The Grim Reaper
Comes to Columbus
My brother Christopher called from NYC to fill me in all about the killing of Dimebag, ex-Pantera guitarist, in a Columbus metal bar. I had heard of it, but was still kind of a deer in the headlights about it. It didn't seem real.
When John Lennon was killed 24 years ago, I knew from the second the message reached me what it meant. I walked in the haze of that cloud for three dark, cold winter months.
I'm not that attached to Dimebag, though it might surprise some of you that I did like Pantera when they first came along, as they used discordant harmonies effectively and in an interesting way. I am confused by the phrase "metal pioneer" when applied to the guys in Pantera - to me a metal pioneer is a guy like Ozzy Osbourne, or even Dave Davies of the Kinks or Link Wray. Pantera were pioneers of a kind of metal that came along decades after the original burst of activity, a sort of renewed, or "modern," musically sophisticated metal. Even in this respect certain other bands had the jump on them.
But in any event I am am sad to hear on't and wouldn't wish his fate on my worst enemy. But it bothers me more to hear the pundits begin to rumble that there are just not enough protections for us in the clubs. I could hear it on TV tonight. It is raising, in the wake of the fire started by those idiots Great White and now this new situation, the profile of the nightclub as a place which is too dangerous to be. I heard some guy saying "some waitresses and waiters are better trained than the bouncers." Another said "They'll spend $10,000 on a lighting system but they won't pay for adequate security."
Uh - THAT got my attention. $10,000 is small potatoes. What about the expense of installing fire lighting, a sprinkler system, bringing your club up to code, paying for fire inspections, health department inspections, your liquor license, etc.? Running a nightclub is expensive, man, and you don't make money at it. You usually lose money. A band will come in, draw no one, and drink you into the red in draft beer. You pay what you can for security, usually just in hiring a big ugly guy to sit at the door and hope nothing goes down.
And usually nothing does. This situation in Columbus is SOOOO unusual. Nothing about it is typical - I've played Columbus more times than I can remember since about 1980, most recently last Summer. Columbus crowds are mellow and laid back - they just like to have a good time. This guy drove 25 miles to the club and went there only with the specific idea to kill Dimebag. He didn't even stick around to see a little of the show - he went in the door, straight to the stage and started shooting. Don't tell me about how bouncers suck at what they do- hey this bouncer gave his life trying to stop the guy - that should count for something.
I worked as a sound engineer in nightclubs for nine years, sometimes like 13 days a week, and the worst thing that ever happened to me is that I cut a permanent groove into my chin 'cause I was in the bathroom trying to shave drunk. And hell, I wasn't even working that night. Most night clubs are just empty sinkholes for money where bands play and two or three people show up. They stay in business because once every ten days or so they have an act that brings in the tribe and then they make enough money to stay open for a little while longer.
When all the pundits get into the game you're going to wind up with a bunch of people who have never set foot inside of a night club making decisions about what goes on in there. First you will say to yourself "where were these guys when I was getting my ass kicked out in the parking lot?" Then you will see the end of the nightclub scene in America. It may be mostly riffraff, off the radar of society, what have you - but folks who go down to these places know that there is risk, that they might not be safe - they aren't going there to be safe. They're going to have a good time, hang out with friends, and hopefully see a show that isn't a waste of money. I've seen many that were, but I don't regret having spent my time that way.
Are you really better off sitting at home, glued to TV, listening to the latest body count from Iraq or watching "Friends"? Mini-revolutions some time happen in those empty bars, with some band making music nobody understands, and fifteen years later it's the hottest new thing on your MTV. Nightclubs provide a cultural cookpot that is far more fertile than any other kind of venue, particularly if they're not terribly concerned with the content of the show and just let it happen. When we lose the clubs, that will go away, and we will be poorer for the loss of it.
Uncle Dave Lewis
udtv@yahoo.com
PS: Tired tonight.