Matt Cameron on Vinnie Paul: ‘He Had So Much Charisma Onstage’
Among the speakers paying their respects via video link during the public memorial for Vinnie Paul this past Sunday (July 1) was Matt Cameron, who remembered the ex-Pantera and Hellyeah drummer by saying in part, "He had so much charisma onstage."
The Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer shared a bill with Paul when Soundgarden was on the middle slot between headliners Skid Row and Pantera during the former's Slave to the Grind tour in early 1992.
"We had the difficult task of following Pantera," Cameron says in the video below from the memorial, beginning at about the 1:13:30 mark. "I had never seen them at that point before 1992, and at that time, I was pretty confident with my band; I wasn't really intimidated that easily. But after watching Pantera smoke us, I was a little intimidated. And I was in awe of the band."
Cameron then recalled how he got up the courage to go talk to the band following the performance.
"After the show, I kind of sheepishly went up to Phil [Anselmo] and Rex [Brown], and I introduced myself. And they were total sweethearts; they could not have been nicer. They invited me on the bus, and I met Darrell and then Vinnie. Darrell rolled a big fatty, Vinnie gave me a beer… They were really hospitable guys. And I just remember that being a life lesson where I decided to stick my tail between my legs and go meet the masters."
The public memorial for Paul was held at the Bomb Factory in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas, Texas, beginning at 3:33 PM. Fans who attended "Vinnie Paul: A Public Celebration Of Life" saw many of Paul's peers, including Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains also paid their respects via video link. Read Cameron's full statement below.
Hello, this is Matt Cameron. On behalf of the entire Soundgarden band and crew, we'd like to offer our deepest condolences to the Abbott family on the passing of the great Vinnie Paul. I thank you for the invitation to the memorial service, but I'm on tour, and I really appreciate the invitation. I wish I could be there.
I was in awe of Vinnie's playing — his double kick, precision, his power, his groove. The style of drumming that Vinnie helped create and perfect was incredibly technical and incredibly difficult. He did it with such grace and power, and you could tell he loved what he was doing. He had so much charisma onstage. He loved his fans, he loved his band — you could just tell he loved what he was doing.
There was a tour in 1992 that Soundgarden was on. We opened for Skid Row and there was one show where we shared the bill with Pantera. We had the difficult task of following Pantera. I had never seen them at that point before 1992, and at that time, I was pretty confident with my band; I wasn't really intimidated that easily. But after watching Pantera smoke us, I was a little intimidated. And I was in awe of the band.
After the show, I kind of sheepishly went up to Phil [Anselmo] and Rex [Brown], and I introduced myself. And they were total sweethearts; they could not have been nicer. They invited me on the bus, and I met Darrell and then Vinnie. Darrell rolled a big fatty, Vinnie gave me a beer… They were really hospitable guys. And I just remember that being a life lesson where I decided to stick my tail between my legs and go meet the masters.
I'll never forget that experience of working with Pantera in the early '90s. I miss those guys a lot. I wish they were around. They were taken from us far too early, but their music will live on forever, and Vinnie Paul will live on forever. God bless.
News broke last Friday night (June 22) that Paul had died at the age of 54. An official cause of death has yet to be revealed.
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