Dave Navarro Leads Salute to 'Dimebag' Darrell

Posted on May 19th 2007 2:00PM by Steve Baltin
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To celebrate late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's induction into Hollywood's Rock Walk, a few of his friends gathered for an all out rock show. Among the night's performances at the House of Blues were Linkin Park's Chester Bennington fronting ex-Jane's Addiction members Dave Navarro, Chris Chaney and Stephen Perkins, teamed for a 3-song jam of Jane's 'Mountain Song,' AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' and Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love.'

Before the show, Navarro told Spinner he's become a true fan of Bennington since the two played together at a Camp Freddy show. "He's a f***ing incredible vocalist. He's the real deal," Navarro says. "I performed with Chester and saw what a true talent he is. I went home that night and downloaded off iTunes because I wanted to hear his voice.Frankly, it was close to the same feeling I had when Steven Tyler joined us -- where you're just like, 'Holy s**t, this guy is unbelievable.'"

The show also featured Alice in Chains, an all-star band fronted by 'Ripper' Owens and Scott Ian of Anthrax and acoustic appearances by Staind's Aaron Lewis and members of Shinedown.

Abbott's widow, Rita Haney, tells Spinner the support is amazing. "It's so overwhelmingly awesome that he affected people that way and that people really care," she says. "And even people that didn't really know him [care] because of what happened to him. When [the murder] happened, there was such a great gathering in the music community."

While the evening was riddled with heavyweight stars, Haney was most excited about one: former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. "He's the reason Darrell picked up the guitar," she says.