VINNIE PAUL

I've always been a down-to-earth business guy.

You have a natural groove inside of you, but the more you practise, the more comfortable you will be with your instrument.

I've been married to music my entire life. I've been dedicated to it. I know what it takes to do it. And ever since my brother has been taken from me, I feel like I have to live for both of us.

People ask me all the time, 'Why don't don't you ever do drum clinics?' And my reply is always that I like playing music; I want to play with a band.

It's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage, and it's Pantera again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple.

John Bonham, probably the greatest drummer ever - all of us wanted to play drums like him.

I'm really proud of what I do with Hellyeah, and I'm focused on it.

If you live in the past, you've got no future.

Slayer is one of my favorite bands of all time, and to be on a tour with them is absolutely a dream come true.

Jacques Cousteau was my hero.

When I have parties, I have little sandwiches. I always make sure I have two or three fresh habaneros, and I only put them on one or two. There's always someone who comes running around the corner, 'Oh my God! I don't know what was in those, but my mouth is on fire! What do I do?'

I love cooking fajitas. I'm from Texas, and it's not a difficult thing to do, but a lot of people burn the chicken.

I think that Chad Gray is one of the most honest, emotional, real vocalists there is; he really takes a lot of pride in writing the lyrics, takes a lot of time with them. He writes and re-writes more than just about anybody I've ever been around.

We knew Hellyeah had to be a lot of fun. We got into it for one reason: to have a lot of fun.

The most important thing about drinking on the road is just you've gotta do it in moderation, first of all. You've gotta know your limits.

The history of Pantera speaks for itself.

We played nightclubs for seven years solid before we got a record deal, and then 'Cowboys From Hell' and 'Vulgar Display Of Power,' we toured non-stop four years for those records, and we developed the most brutal, loyal fan base on the face of the earth.

I'm a veteran of Ozzfest.

The relationship in Pantera and with Damageplan is the opposite of the traditional rhythm section. It's me and Dime, not the bass, locking in always. Dime's such a strong rhythm player that we just walk in, and we're good to go. We've been playing together forever, and when he goes somewhere, I instinctively know where he's going.

There are numerous different kinds of drum sounds - some are more ambient and roomy and this, that, and the other, the John Bonham kind of thing. Then there's kinda what I did with Pantera, which was much more attacky, and then with what I did for 'Blood For Blood' on the Hellyeah record is kind of a combination of all of that.

We are firm believers that the first time somebody hears a brand new song from the band, it shouldn't be on a cell phone camera with the distortion or anything where you can't make it out. We want to present it right.

A lot of people are really hung on the past - they can't get past that - but you've gotta get past that if you want any future.

I think there's a lot of death metal or doom metal dudes that somehow or another find a groove in it.

We made this mountain with 'Vulgar Display Of Power,' and that was a pretty damn tall mountain to climb.

I like being able to own things, to not have to depend on music to support myself. Music hadn't supported me since 2000. I mean, it really hasn't. I just do it because I love doing it.