To me, I always felt like drums have to be the support and the driving factor in a song, and there's places where the drummer has to show off and do things and get the spotlight, but not all the time. You've gotta pick and choose. And it's always gotta be about the song. That's really the bottom line.
They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With Pantera, it'll never be possible.
I am one hundred percent dedicated to Hellyeah. I love what I do in this band. I'm really proud of this band. Everybody in this band is such a special person, and the music that we make together, I really believe, is very special and the next level in my life.
That's where I think a lot of these guys today are just, 'I'm the drummer, man. Check it out. Here's my lick. I just learned this new drum lick. I'm just gonna blast all over the place.' It's like, 'Man, you've got to let the song breathe.'
We did everything we could to hold Pantera together and fought for it until the very end, and now that it's gone we're 100% focused on Damageplan.
I drink almost a bottle of pickle juice every day, man, and it keeps me going great.
I love cooking fajitas. I'm from Texas, and it's not a difficult thing to do, but a lot of people burn the chicken.
So many bands would say that they were alternative, or they were this or that... 'Heavy metal' was a pretty uncool word after about 1992; it was almost like, 'Stay away.' But it didn't bother us one bit. And our fans were the best ever.
We played nightclubs for seven years solid before we got a record deal, and then 'Cowboys From Hell' and 'Vulgar Display Of Power,' we toured non-stop four years for those records, and we developed the most brutal, loyal fan base on the face of the earth.
In 1994, we had the first record by a true heavy metal band to ever hit the Billboard top No. 1 slot. We paved the way. And we always waved the heavy metal flag.
I can appreciate people for being able to go that fast with their left hand, man. But I just can't groove to that beat. I'm sorry. It's just like somebody sweeping the floor or something - tik tik tik tik tik. It just doesn't really jam to me.
It's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage, and it's Pantera again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple.
Jacques Cousteau was my hero.
If you had an ex-wife, and it was a pretty bitter split, you might not ever want to talk to her again. Who cares if everybody in the family and your friends want you to say hello again? It's your choice whether you want to do it or not.
I don't understand why somebody would wanna scratch their name in somebody's tombstone or anything. But fans are rabid, man; they do unheard-of things.
I really felt like we were gonna be The Rolling Stones of heavy metal, and we could have been.
My life has been one gigantic comic book, and on the other hand, it's been one gigantic book of laurels and amazing accomplishments, and on the other hand, it's been a book full of horror stories. It's a big book.
I've been married to music my entire life. I've been dedicated to it. I know what it takes to do it. And ever since my brother has been taken from me, I feel like I have to live for both of us.
If you take the riff from the song 'Cowboys From Hell' and really break it down, it's almost a hillbilly guitar riff: dekka dekka dekka dekka dekka dekka dekka dek.
It's called the music business. We've all gone into it 'cause we love the music, and a lot of people end up with nothing at the end of the day, after they've done all of this great music, 'cause they never learned any of the business side.
