Category Archives: Vinnie Paul

Vinny recently sat down with Simon the WRRV Interview Series. You can listen to the entire interview below.

Asked if he was looking forward to HELLYEAH’s participation in this summer’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival with SLAYER, Vinnie said: “Oh yeah, man. SLAYER is one of my favorite bands of all time, and to be on a tour with them is absolutely a dream come true. In 1999, we did a thing called the ‘Reinventing The Steel’ tour with PANTERA, when I was still with them, and SLAYER was part of that, and it was a great tour. And we’ve just been killer friends for a long time. So playing with them, and also the mighty KING DIAMOND, is gonna be a dream come true, man. It’s gonna be something I’m really looking forward to, and every metalhead needs to be there this summer.”

Dates and ticket links to see Slayer, King Diamond, The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, Thy Art Is Murder, and many more on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Click on the date for tickes and more info:

June 26Chula Vista, CASleep Train Amphitheatre

June 27San Bernardino, CASan Manuel Amphitheater

June 30SE Auburn, WAWhite River Amphitheater

July 01Nampa, IDFord Idaho Center

July 03Phoenix, AZAk-Chin Pavilion

July 04Albuquerque, NMIsleta Amphitheatre

July 05Morrison, CORed Rocks Amphitheatre

July 07Council Bluffs, IAHarrah’s Council Bluffs

July 08Milwaukee, WIEagle’s Ballroom

July 10Noblesville, INKlipsch Music Center

July 11Clarkston, MIDTE Energy Music Theatre

July 12Tinley Park, ILFirst Midwest Bank Ampitheatre

July 15Toronto, ONTD Echo Beach

July 17Camden, NJSusquehanna Bank Center

July 18Burgettstown, PAFirst Niagara Bank Amphitheater

July 19Hartford, CTXfinity Theatre

July 21Holmdel, NJPNC Bank Arts Center

July 22Gilford, NHBank Of New Hampshire Pavillion

July 24Bristow, VAJiffy Lube Live

July 25Mansfield, MAXfinity Center

July 26Wantagh, NYNikon Theater at Jones Beach

July 29Atlanta, GAAaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood

July 31New Braunfels, TXWhiteWater Amphitheater

August 01The Woodlands, TXCynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

August 02Dallas, TXGexa Energy Pavilion

Enter the Dimebag Darrell, Pantera and DR STRINGS Worldwide Giveaway! Go here to enter: http://smarturl.it/dimedrgiveaway

Giveaway starts today, ending on Sunday, June 7, 2015

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Crazy G of NewEnglandConcertReviews.com conducted an interview with Vinnie Paul when HELLYEAH played at DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 8. Hear the entire interview below. Following are some excerpts:

On the making of HELLYEAH’s fourth album, 2014’s “Blood For Blood”:
“It was a really trying CD at first. We knew we had a couple of bandmembers that really had lost their focus and were becoming a detriment to the band, so we parted company with [bassist] Bob [‘Zilla’ Kahaha] and [guitarist] Greg [Tribbett]. And myself, Tom [Maxwell, guitar] and Chad [Gray, vocals] wrote the record. I think we made the most intense HELLYEAH record ever.

On HELLYEAH’s continued success:
“We’ve worked very hard from Day One, [since] this band started, and we haven’t slowed down, we haven’t stopped, and we don’t intend on it. We’re not 25 years old anymore, so we don’t have any time to waste. We really enjoy what we’re doing, and luckily, all of us are in great health right now, happy and loving what we’re doing. And the stage is what we live for, man.”

On HELLYEAH’s upcoming activities:
“We really, from the start of this record [‘Blood For Blood’], wanted to do a complete two-year touring cylcle, which we really haven’t had the opportunity to do with any of the previous HELLYEAH records. We would put a record out, tour for a year and go right back and start working on another one. And so we’re finally getting into the second year of touring for this record, and it’s just starting. After this tour, we go straight to Europe, where [we’ll be] for a month, and as soon as we get back from there, we do [Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem [Festival] all summer with SLAYER and the mighty KING DIAMOND, which is gonna be an absolutely amazing tour; I’m really looking forward to that. And as soon as that’s done, we go to Australia and New Zealand, Japan and Indonesia, and then we come back and we do another run here early next year, which will be our final run, and then we start working on a new record.”

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(Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)

Full article on the washingtontimes.com here.

Washington Times: Musically, where is the band at this time?

Vinnie: We feel like we finally accomplished the true Hellyeah sound. It took us four records, but it all came together on this CD: The sound, the songs and the production all fit each other.

The first two Hellyeah records were kind of experimental metal meets blues meets Southern rock meets rock ‘n’ roll. This one is really focused. It’s what fans expected from the start. It’s a great place to be right now.

Washington Times: Do you believe in the healing power of music?

Vinnie: Absolutely. Music speaks to you when nobody else can. It’s truly a great escape for many people and has so much to offer on so many levels.

Washington Times: Do you have a favorite rock ‘n’ roll memory?

Vinnie: Pantera was the opening band on the Kiss reunion tour in 1997, with all the original members. We toured with them in South America. We did three nights in Mexico City, then we had a flight on my birthday, which is March 11, and we were on a flight from Mexico City to San Diego, Chile.

Kiss was in first class, and we were in business class. Halfway through the flight, all four of the original members of Kiss came back to me and sang “Happy Birthday” in four-part harmony. They gave me a “KissStory” book. I felt like a 14-year-old kid. I had tears coming out of my eyes.

They took us under their wing, really liked us, and it was a great tour.

Hellyeah is currently on tour, check here for dates.

Full article on the washingtontimes.com here.…

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Come join Vinnie Paul for his Annual Rockstar Halloween Bash on October 31, 2014 at The Clubhouse in Dallas Texas! Dress up in your best Halloween gear and be ready to party!

Address/Phone:
2250 Manana Dr.
Dallas, TX 75220
(972) 869-9506

More info: http://theclubhousetexas.com/…

From musicradar.com:

Combining groove and power, the metal legend’s way

DRUM EXPO 2014: In 1992, Pantera redefined the sound and future direction of metal with the seminal classic Vulgar Display Of Power, an album that proved it was possible to be brutally heavy without sacrificing the ability to groove. Vinnie Paul and his gifted guitarist brother Dimebag Darrell exemplified a new musical mentality in playing metal, locking the drums like glue to the guitar riff rather than to the bass line.

Still laying it down with his customary power and thunderous drums, Vinnie walks us through his groundbreaking approach from its origins in Pantera, right up to the present day with Hellyeah. Here he chooses six songs from his back catalogue, dissecting them in terms of gear, technique, feel and inspiration.
Becoming – Pantera

Technique: “That’s something I came up with when we were doing Far Beyond Driven. I was messing around with bouncing the right foot, creating a double stroke in between each 16th note. The minute my brother heard it he said, ‘Man, we’ve got to write a song around that.’ People make it more difficult than it really is – it’s just a bounce with the right foot on every other note.”
Gear/sound: “It was the Pearl drum set I had back then. They were all super big drums: 24″ x 24″ kick drums, then 14″ x 14″, 15″ x 15″ and 18″ x 18″ toms. I used this Sonor snare that I picked up a long time ago at a pawn shop. It was my most favourite sounding snare I’ve ever had. I still have it, it’s a 12-ply birch wood snare and I used Remo K Flam heads and regular pinstripes around the toms. I’ve been using Sabian from day one.”

To read the entire interview, click here.…

Hellyeah has just released their fourth album and it’s titled “Blood For Blood”. Here is Vinnie in a webisode introducing the album to everybody!

Stream it below or go right to reading reviews, what went into making it, and where to get it.

Click here to pick it up from amazon.com.
Click here to pick it up from iTunes.
Click here to buy the Limited Edition Blood For Blood/Affliction t-shirt bundle from Best Buy!
Here’s a little about the Best Buy/Affliction limited edition bundle! Link to buy below.

Vinnie touched base with thisisnotascene.com about the new album:
TINAS: “Blood For Blood” is the most focused and concise Hellyeah album to date. How did it come out that way?

VP:We really wanted to make the record of our career. We just came off the Gigantour with Black Label Society and a couple of other bands and when the touring cycle for “Band Of Brothers” was completed we really wanted to write a new record and get in the studio and capitalise on the momentum we’ve created because of all the touring. Working with Kevin Churko was another reason why the new record sounds so fresh and focussed. He really knew how to get the best out of us.

TINAS:The new album is also much darker lyric-wise. The whole party atmosphere of the previous albums are all but gone. How come?

VP:As a band we wanted to make a dark, lean and focused heavy metal record. We got all the partying and booze songs out of our system on the previous record. I think we really found our sound on “Blood For Blood” and we’ve matured as a band as well. Tom (guitarist), Chad (singer) and I were all on the same page as what we wanted to achieve with the new record. Unfortunately Greg and Bob weren’t as focused as we were and they were dealing with some massive personal issues as well. That’s why we had to let them go from the band.

TINAS: You guys worked with Kevin Churko. What did he bring to the table as a producer?

VP:Kevin really knew how to get the best out of us and it was really refreshing for me to be just “the drummer” for a change. Five years ago I bought a house in Las Vegas and that’s also the city where Kevin works from. So every now and again we’ve bumped into each other and we were discussing working together at some point. I’m big fan of his work with Ozzy Osbourne and all the other productions he has down and he’s a big fan of the things I’ve done. So when we got to the point in the band that we wanted to work with an outside producer it was a no brainer to work with him. He also got along great with Chad, which really smooth the ride when it came down to record the vocals.
Read the rest of the interview by clicking here.

Here’s a review of the album by Blunt magazine:

Click here to pick it up from amazon.com.
Click here to pick it up from iTunes.
Click here to buy the Limited Edition Blood For Blood/Affliction t-shirt bundle from Best Buy!

Upcoming dates where you can catch Hellyeah supporting “Blood For Blood”:
Jun 26 Ziggy’s Winston Salem, NC
Jun 27 Ziggy’s By The Sea Wilmington, NC
Jun 28 Shiley Acres Inwood, WV
Jul 17 Rock USA Oshkosh, WI
Jul 29 C-Club Berlin, Germany
Jul 30 Fezen Festival Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Aug 01 Wacken Music Festival Hamburg, Germany
Aug 02 Seerock Festival Graz, Austria
Aug 03 Interstate Studio 270 Udine, Italy
Aug 05 Alte Seilerei Mannheim, Germany
Aug 06 Underground Cologne, Germany
Aug 08 Alcatraz Festival Kortrijk, Belgium
Aug 09 Bloodstock Open Air Festival Derbyshire, United Kingdom
Aug 10 The Live Rooms Chester, United Kingdom
Aug 12 The Fleece Bristol, United Kingdom
Aug 13 The Craufurd Arms Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Aug 15 Sound Control Manchester, United Kingdom
Aug 16 The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Aug 17 The Underworld London, United Kingdom
Sep 13 Aftershock Festival 2014 Sacramento, CA

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, VOLBEAT, HELLYEAH Announce Fall Tour Dates:
Sep 16 Salt Lake City, UT Maverik Center
Sep 17 Billings, MT Rimrock Auto Arena @ Metrapark
Sep 18 Bismarck, ND Bismarck Civic Center
Sep 20 Cedar Rapids, IA US Cellular Coliseum
Sep 21 Grand Rapids, MI Deltaplex
Sep 23 Syracuse, NY The Oncenter
Sep 25 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Arena
Sep 26 Lowell, MA Tsongas Center
Sep 27 Albany, NY Times Union Center
Sep 30 Portland, ME Cumberland County Civic Center
Oct 1 Reading, PA Santander Arena
Oct 3 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Oct 7 Ft. Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial
Oct 10 Huntington, WV Big Sandy Superstore Arena
Oct 11 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena
Oct 12 Knoxville, TN Knoxville Civic Coliseum
Oct 14 Orlando, FL CFE Arena
Oct 16 Biloxi, MS MS Coast Coliseum
Oct 17 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
Oct 22 Rio Rancho, NM Santa Ana Star Center
Oct 24 Las Vegas, NV The Joint @ Hard Rock…