Vinnie Paul Quotes

I'm a rhythm player. I need to set people up, I need to be in the flow of the game.

I play more rhythmically than I do a lot of notes.

Even though Peter Criss is a pretty simple player, he played with great feel and made the music get up and go.

I'm not a person who writes really abstract things with oblique references. I look at abstraction like I look at condiments. Give me some Tabasco sauce, some ketchup, some mayonnaise. I love all of that. Put it on a trumpet. I've just got to have the ketchup and Tabasco sauce. That's my attitude about musical philosophy.

Michael is the kind of guy who has rhythm; he has rock'n'roll in his soul, whether he really plays it or not.

Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

Rock & roll is not about what you play, it's about how you play it.

I've always seen my drumming as lyrical anyway.

I think the drummer should sit back there and play some drums, and never mind about the tunes. Just get up there and wail behind whoever is sitting up there playing the solo. And this is what is lacking, definitely lacking in music today.

There's art in rhythm playing. Just find it. Make your own art. Find your place, and when it's your time to solo, it's your time to shine.

With human beings it could be argued that all music-making is, in essence, grounded in improvisation.

How can you not love a man banging on the drums? He knows how to keep a rhythm.

Its all about finding the right note at the right place and knowing when to leave well enough alone. And that's a lifelong quest.

If you listen to the way I speak, I have a lot of rhythm, use a lot of accents. When I'm playing my instrument, that concept comes through very clearly.

The thing I try to do the most is to play in terms of the song and play in terms of what I'm hearing.

To be able to play as slow as Al Jackson is almost impossible.

I do read music, but I prefer playing from the heart.

With every record, with each band, I just try to make a song good. I'm not so much focusing on my technique. There are a million better drummers than me. I try to adapt to the songwriter; I try to adapt to the situation and retain my sort of melodic power. My goal is for the band to be good.

There's a certain groove you pick that makes the music flow, and when you have it it's in your pocket. It's the feeling behind the rhythm... to me, the hardest thing to strive for is that feeling, behind the groove.

Being a drummer, I'm always like, 'Oh, that's got a funky beat. That's cool,' and I like to dance.

Rhythm is God. I think, without rhythm, you can't create - there is no art.

Being the drummer of Fall Out Boy, and any other project I've ever done, is most importantly about playing for the music. Staying out of the way when it's needed and playing more when it makes sense.

If we don't put some acting in a dance song, no one would be able to dance on it.

Playing drums, for me, is like breathing. It's like thinking. It's like eating. It's like walking.

Energy wise, playing the drums was a lot of fun; I just felt like it was a natural fit for me.