This year's Ride for Dime marks the 10-year anniversary of the benefit show and the untimely passing of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Nathan Bray, Jeff Thompson and Erin Halk. Inevitably, it's a bittersweet occasion, given the tragic events that spurred the event's founding. And yet a decade in, Ride for Dime continues to bring together members of the metal community each year in their honor.
"Come on out and celebrate my brother's life," writes Dimebag's brother and former Pantera bandmate Vinnie Paul Abbott on the Ride for Dime webpage. "He was a beautiful man and great person, and Ride for Dime has their heart in the right place."
The Ride for Dime is set to take place this Friday and Saturday between Fort Worth and Dallas.
See also: Ride For Dime Holds Battle of the Bands Honoring Dimebag Darrell with Motorcycles, Metal and Charity: The Ninth Ride for Dime A Not-So-Vulgar Discussion of Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power
To celebrate the lives of these fallen brothers, the guys at Ride for Dime are offering a hell of a lineup, including Heavy As Texas, Pump Jack and Crowned By Fire as well as local favorites Generator and Volume Dealer.
Texas Hippie Coalition will be headlining the Friday night show at The Rail Club in Fort Worth, and Kill Devil Hill, which features Rex Brown of Pantera, will be closing out the Saturday night show at Trees.
The motorcycle parade will be staging at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 16, at Longhorn Harley Davidson in Grand Prairie.
But the pre-party starts Thursday night at EZ Dude BBQ, the one and only BBQ place devoted to heavy metal. Located on Elm Street, a few doors down from Trees, it's the home of the original Pink Beard drink, a mixture of Crown Royal, Seagram's 7 and Big Red, and the perfect place to remember Dimebag Darrell and his fallen brothers.
Generator, Shotgun Rebellion and Los Traques will be providing the metal, and Ride for Dime's co-founder Rob Eichelberger (who's also the owner of EZ Dude's) will be supplying the mouth-watering food.
A slew of special guests will be in attendance at the pre-party, including "Dimebagz Hag" Rita Haney, Jose Mangin, Nik Kai, Randy Cooper and Nick Bowcott, a left-handed guitar player who will be paying tribute to his friend Dimebag. (He'll also be sitting up his amp in Rita's driveway and wailing some of Dime's licks as the parade of motorcycles ride by honoring the guitar legend.)
"We want people to remember Dimebag's heart," Eichelberger says. "He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it."
For those who don't know, Ride for Dime is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that not only honors the lives of Dimebag, Thompson, Bray and Halk but also benefits the Ride for Dime Scholarship Fund, which will annually award two 8th grade students scholarships based on their academic grades and involvement in a music program.
There are currently six Ride for Dime chapters in the U.S., and a chapter opened last year in London.
"We don't just let anybody hold Ride for Dime," Eichelberger said. "They have to have their heart in the right place."
Tickets are still available, and they're only $20 each night of the event (if you buy them in advance at stubwire.com or at EZ Dude's BBQ; otherwise they're $25 at the door). If you're participating in the motorcycle parade Saturday, your $20 will also cover the show that night at Trees.
So don't be a cheapskate. Come out and help a good cause.
