Vinnie Paul

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Vinnie Paul
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Vincent Paul Abbott
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1964|03|11
Died =
Origin = Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre = Heavy metal, Groove metal, Southern rock
Occupation =
Years_active = 1981-present
Label =
Associated_acts = Pantera
Rebel Meets Rebel
Damageplan
Hellyeah
URL = [http://www.bigvinrecords.com/]
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Vincent Paul "Vinnie" Abbott (born on March 11, 1964 in Dallas, Texas, U.S.) is a heavy metal drummer and producer who is currently a member of supergroup Hellyeah, but is best known for being a member, and co-founder, of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded the heavy metal band Damageplan in 2003 with his late brother, Dimebag Darrell.

Life and career

Vinnie Paul is the son of Carolina Abbott and Jerry Abbott, a country music songwriter and producer. He played in Pantera, Damageplan, and Rebel Meets Rebel with his brother, late guitarist Dimebag Darrell. His professional musical relationship with his brother often earned them comparisons to fellow guitar/drum duo Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

Vinnie Paul is well-known for his extremely powerful drumming and especially for his "thundering" double bass drum playing, as a Sabian article named it. As a trustworthy reference for his individual style and advanced drumming skills, Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy has mentioned Vinnie as one of his important influences. ["In Constant Motion" Instructional DVD, "The Glass Prison" chapter] ["In Constant Motion" Instructional DVD, "Tributes and Influences" chapter]

Pantera

Vinnie Paul formed the heavy metal band Pantera in 1981 with his brother Dimebag Darrell on guitar, bassist Rex Brown, guitarist Terry Glaze, and vocalist Donnie Hart. Upon Hart's departure, Glaze assumed vocal duties and the band released three albums with that lineup.

Pantera recruited vocalist Phil Anselmo to replace Glaze in 1988. By 1990 the band had been signed to Atco Records and released "Cowboys from Hell" which proved to be the band's turning point. Over the course of four more studio records, a live album and a , Anselmo and Pantera were nominated for four best metal performance Grammys, in 1995 for "I'm Broken", 1997 for "Suicide Note Pt. I", 1998 for "Cemetery Gates" and 2001 for "Revolution Is My Name."

In 2001, Anselmo decided to put Pantera on hold because of back pain while he toured and recorded with his side projects. Official disbandment happened in 2003 by Phil Anselmo. In the years to follow bad blood would stir up between Vinnie and Anselmo. To this day, Vinnie and Phil do not talk. Phil has announced publicly he wishes Vinnie to forgive him, and reform a friendship, however when asked if reconciliation was possible Vinnie Paul stated, "Absolutely not. That's it." Fact|date=August 2008

While in between bands, the Abbott brothers and Pantera bassist Rex Brown teamed up with country artist David Allan Coe in a project called "Rebel Meets Rebel" in 2000.

Damageplan

The Abbott brothers formed heavy metal band Damageplan with, then-tattoo artist, Bob Zilla on bass, and former Halford guitarist, Patrick Lachman on vocals. Damageplan recorded one album, "New Found Power", which was released in February 2004. On December 8, 2004, while on tour to support Damageplan's album, Dimebag Darrell was shot onstage by former US marine Nathan Gale at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. Damageplan disbanded shortly thereafter.

Latest projects

Following Damageplan's demise, Vinnie Paul formed Big Vin Records in February 2006 and released "Rebel Meets Rebel" and a DVD, "Dimevision, Volume 1". Paul writes a monthly question-and-answer column in "Revolver". Paul maintains endorsement deals with Pearl drums, Sabian cymbals, and Vic Firth drumsticks. He used to endorse Tama and Remo drumheads and hardware.

Hellyeah

After the death of his brother, Vinnie Paul was unsure if he wanted to return to music, but eventually joined the supergroup Hellyeah. Hellyeah also features vocalist Chad Gray, guitarist Greg Tribbett from Mudvayne, guitarist Tom Maxwell from Nothingface, and bassist Bob Zilla from Damageplan, who replaced original bassist Jerry Montano.

Drum set configurations

Vinnie Paul plays on a Pearl MRX Masters Series: In snake skin finish (Vinnie Paul Custom Wrap)

*24x20 bass drum x 2
*14x14 tom
*15x15 tom
*18x16 floor tom
*14x8 Vinnie Paul Signature snare drum

Cymbals

Sabian
*14" AA Rock Hi-Hats
*18" AA Rock Crash
*20" AA Chinese
*18" Hand Hammered Rock Crash x 2
*22" Hand Hammered Power Bell Ride
*20" AA Chinese
*14" AA Rock Hi-Hats
*18" AA Rock Crash
*12" Sabian Ice bell
*6" Alabama white Snake

Vic Firth Sticks

American Classic Rock.American Classic MetalVinnie Paul signature (2B)Is usually witnessed playing his sticks backwards, striking the drums with the butt-ends.

Influences

Vinnie Paul once said in an interview in 2005 "My biggest drummer influence is Neil Peart, but I have a lot of other guys I'd like to name, but I can't."Fact|Date: June 2008|date=June 2008 while laughing.

Discography

Pantera

* "Metal Magic" (1983)
* "Projects In The Jungle" (1984)
* "I Am The Night" (Pantera) (1985)
* "Power Metal" (1988)
* "Cowboys from Hell" (1990)
* "Vulgar Display of Power" (1992)
* "Far Beyond Driven" (1994)
* "The Great Southern Trendkill" (1996)
* "" (1997)
* "Reinventing the Steel" (2000)

Damageplan

* "New Found Power" (2004)

Rebel Meets Rebel

* "Rebel Meets Rebel" (2006)

Hellyeah

* "Hellyeah" (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.bigvinrecords.com/ Big Vin Records Official website]
* [http://www.officialpantera.com/ Official Pantera website]
* [http://www.damageplan.com/ Official Damageplan website]
* [http://www.rebelmeetsrebel.com/ Official Rebel Meets Rebel Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/bigvinrecords Big Vin Records' Official MySpace page]
* [http://www.myspace.com/hellyeah Official HELLYEAH Myspace Page]
* [http://hellyeahband.com Official HELLYEAH website]