DIMEBAG's Longtime Girlfriend Talks About 'DimeVision' DVD

Revolver magazine (web site) recently conducted a short interview with Rita Haney, the longtime girlfriend of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. Haney is keeping Dimebag's name and legacy alive by handling his guitar and amplifier endorsements, overseeing the Dimebag Hardware clothing line (featuring apparel that Dime himself designed before his untimely death),and putting together a series of "DimeVision" DVDs culled from his extensive collection of home video. The first one, "DimeVision, Vol. 1: That's the Fun I Have", will be released on May 2 via Big Vin Records.

Revolver: Is "DimeVision, Vol. 1" pretty similar in nature to those infamous PANTERA home-video collections?

Rita: "Well, as you know, Darrell never went anywhere without a video camera, but this is mostly stuff from home. When you watch the PANTERA videos, it's like you're out there on the road and part of that family. And this is like that family being at home through the holidays and parties and things like that. You still see a lot of the same characters."

Revolver: And a lot of the same kind of shenanigans?

Rita: "Yeah, people passing out and gettin' set on fire, a couple of parties — like Cinco de Mayo at Vinnie's and 4th of July at my parents'. We also put in some of his solos — some early stuff from '82, '84, and '88, and then we have more recent stuff he did with DAMAGEPLAN. The 'DimeVision' thing, it's not PANTERA — even though you'll see aspects of that, of course — and it's not DAMAGEPLAN. This is really more about him. That's why we called it 'DimeVision'. Darrell had a very amusing way of making you see the world, and I don't want to forget that vision, you know? And a lot of people never got to meet him, so I'm hoping they can experience how he saw things through this video. The title of it comes from a little clip in [PANTERA's] 'Home Video 3', where he's coming off the little charter plane that Elektra had hired for [the band's 1994 album] 'Far Beyond Driven', and he's laughing and going, 'That's the fun I have!'"

Revolver: Was it difficult for you to go back and look at this footage?

Rita: "There was stuff where, of course, I'd start to cry. But then something would happen on the tape that would make me laugh. I would say I laughed more than I cried! And it feels so good, because it keeps you close. I love watching this stuff, because it makes me feel like he's right there."

The June 2006 issue of Revolver magazine, containing the Rita Haney interview plus an extensive chat with Dimebag's brother and former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul Abott, is available on the newsstands now.