the world, we just don't really know the truth.

This reminds me of the stuff I see in the world of cycling (ie:Tyler Hamilton, Roberto Heras), where you follow a guy's career for years, become a fan, then he gets busted for doping, and he's all over the headlines, with his career ruined. Yet he then comes out with some sort of heartfelt & scientific defense, claiming the whole thing was a mistake and that people don't know the truth... And the fans are left disappointed, and not knowing what to believe (wanting to stand by their hero, but having a hard time seeing past the evidence).

In regards to what Phil says, what I'd really like to see is somebody from the other side of the fence vouch for what he's saying here. Like band members, etc. If the guy was really wearing a back brace through all those shows, and taking legitimate medicine, surely somebody could easily step up and say, "Hell yeah, Phil's tellin' the truth. He didn't want anybody to know or say anything, but he was really going through some rough times with his back & the medicine." (etc, etc.)

All I know is that it's a damn shame beyond words that Dime is gone. Maybe it wouldn't have materialized anyway, but in my mind, I really thought Pantera would eventually get back together. And thanks to some stupid little dumb fuck with a gun, now that'll never happen.