IN THE PANTERA-loving metal community, Grady Champion needs no introduction. As far as the fans are concerned, he’s an integral part of the larger-than-life Pantera family. Although Grady continued to be a much-in-demand guitar tech long after Pantera effectively disintegrated in 2001, he retired from the road not so long ago — or so he thought.
“You know me, Nick — I was totally over and done with touring,” Grady says. “Now I’m back out there for Darrell… with permission from my wife and kids, of course!” [Laughs] In fact, when Grady announced he was joining the crew for the Pantera celebration shows, many fans were overjoyed as they felt his involvement added further credibility and credence to an already exciting venture.
“I got a little worried when I made that Facebook post about me going out — and it almost immediately hit Blabbermouth and all that shit,” Grady says. “I was like, ‘What the fuck, dude? You don’t], that’s for sure!”
