Jenna Williams, founder of TheScreamQueen.com, recently caught up with HELLYEAH / PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: When you guys are writing your songs, when does everyone really know the right moment when the songs are ready to be recorded?

Vinnie: "Well, we work really different, you know. This started with probably the last couple of Pantera records I was a part of. We always recorded everything as we went, that way you capture the moment, you capture the vibe, you capture the feeling of what's going on at that time. A lot of bands get what's called 'demo-itis' you know. They'll demo something out, they'll get real happy with it, and then they'll go try to re-record it and it doesn't have the same vibe, it doesn't have the same feel, it doesn't have the, you know, what you were feeling that day, you know? And so, we [Pantera] learned a long time ago, just record everything as we go. And we build it from there, we're all producers, we all take turns having our input into everything, and we[Hellyeah] all get along very great. So, that works out good and you know, we know they're good, when they're 'comin' done,' you know? We don't don't go back and redo them, we don't do anything. What you hear is probably the first time we ever went through it. It's just a vibe thing that we have."

Q: You mentioned earlier that there is a brotherhood in Hellyeah; how would you describe the passion and connection you all have and how did your connection with Dimebag differ because you two were real brothers?

Vinnie: "Yeah. Well, I mean the bond I had with my brother Dime, I will never be able to touch that again, it was-- we did everything together since I was two years old. He was two years younger than me. So, we were like a machine, you know? The way we operated between the two of us, it was like I was the business guy and he was the fun party guy (laughs). As long as he was throwing the party, I would take care of the business and vice-versa. Instead of having to be the dude that is the fun party guy and handles the business because it's usually rock 'n roll, you're one or the other. And usually it's the fun party guy, you know? So, he's greatly missed and all that, you know?"

"It was one of those things that I didn't think I'd be apart of this ever again without him and after about a year and a half had gone by, these guys called me up, Chad [Gray] and Tom [Maxwell], they were like, 'We're thinking about putting this band together, would you be into it?' First couple of times, I told them, 'No, I don't think I'm ready to do this yet.' And they just were real persistent, they kept calling me. And one night, I had been drinking some red wine and listening to some KISS on 12" and I said, 'You know what, lets take a shot at this, lets see what happens.' They came down, and we all really liked each other, got along great, we did some barbequing, did a lot of drinking, and the next day we got up and wrote our first song together, which was 'Nausea', on the first record, and we wrote eight songs the first seven days we were together, and we were like, 'Wow.' We came up with the band name and were like, 'Lets fuckin' do this! Lets do it man!' So that's how it happened."

Q: What is something that you truly want Dimebag to be remembered for by everybody, especially Pantera fans?

Vinnie: "The bottom line with him was that he wanted to put a smile on people's faces, period. It didn't matter whether it was handing out a guitar pick, doing a shot with him, taking a minute to talk to him, whatever it was, he wanted to put a smile on people's faces. And that's what got him off. That made him tick, you know? And that's something people may not have known about him. But he always gave everything he had, every day, and that was the thing I remember the most. It didn't matter how hung over he was, how tired he was, whatever. If there was someone beating on the door of the bus, he would shake hands, sign an autograph, bullshit with them for a minute, and then make their day."

Click here for the complete interview.