Vinnie Paul Abbott Gets Back To Music With Hellyeah

Vinnie Paul Abbott was up late one night drinking and listening to tunes when he got a phone call. The ex-Pantera and Damageplan drummer picked up the phone, unaware that the call he was answering would mark his return behind the kit.

On the other end of the line were the guys in Mudvayne, who had finished their latest tour and were talking about starting a side project that they wanted Abbott to be part of.

"They needed a drummer and they wanted a heavy hitter, and I was the guy that came to mind," says Abbott. "Well, I guess persistence pays off because they kept calling me and calling me and calling me.

"One night I said, 'You know what, that sounds like a damn good idea. Let's give it a shot.' And that's how it all started."

Abbott hadn't played in a band since his brother, former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was murdered on stage on Dec. 8, 2004. "I knew I was going to play music again," explains Abbott. "I just didn't know at what point it would happen.

"There was quite a few people that contacted me about playing, but I didn't feel like it was the right situation just yet and it wasn't really anything that made me super excited. I told myself it would have to be a special situation, and that's what happened here."

and With Abbott joining Mudvayne singer Chad Gray and guitarist Gregg Tribbett and Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano, Hellyeah were born. As soon as Abbott went into the studio, his passion to make music was rekindled and he immediately took on a leadership role.

"I've always felt like I was much more than just a drummer," says Abbott. "I've always wanted to be a producer of every record I've been a part of.

"I don't really play any other instrument properly, so the way for me to get my input in, to shape songs, is to be able to produce them, and I took on that role on this record. All the guys really learned quite a bit from me, and we worked together really great.

"We had super chemistry, and that was the most important thing from the start. When we went into the thing, there were no egos. Everybody just brought their cards to the table and it happened really quickly. We wrote seven songs in the first eight days we were together, and we really felt like we were on to something really special at that point."

Shortly before the release of the band's debut album, former Damageplan bassist Bob "Zilla" Kekaha replaced Montano following an incident at the group's CD release party where Montano got drunk and became violent. Abbott doesn't want to comment on what happened.

"We all miss Jerry and wish him the very best. We just felt like it was the right thing to do for Hellyeah to continue moving forward and be successful."

Hellyeah released their self-titled record on April 10 and it debuted at #9 on the U.S. sales chart.

The quintet will be part of the Family Values tour this summer, and will play Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre on July 24, after performing their first show on May 20 in Baltimore.

"It was amazing, man," says Abbott of the band's first gig. "It was way more than I could have dreamed for.

"It was so nice to be 100 per cent embraced by the fans from the start. They were chanting Hellyeah from the minute we hit the stage and they knew all the songs and they were singing along with them. They filled the house and it was just a really special night. And every night since then has been equal to that night if not better. It's just been awesome."