VINNIE PAUL: 'Being Able To Perform In Front Of People Is The Ultimate High'

Rick Florino of Maximum Ink music magazine recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Maximum Ink: Was it hard to step back behind the kit?

Vinnie: After the events of December 8, 2004, I didn't really know if I was ever going to play again. I just told myself if I was, it was going to have been the ultimate situation and fall into my lap. That's what happened [with HELLYEAH]. Everybody had their head in the right place and that let's-tear-the-world-a-new-ass attitude. It was just a great record to make. We feel like it is really going to set some standards this year.

Maximum Ink: Why do you think the band worked so quickly?

Vinnie: I think it comes from the fact that all of us have plenty of experience and a great deal of admiration for each other's accomplishments and bands. I think the coolest thing about working with everybody is there are no egos. Everyone was just gung ho. One for all, all for one. It's been a long time since I've been around a situation like that.

Maximum Ink: How would you describe the HELLYEAH sound?

Vinnie: I think it's like a familiar groove, with a new sound. It's all part of the attitude of the band. We didn't put any rules out there. We really wanted to branch out and cover a lot of ground. It would've been real easy for us to make a record of nothing but 12 bone-crushing songs from start to finish, but then it wouldn't have been dynamic. We feel like this band has a lot of creativity. I also brought a new type of recording to these guys that they'd never experienced before, where everything just goes straight to tape. So as we're writing, we're also recording. You capture all of the magic, spontaneity and everything that goes down. You get that kickass raw feel and go for it. The magic's there. That's how we did it.

Maximum Ink: Where do you want this band to stand in the current scene?

Vinnie: I definitely want it to stand alone. HELLYEAH is its own band. It's not a side project. It's the real deal. It's something we've all discussed that can co-exist with everyone's respective bands. It's my baby, and I'm looking forward to everything, especially the live show. That's what making music is about. It is fun being in the studio, but being able to perform in front of people is that ultimate high in this world, man. I love it.

Read the entire interview at Maximum Ink.