Band's bodyguard 'Mayhem' mourned

'He would take a bullet for any one of us,' friend says of victim

09:39 PM CST on Friday, December 10, 2004

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News

As "Mayhem MacGregor," Jeff Thompson was a fictional Scottish protector of the king and queen each spring at the Scarborough Faire Renaissance festival.

As just plain Mayhem, the 40-year-old Deep Ellum fixture was more recently the bodyguard for heavy metal royalty "Dimebag" Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott. In that last, real-life role, Mr. Thompson was fatally shot at a Columbus, Ohio, club Wednesday night by a man who had just killed Darrell Abbott and was targeting others on stage and in the audience.

While rock fans worldwide mourn for Mr. Abbott, the 38-year-old Dalworthington Gardens resident and guitar hero, others said they want people to remember Mr. Thompson, too. He wasn't known worldwide, but friends said that Mr. Thompson shared the same outgoing, generous spirit that made the Abbott brothers fan favorites.

It wasn't clear from police accounts whether Mr. Thompson died trying to protect members of the band Damageplan, but friends suspect that the "gentle giant" stepped in to save his friends.

"He would take a bullet for any one of us," said Randy Wothke, who played with Mr. Thompson in a Celtic band.

He and others who knew Mr. Thompson described him as a selfless, fun-loving man who was protective of his friends. If he sacrificed himself to save others at the Alrosa Villa club, it wouldn't be a shock to them.

In a statement on the Atlantic Records Web site, a letter from the "Damageplan family" said that Mr. Thompson "lived and died for his friends." It credited him with sacrificing his life to save the rest of the band. Funeral services for Mr. Thompson were pending.

According to the letter, Mr. Thompson would tell band members: "I'd take a bullet for ya."

Ann Ellis, a Scarborough Faire performer, said she was startled when she first saw Mr. Thompson more than a dozen years ago. He stood about 6 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed about 375 pounds at the time.

"The first reaction was: 'Oh my God. I don't want to have anything to do with him,' " she said, laughing.

Once she spoke to him, Ms. Ellis said she immediately recognized his kind spirit, and they quickly became friends.

When she was down on her luck and couldn't afford car repairs, Mr. Thompson would stop by after his night shift and work on her car while she slept. Another time when she had relationship troubles, he left her a white rose and note of encouragement urging her not to give up on all men.

"He was a sweetheart," she said.

Coy Sevier, general manager of Scarborough Faire, said that Mr. Thompson's gruff exterior didn't fool everyone. Parents would freeze and their eyes would widen when they saw Mr. Thompson, he said, but "the kids would always run up to him."

Mr. Sevier said young children knew immediately that the man called "Mayhem" was just a big teddy bear.

Friends said that Mr. Thompson never settled down with one job too long. He loved show business, and his name and face were known throughout North Texas.

He played a Celtic-style drum with the bagpipe-based band The Rogues and toured as a security guard and jack-of-all-trades with the Abbotts' former band Pantera.

Mr. Thompson was also a bouncer for various Deep Ellum clubs and worked security and odd jobs for local rock radio stations. He also spent about a dozen years performing and working backstage at the Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie and organized the Highland Games there.

Anthony Schnurr, an engineer for the Clear Channel radio chain, said that Mr. Thompson wasn't trying to break into show business for the money. He just loved music and friends he made.

"He didn't even care if he was paid," Mr. Schnurr said.

Ms. Ellis said that her mountain of a friend was just as content in the spotlight or backstage. He was happy hamming it up on stage with The Rogues or distributing water to festival performers.

"He loved being with people," Ms. Ellis said, "but he didn't need to be the center of attention."

Richardson Patterson, the king at Scarborough Faire, said that Mr. Thompson would even step away from the spotlight if he thought he was detracting from others. Although he introduced the Highland Games, which features traditional Scottish feats of strength, to Scarborough Faire, he quit participating after a few years since few could compete with him.

"He stepped back so other people could shine and feel better about their accomplishments," Mr. Patterson said.