Legendary metal outfit Pantera have a message for club owners and promoters following the tragic death of Christina Grimmie. That message? Do more to protect the artists that play your venues.
On Sunday, the band posted a message on their Facebook page addressing the shooting and noting its similarity to the 2004 shooting at a Damageplan concert that claimed the life of founding Pantera member Dimebag Darrell Abbott and three other innocent people. The band wanted better artist protection then and they’re repeating that sentiment now.
We are so sad and disappointed to hear that Christina Grimmie was gunned down the same way that Dimebag Darrell was. After Dime’s murder, we all prayed that our industry (i.e. club owners & promoters) would do whatever they needed to do to protect artists from gun wielding fanatics. Sadly, that’s not the case and another rising star had to pay the consequences with her life. SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE! RIP Christina & RIP Dime, Jeff Thompson, Erin Halk, and Nathan Bray.
Sadly, Grimmie’s death was not the only gun violence tragedy that occurred in Orlando over the past few days. The city, as well as the state of Florida, have declared a state of emergency following the horrific mass killing at the popular LGBTQ nightclub Pulse. The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States of America.
(via Rolling Stone)
