Five Questions With VINNIE PAUL ABBOTT

October 25, 2007

Ben Edmonds of the Detroit Free Press recently conducted a short interview with former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott.

Detroit Free Press: Many people thought they'd never see you onstage again. What did it take to pull you out of retirement?

Vinnie Paul: I didn't consider it a retirement. It was more a state of coming to grips with everything that had happened and trying to sort my life out. I started a record company and released "Rebel Meets Rebel", the record Dimebag and I made with country singer David Allen Coe, as a tribute to my brother.

Then these guys [HELLYEAH] kept calling, telling me how they needed a heavy hitter for this new band, but I wasn't ready. Finally, they caught me one night when I'd been drinking a bottle of vodka and listening to KISS, and suddenly it seemed like a damn good idea. We wrote seven songs in the first eight days we were together, and I realized how much I'd missed it.

Detroit Free Press: What do you guys get from this that you don't get elsewhere?

Vinnie Paul: I missed the camaraderie of being in a band, that feeling that you're part of an unstoppable army. Musically, we wanted to have great grooves and songs people could sing along to. More than anything, I think we're bringing fun back to playing this music.

Detroit Free Press: Is this more a parallel band than a side project?

Vinnie Paul: Absolutely. From day one, we said we wanted this to be a real band, not a one-off. We just have to make it coexist with everybody's previous commitments. We'll kick as much ass as we can until the end of the year. The MUDVAYNE guys have a record and a tour after that. Then, a year from now or whenever, we'll get back together and start kicking ass again.

Detroit Free Press: The posthumous acknowledgement Darrell has received has got to be gratifying, but bittersweet as well.

Vinnie Paul: There's two ways I can look at it. I can look backwards, and it's a horrible feeling because no matter how much he accomplished he's no longer here. Or I can look forward and say, "What he did was amazing and will never be forgotten, and I'm gonna honor his spirit and carry that torch as high as I can."

Detroit Free Press: Is that what the HELLYEAH song "Thank You" is about?

Vinnie Paul: Yes. Tom had just lost his grandmother; it seemed we'd all suffered some personal loss. When Chad showed me the lyrics, I knew he'd nailed the feeling.

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