It's been three years to the day that we lost Vinnie Paul (Abbott).  Vinnie was the pride of Abilene, Texas (or maybe it's dirty little secret).  We all got to know Vinnie not only through his numerous visits to town with Pantera, but he and Dime would sneak in for shows with other artists as well (They came to an FMX Birthday Bash to see Sevendust on one side, then snuck over to see April Wine on the other).

Dime and Vinnie chose Lubbock as one of the places to launch their "Damageplan" project and we still have the stickers and signatures on the back of our control board to prove it.

We kind of thought we'd seen the last of Vinnie after his brother's murder, but he rebounded and pretty much headed up the band Hellyeah (everything about the band reeked of the way Vinnie expressed himself).  We were able to enjoy Hellyeah for about twelve years before Vinnie went to the great gig in the sky. Roy Mayorga of Slipknot helped the band tour to promote the last album that Vinnie played on.

It's crazy to think of two brothers being as identifiable as Dimebag and Vinnie. Dimebag had a BIG personality, but so did Big Vin. It was a treat to talk to them and they were more than happy to share a little time with everyone.

On this, the third anniversary of his death, I thought you might like a few pics to remember the legendary Vinnie Paul.

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