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How the "Floods" Outro Solo was Recorded
 
It was about 5:30 in the morning and I was pulling an all-nighter, working on a crunch deadline for the Dimebag "Destroyer! Pantera Returns" cover story for the June 1996 issue of Guitar World. I was busy transcribing the tapes of the lengthy interviews I'd just done with Dime up at Camp Strapped when the phone rang. "What jack-off would call at this time of the morning" I thought to myself as I hit the pause button on my tape machine and listened as my answering machine picked up. To my amazement, the voice I heard coming from the phone was the same exact one I'd been transcribing--it was Dime! needless to say, I took the call.
 
"Nicholas Cage as revealed in the "Whats in a Name?" section in Chapter 2--Darrells big on nicknames, I'm sorry to call you at such a fucked-up time, but I need your help," Dime blurted. "We're in New York mastering the album and I need to re-cut a part first thing in the morning. Trouble is, I don't have any of my shit with me. Is there any way you can get a guitar and a G1 to my by 9am today?" I took down Dime's hotel number and the studio address and promised him I'd do everything I could to make it happen. Trouble was, I'm a lefty so one of my axes wouldn't cut it, and I didn't have a G1 at home either.
 
I poured through my address book and luckily was able to track down the legendary Steve Pisani of Sam Ash on 48th street, NY fame. Not only did Steve not mind my calling him at home (I was nice enough to wait until 7am!) at the crack of dawn, he stepped to the plate like the true champ he is. And, as a result, an axe (with the intonation correctly set up!) and a Korg G1 pedal were delivered to the mastering studio by 9am that morning. Thanx again for that, Mr. Pisani. You rule!
 
Now that the scene is set, I'm gonna pass it over to Dime, who will fill you in on the before and after of this unusual tale.
 
"This is a pretty good story even though I say it myself," laughs Dime, "What happened was this: I remember I was all jacked-up in the studio one night while we were recording 'Floods.' It was real late and I'd been working and drinking all night and I just really wanted to record that ending part that goes over the rain so I could hear how it worked with the song as a whole. So, I just grabbed this guitar that was lying in the corner and put it down on tape. The trouble was that the guitar I picked up was way out of strobe intonation and I remember it sounding kinda sour and messed-up when the part starts to go higher and higher up the neck. I carried on anyway so I could hear it, but I meant to go back later and replay the fucker on a strobed-out intonated guitar. Like a dick though, i forgot all about it until we flew into New York to master the album.
 
"We were sitting in the mastering suite in New York, and when I heard it I just plain freaked out. How could I let such a sour-sounding, outta-tune thing slip by? We were on a real tight deadline and it was real late at night, but i knew I had to redo it no matter what. So we worked though the night and mastered pretty much everything except that one song. Then, when we split to get a few hours' sleep before finishing up, thats's when I called you.
 
"First thing the next morning, a runner came into the studio with the loaner guitar and the Korg G1 you'd set up, and I went, 'Okay, I'm gonna record it straight to DAT and then we'll fly it in.' This dude from the record label was there and he was totally freaked out! His voice was all shaky and he went, 'You're gonna record a part while we're mastering? You can't do that, it's never been done and I have to have to have the thing finished immediately. There's a car waiting downstairs and its going to leave in 45 minutes with the mastered album to get it printed. You don't understand, it's the Elektra way--we have to have it right away.'
 
"I said, 'No dude, you don't understand! This is the Pantera way--whatever it takes.' That said, I set up my shit in another room and went to record the part, but this dickhead from the label had gotten me all stressed out. There I was, trying to record a record this laid-back, mellow part when i was anything but laid-back and mellow, so it just wasn't kicking. So I slugged back a few beers and a Blacktooth Grin or two a Blacktooth Grin is Pantera's drink of choice and consists of a healthy shot or three of Crown Royal or Seagram's 7 whiskey with a tiny splash of Coke and tried again. I plugged straight into the G1 and played the part two or three times direct to DAT. Then, I took it into the mastering room, got Vinnie to choose the one he liked the best and we flew it in. And the record company man got the finished thing on time. Goddamn, that's one hell of a story, even though I say it myself!"
 
Siinä vielä koko tarina. :)