Dimebag wrote his riffs on the toilet says Vinnie Paul

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell Abbott
Paul and Abbott in their Damageplan days (Image credit: Getty)

Former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul has revealed that his late brother DImebag Darrell Abbott used to write all his guitar riffs while using the bathroom.

He only found out when he visited his bandmate’s home and found recording gear in the smallest room.

Paul tells Loudwire: “He’s got so much stuff, man. One of the things people don’t know about Dime, he had a guitar in his bathroom.

“I went in his bathroom one time and I was like, ‘He’s got a guitar, he’s got his little tape recorder – what’s that doing in here?’

“I said, ‘Dime, what’s the deal with guitar in the bathroom?’ He goes, ‘Man, that’s where I write all my riffs. That’s why my riffs are the shit!’”

Paul and his band Hellyeah recently released a cover of Phil Collins track I Don’t Care Anymore, featuring an unheard guitar track laid down by Dimebag before he was shot dead on stage with Damageplan in 2004.

The drummer has previously discussed the possibility of releasing more of his brother’s unreleased material. Now he says: “He would have a bad experience at Taco Bell and write a song about it. All this stuff is recorded and in the vault, and at some point people would really enjoy hearing it.

“It’s fun stuff, just him singing about life, things he went through. Nobody really knows him as a singer, but he was a pretty good singer too. I’d like to put that stuff out at some point.

“That dude could write a song about anything. And when I said there’s a song about Taco Bell, there is actually a song about Taco Bell.”

Hellyeah are currently touring North America, with European and UK dates to follow next year – full dates below.

Hellyeah tour dates

Nov 29: Cincinnati Bogarts, OH
Nov 30: Chicago House of Blues, IL
Dec 01: Kalamazoo State Theater, MI
Dec 03: Saint Paul Myth Live Event Center, MN
Dec 04: Green Bay The Sandlot, WI
Dec 06: Lincoln Bourbon Theatre, NE
Dec 07: Denver Summit Music Hall, CO
Dec 09: Los Angeles Belasco Theater, CA
Dec 10: Chico Senator Theater, CA
Dec 11: San Francisco The Regency Ballroom, CA
Dec 13: Seattle Showbox SODO, WA
Dec 14: Vancouver Commodore Ballroom, BC
Dec 16: Edmonton Union Hall, AB
Dec 17: Calgary MacEwan Hall, AB
Dec 18: Spokane Knitting Factory Concert House, WA
Dec 19: Portland Roseland Theater, OR
Dec 30: San Antonio Aztec Theatre, TX
Dec 31: Dallas House Of Blues, TX
Mar 11: Zurich Event Park, Switzerland
Mar 12: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Mar 15: Lisbon Campo Pequeno, Portugal
Mar 17: Madrid Barclaycard Center, Spain
Mar 18: Barcelona Sant Jordi Club, Spain
Mar 20: Paris Le Zenith, France
Mar 21: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Mar 22: Tilburg 013 Poppodium, Netherlands
Mar 24: Stuttgart Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle, Germany
Mar 25: Dusseldorf Mitsuhbishi Electric Halle, Germany
Mar 27: Hamburg Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Germany
Mar 28: Berlin Velodrom, Germany
Mar 30: Prague Forum Karlin, Czech Republic
Mar 31: Warsaw Torwar Hall, Poland
Apr 02: Munich Zenith, Germany
Apr 03: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Apr 04: Bratislava Aegon Arena, Slovakia
Apr 06: Lille Le Splendid, France
Apr 08: Glasgow Garage, UK
Apr 10: Leeds University Stylus, UK
Apr 11: Norwich Waterfront, UK
Apr 13: London Os Academy Islington, UK
Apr 14: Bristol Thekla, UK
Apr 15: Nottingham Rock City, UK

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.