Cowboy From Hell: How Vinnie Paul Helped Craft the Country Music Underground
When you’re looking for the names of people who were imperative to the rise and eventual success of independent country music that we enjoy today, the drummer for the metal band Pantera may not be your first choice to finger. But Vinnie Paul, who passed away on Friday, June 22nd, played a seminal role in the formation of the country music underground that would eventually give rise to a new generation of independent stars like Hank Williams III, Shooter Jennings, and later Cody Jinks and even Sturgill Simpson through seminal efforts to present the importance and majesty of country music to a generation of fans who had been predisposed to hating country music previously.
Before the mid 00’s, there was no underground in country music to speak of, at least in any organized state. There were a few acts like Randy Howard, Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, and blues acts like Scott H. Biram building the foundations of what would come later. There was also alt-country, with artists like Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, and Ryan Adams, and labels that had sprung up in the decade before such as Bloodshot Records to support them. But it wasn’t until Hank Williams III came along with not just a sound, but a DIY approach to country music that fans and new performers came flooding into the movement, and rallying behind it.
This surge in popularity happened very specifically due to the efforts of the members of Pantera, which was officially disbanded in 2003 before everything began to get organized in the country underground in earnest. The former lead singer Phil Anselmo decided to recruit Hank Williams III as a member of his heavy metal side project Superjoint Ritual in the early 00’s. When punks and metal fans started digging into the past of Hank3 after seeing him on stage with Anselmo, they pulled up records like Risin’ Outlaw, and Lovesick, Broke, and Driftin’ from Hank3’s country catalog.
These Hank3 records weren’t country punk or country metal, and they certainly weren’t the country music of the day that was giving rise to performers like Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney. This was throwback, old school country music that featured fiddle, steel, yodels and moans, and amazing songwriting from Hank3, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, and others. The pain and sorrow found in these recordings was something punk and metal fans could immediately relate to. They just needed an introduction to how country music could speak to them, and wasn’t all Shania Twain and Garth Brooks.
Meanwhile and simultaneously, Vinnie Paul was laboring on a project many years in the making, and much-anticipated by metal and country fans alike. It was called Rebel Meets Rebel, and it bridged the two worlds of country and metal like never before. Recorded intermittently between 1999 and 2003 whenever Pantera had lulls in its schedule, it was the first, and arguably the best bridging of country and heavy metal music in history. David Allan Coe had struck up a friendship with Vinnie Paul and his brother and Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, and the trio decided to form a band together, with Pantera playing the music, and David Allan Coe being the frontman.
But the project almost never saw the light of day. After Pantera dissolved, Vinnie Paul formed the metal band Damageplan with Dimebag, and began touring the country. Where the height of Pantera saw the band playing to sold out arenas on world tours, Damageplan played to clubs around the country, keeping it personal with fans. On December 8th, 2004 when playing a show at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, former Marine Nathan Gale jumped out of the crowd, brandishing a 9mm pistol. He shot Dimebag Darrell five times in the head right after the show started. Gale also killed three other individuals, and wounded seven more in the rampage before being shot by a responding police officer. Nathan Gayle was said to be inspired by the breakup of Pantera to carry out the mass shooting.
After the death of Dimebag Darrell, it looked like the long-rumored Rebel Meets Rebel project may not move forward. But after burying his brother, Vinnie Paul set out to do what he could to finish the record, and release it to the public. Rebel Meets Rebel featured 12 tracks, including a guest appearance by Hank Williams III on the song “Get Outta My Life.” Paul formed his own record label called Big Vin Records in a partnership with Fontana Records and Universal Music so the album could be released. Rebel Meets Rebel was eventually sent to stores on May 2nd, 2006.
With all the lyrics written by David Allan Coe, and all the music performed by Pantera, Rebel Meets Rebel is surprisingly good for a side project, even if it feels silly and sloppy in some spots. Much of the record focuses on illustrating the similarities of country and metal, not just sonically, but philosophically through the lyrics, and the album has a few songs that show surprising depth. Though today a record with the Confederate Flag emblazoned on the cover would immediately be labeled as racist, the song “Cherokee Cry” is given credit for its anti-racist message, specifically aimed at the plight of Native Americans.
Just three months before, Hank Williams III had released his magum opus double album Straight to Hell. Paired with Rebel Meets Rebel, a new country music underground began to be flooded with punk and metal fans, and artist who appreciated the old school-style of country music. And this wasn’t evidenced in country metal hybrids, though this was one element of the new underground country scene. Many of these fans found an appreciation for the original Hank Williams, more contemporary traditional country performers like Dale Watson and Wayne “The Train” Hancock, and even bluegrass got into the mix with bands like The Hackensaw Boys and the .357 String Band.
Today, the thriving, vibrant scene that has risen up to support artists such as Sturgill Simpson, Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan, Sarah Shook, and Margo Price can be very specifically tied back to the formation of the country music underground made possible by the efforts of former Pantera members, and Vinnie Paul specifically. Artist and fans who grew up with the traditional country music they heard their grandparents play were reaching back to their roots as they searched for stability and meaning after their wild 20’s, and found it in the classic recordings, and a new generation of artists and fellow fans.
What did Vinnie Paul have to do with Sturgill Simpson winning a Grammy Award, and artists like Cody Jinks and Margo Price selling out multiple nights at the Ryman Auditorium? On the surface, it may not seem like much. But for the country fans who started in punk and metal, and have been along for the ride ever since, they don’t need to be told how important Vinnie Paul was. Like Gram Parsons, Vinnie Paul offered something invaluable to their lives—he proved country music could be cool.
June 23, 2018 @ 12:48 pm
I was raised on country music, the real stuff. Punk not so much. I lost interest in country music somewhere in the early 90s. For me it was BR549 , the Derailers, Hank III, Dale Watson, Wayne the Train and Dwight Yoakam that got me interested again. This would have been the late 90s. There was a country underground of sorts for sure. In my opinion Pantera had little to do with the success of those folks. I will give ya Hank III. But going to see those names live, I don’t particularly recall seeing lots of metal heads in the crowd. So did VP really fuel the underground country movement? Not from my perspective. I’m sure he probably turned some folks on to it, but honestly it did fine on its own merits. I’ve always been turned off by the way some music journalists in the past wanna compare country to punk or metal as if to try to make it palatable or cool. Real country stands on its own. The influence of Pantera on rock however is undeniable.
June 23, 2018 @ 1:42 pm
We all have our own little perspectives on music based on your own experiences. For many, their experience started as metal fans and through former members of Pantera, were turned onto Hank3, and then by proxy, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Dale Watson, and others. I think it is undeniable that the crowds started to swell after “Rebel Meets Rebel” and “Straight to Hell,” and Wayne Hancock will tell you himself that nobody helped his career more than Hank3. It’s not that these bands weren’t around before, or fans for them. It’s that the injection of metal fans created commercial viability behind the DIY approach to country music, and that hit its peak in the mid 00’s. I’ve also had discussions with Sturgill Simpson’s manager Marc (and he’s also spoken publicly about it) that watching the groundswell behind Hank3 is what inspired him to first manage Shooter Jennings, and later to manage Sturgill, seeing the potential if an artist could harness this groundswell and be smart about it. It’s also worth pointing out that Dwight Yoakam got his start on the West Coast along with Rosie Flores and others opening for and touring with punk bands. That was an earlier incarnation of the underground country movement in the 80’s with The Knitters, etc.
I’m not trying to present Vinnie Paul as some country music savior or anything. But I do think his efforts with “Rebel Meets Rebel” resulted in a tremendous cross pollination of country and metal fans. And by the way, when I go to see Wayne Hancock, ALL I see is Hank3 fans and metalheads. But perhaps that’s just the market I live in.
June 23, 2018 @ 1:47 pm
No doubt they helped get his name out there and he helped the whole genre.
June 23, 2018 @ 6:08 pm
I agree with this and have experienced it at shows first hand as well. I even remember seeing a group of metal heads at a William Elliot Whitmore show, all decked out in their studded leather jackets complete with metal band patches.
June 23, 2018 @ 7:19 pm
There’s a whole sect of country and roots artists who came up via punk and metal circuits because they couldn’t find traction anywhere else. William Elliot Whitmore is a perfect example. He started his career as a roadie for the punk band Ten Grand, and started opening shows for them. Then he started opening for Chris Cornell and Clutch. And this also works both ways. There are many country and roots fans who are into band like Clutch, Social Distortion, etc. because they bring country and roots artists out on the road with them.
June 23, 2018 @ 7:21 pm
Hell yeah, Clutch kicks ass, love those guys and Social D!
June 23, 2018 @ 8:58 pm
Also, along with rock bands having roots artists open for them…not sure if anyone saw, but I thought it was really cool that Queens of the Stoneage will be having C.W. Stoneking open for them on their Australian tour in a few months.
June 24, 2018 @ 5:57 am
And Whitmore toured with The Red Sparrows and The Saviours. Also, Converge. And alot with Murder By Death. His album “Song Of The Blackbird” had mentions by writers in metal mags Terrorizer and Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles for album of the year.
June 24, 2018 @ 4:15 pm
Very well written and informative piece. Thank you for shedding light on an area of underground county music that a lot of folks don’t know anything about.
June 27, 2018 @ 4:04 pm
Yes, VP really did help fuel the underground country movement. I am 45. All I used to listen to since the time I was a kid was metal, metal, metal. Until Rebel Meets Rebel. That introduced to me to not just country music, but GOOD country music. It made me wonder about what I had been missing this whole time. I looked into David Allen Coe. I liked what I heard. And from there it snowballed.
Without Rebel Meets Rebel, I wouldn’t be supporting artists like Sarah Shook, Hank III, amongst others. I’d never have picked up Angeleena Presley’s CD, and never have gone to any of her shows. Or Red Molly. Or Miranda Lambert. Or Dwight Yoakam. Are all these artists I named underground? No. But they are all good. And I’m proud to support country music, regardless of what sub genre you want to call it.
June 28, 2018 @ 5:23 am
James,
Love your passion, man. It’s all good. As Trig implied, we all discovered country music on our own terms.
June 28, 2018 @ 8:17 am
Thanks, Kevin! Keep on rockin’!
June 23, 2018 @ 1:22 pm
Great article Trig. I grew up listening to country. Like many, as a teenager I went away from my parents music and found classic rock and heavy metal. I still listened to a little of the old country like Marty Robbins, Johnny Horton, Hank and Cash, but did not like county radio in the 90s and 00s. Then I heard Hank 3 and fell in love with real country again. My wife was still in a CD a month club where they shipped you a CD each month if you didn’t decline. I didn’t care for most of what she got, Lady Antebellum etc. One month it was Cross Canadian Ragweed “Garage”. We put it in the car player and I was surprised that I kinda liked it. When “Dimebag” came on I got goosebumps. At the time I didn’t know about the connections that the Abbots had to country music. These days I still listen to a lot of Metal, but also tons of real country, old and new. Now I know that I have Vinny Paul, Hank 3, and Saving Country Music among others to thank for rekindling my love for country.
June 23, 2018 @ 1:45 pm
Vinnie and Dime’s father is Jerry Abbott who is/was a country songwriter and producer. I was also brought back to country by Hank 3. His voice in the chorus of ‘Get Outta My Life” is different than he has ever sounded. That album rocked a little harder than I was expecting… They always played a recording of “Jack Daniels If You Please” before taking the stage. Never saw them with Pantera but did see Damage plan and Vincent Paul Abbott was a monster on the drums. RIP.
June 23, 2018 @ 2:32 pm
I’ll tell you this: music lost a real fan and booster today. VP was a regular at lots of music venues, he was as big a fan as he was a contributor. Friendly guy, no airs, no pretense, no problem rubbing shoulders with the masses…even more impressive when you take what happened to his brother into account. While I didn’t necessarily like everything he did, it was all honest. He’s going to be sorely missed.
June 23, 2018 @ 4:51 pm
RIP Vin.,. thank you
June 23, 2018 @ 6:00 pm
Good article. Was a huge Pantera and Dimebag fan, sad to see both Dime and Vinnie pass so young.
June 23, 2018 @ 6:04 pm
Never really got into metal, but quite liked Pantera for some reason. Actually, the reason was probably Dimebag Darrell – really enjoyed playing some of his stuff when I was learning the guitar as a kid. Didn’t know Vinnie Paul was into country or had any impact whatsoever on independent country music, which I have really grown to love over recent years, so he gets my heartfelt respect and gratitude for that. I also had literally no idea that he did some sort of country meets metal side project; I’ll have to give that a listen at some point.
RIP
June 23, 2018 @ 7:20 pm
I used to enjoy seeing Vinnie on “That Metal Show” on VH1. Very cool, amiable dude. Powerhouse drummer. RIP.
June 24, 2018 @ 12:15 am
Everyone has their story for how they came to enjoy country music but it’s undeniable that a lot of metal fans gave the music a shot after Pantera.
June 24, 2018 @ 6:45 am
the country music scene was there before and has always been, whatever you called it in the 80 s and 90 s , cowpunk, americana, and so on. Jason and the scorchers, beat farmers, mojo nixon, dash rip rock…. They all were there before 2000. It s still sad to hear Vinnie passing away, because there are many similiraties between Pantera and country.
June 24, 2018 @ 7:25 am
Yes, and the Texas scene has been around forever, too. Jerry Jeff and Gary P. Nunn, to Robert Earl, Tommy Alverson, Asleep At The Wheel, Dale Watson, down to guys like Pat Green and Cory Morrow, who were making a splash in the late nineties. It’s a lot more well known nowadays, but it was never dead.
June 24, 2018 @ 9:14 am
The Texas scene is its own animal entirely, and has virtually nothing to do with underground country, either sonically or logistically, or the DIY approach to the music. Nobody is saying that there weren’t independent scenes in country music before Vinnie Paul decided to make a record with David Allan Coe. The point is that it was this moment coinciding with other events that gave rise to a moment that wasn’t there before due to the injection of heavy metal fans.
June 24, 2018 @ 1:06 pm
I agree that the Texas scene is it’s own animal entirely. I could not disagree with you more on it having nothing to do with underground country (It’s country music not played on country radio – underground), and has nothing to do with DIY. Most Texas artists are on independent labels, which seems to me to be the very essence of DIY. Hell, Willie was among the first to take control of his music, and he did it IN TEXAS, setting the standard for Texas independent country music.
June 24, 2018 @ 9:10 am
Nobody is saying that there wasn’t a punk gone country movement before Vinnie Paul whatsoever. I have covered that very extensively on this site. Here’s some examples:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/revitalizing-lower-broadway-the-abominable-frontman/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/album-review-dash-rip-rocks-wrongheaded/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/the-parody-created-when-some-punk-bands-go-country/
But I think the underground movement is something a bit different and autonomous, even though they have similarities. What I’m saying here is that the participation of former members of Pantera is what injected the burgeoning underground country movement with a ton of interest and energy, which allowed artists like Hank Williams III and others to rise out of virtual obscurity and become huge sales producers and concert draws. The reason I can speak with authority about this is because it was this injection of interested that allowed Saving Country Music to form initially and be successful. Without those metal fans, there wouldn’t have been the interest. Same goes with the festivals that cropped up at the time like Muddy Roots, Farmageddon Fest, etc. That doesn’t mean that was how you personally were introduced to the music, but if you see the comments here and on social media, Pantera, Superjoint, Hank3, Rebel Meets Rebel is EXACTLY what got many fans into country music, and specifically old school country music.
June 24, 2018 @ 9:46 am
Spot on. This is how I and many other friends were introduced to “old school country music”.
June 24, 2018 @ 7:44 am
Big Pantera fan here, this sucks. Pantera was a bad ass band and both brothers seemed to be normal guys that played the shit out of their instruments. I have no doubt they enjoyed country music. Never got to see them live. I’ve always been a country music fan but as Ive got older, I like good music. Pantera was just that, great vocals, great lyrics and great jams. I never got into the newer heavy metal bands, too much screaming. RIP Vinnie.
June 24, 2018 @ 8:21 am
For me, Rebel Meets Rebel was a path from country to metal.
I particularly like Vinnie’s band Hellyeah.
I missed his passing somehow.
Great article
June 24, 2018 @ 9:31 am
I loved country as a little kid and moved into rock and metal in my teen years. Started on Metallica and then discovered Pantera and I listened to metal pretty much exclusively into and through college. My gf introduced me to the Texas country scene and I pretty much just listen to country music now, except I still bust out Pantera from time to time. Walk, 5 Minutes Alone, This Love, and Cemetery Gates all still really do it for me.
June 24, 2018 @ 9:32 am
The first time I saw Pantera live was at a tiny all ages punk club, a few months after the release of “Cowboys From Hell”. I was front row in a crowd of less than a hundred people and the show was amazing. The next time I saw them, a couple years later, was from the nosebleed seats of an auditorium alongside a couple thousand other fans. Again, the band was fantastic. Years later I saw Vinnie Paul perform with his most recent band, Hellyeah. Paul was always a top notch performer with a distinct style and unmatched power. I’ll be revisiting those bands and Rebel Meets Rebel this weekend. Rest in peace, Vinnie \m/
June 24, 2018 @ 9:47 am
Pantera in a small club….you lucky sumbich!
June 24, 2018 @ 10:36 am
I can confirm this much, as a Midwest metalhead in the ‘90s: Pantera hipped a whole bunch of heshers to David Allen Coe and outlaw country. That music wasn’t on the radio or MTV or even considered cool back then. It was basically your parents’ music. But Vinnie Paul and Dimebag used to wear DAC t-shirts on stage and talk about Texas/Louisiana/Southern music. A lot of people my age (late-30s) probably first decided it was ok to listen to country because they saw it as part of the Pantera vibe.
June 24, 2018 @ 12:09 pm
Let me state first of all that I am a huge country fan and a huge punk and metal fan. I love Hank3 and Pantera and I’ve worn out and given away several copies of Rebel Meets Rebel. But I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Vinnie Paul was “ imperative to the rise and eventual success of independent country music that we enjoy today” or that he “played a seminal role in the formation of the country music underground.”
Yes he is connected to country music. His dad was a country producer, he’s a Texan, and he collaborated with David Allen Coe. His connection to country is undeniable. Rebel Meets Rebel was a hybrid of metal and country never heard before and surely introduced fans of one genre to the other. As stated in this article “it was the first, and arguably the best bridging of country and heavy metal music in history”, which I agree with. However in my opinion Phil Anselmo having Hank3 as part of Superjoint Ritual led more metal fans to listen to Hank3 and in turn I believe Hank3 is imperative and seminal to the formation and rise of underground country more so than Vinnie Paul. Yes there is connection and influence but to say that “the thriving, vibrant scene that has risen up to support artists such as Sturgill Simpson, Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan,…can be very specifically tied back to the formation of the country music underground made possible by the efforts of former Pantera members, and Vinnie Paul specifically” is giving to much credit to the wrong person. In my opinion. I heard of Rebel Meets Rebel because of Hank3 not the other way around
If anything I think a band like Social Distortion or Mike Ness’s solo records had more influence on introducing punk/metal fans and country fans to opposite genres, and given rise to the underground county music.
I grew up with Johnny Cash around the house but didn’t really fall in love with his music until I heard Social Distortion cover “Ring of Fire”. Go to a Social D show and you will truly see a mixed crowd. Bikers, Mohawks, greasers, and even cowboys. Tight jean, pointy boot, belt buckle wearing cowboys. Guys that look like they belong at a George Straight concert, not at the show of a band who started as a snotty punk band in the 70’s. I’ve been to dozens of Social D shows and it’s impossible to count the number of fans wearing Johnny Cash shirts. Most Punks and metal heads have always loved Johnny Cash and don’t forget Johnny Cash has covered Danzig, Nine Inch Nails, and Soundgarden, which I’m sure has led some country fans being interested in these heavier bands.
In fact in September I’m going to a Social D show and Mike and the boys are bringing along Justin Townes Earle. I heard of Justin Townes Earle because of his father Steve Earle, who I heard of because of the Pogues. They collaborated on a song together and if you watch the video of them recording you will see Steve Earle wearing a Metallica shirt. So you have a case where
a country singer is wearing a t-shirt of a metal band while recording a song with an Irish punk band. The connection and influence of these genres on each other has been around a lot longer than Vinnie Paul’s influence.
This isn’t a knock against Vinnie Paul. I do believe he had some indirect minor influence on the rise of underground country because of the genre bending Rebel Meets Rebel album, and his death is a loss to the music world , but I think to say that “This surge in popularity happened very specifically due to the efforts of the members of Pantera” is giving them too much credit for something that would have happened anyway and doesn’t give enough proper credit to musicians like Mike Ness and Johnny Cash who bended the genres while Vinnie Paul was still teasing out his hair when Pantera was very much a glam band. Like another fan posted “real country stands on its own.” I think the surge of popularity in artists like Sturgill Simpson would have happened regardless of Rebel Meets Rebel being released and Vinnie Paul’s part in it. No disrespect to Vinnie Paul. He will be missed by many a musician and fan alike. Rest In Peace.
June 24, 2018 @ 4:51 pm
Good points Jay. The universalness of Cash is clear. All ages, all genres liked him. In his own autobiography Cash admitted he once attended a Metallica show with his son! A couple years ago I photographed a Cash Tribute concert at RNR Hall of fame in Cleveland. Mike Ness was on the bill and played covers of 13, Ring of Fire and one other tune. So, no doubt Social D fans like country music or at least get indirect exposure to it.I get ya.
Trig is correct in that Hank III has held a lot of appeal to metalheads and punk fans due to his own dabblings in those genres and his infamous “second set” he plays at shows. And nobody trumpeted Wayne Train harder than III. So I agree with all of that. But here’s another take on the underground country movement that a lot of folks know nothing about, because its been years ago. Mid 90s, Brian Setzer released Jump, Jive and Wail , a cover of Louis Prima. That led to a huge swing revival at the time. As a side part of that, Rockabilly got an enormous resurgence as well. Wayne The Train, Big Sandy and the Fly Right Boys, High Noon, Deke Dickerson, Rosie Flores, Ronnie Dawson, Reverend Horton Heat and a hundred other bands either surfaced or got a resurgence of interest. In many big towns across this country, rockabilly communities popped up. It was quite a scene. The same fan base that supported those shows started noticing Dale Watson, BR549, Junior Brown, The Derailers, Hank III and other country acts that dared play retro old school honky tonk. I was around in the mid-west at the time and fondly remember attending all those concerts. No Depession magazine and Blue Suede News magazine covered that scene extensively and in some regards it still exists. BR549 and Junior Brown actually had hits on country radio and regularly played the Opry and got loads of exposure. The Derailers made Austin City Limits! So legit country radio folks were aware of the scene to some degree and that helped bring in fans.
Thats the other part of the underground country story. Did some metal fans and punks help it along? Sure! But so did a lot of other folks. I agree with you that it would have made it regardless. But I appreciate Triggers perspective as well, he was in with Hank III at ground level and has his own unique vantage point.
June 24, 2018 @ 11:31 pm
Thanks for the perspective Jay.
Just to emphasize, I went out of my way to parallel the importance of Vinnie Paul and “Rebel Meets Rebel” with Hank3, Superjoint and Phil Anselmo, and even presented Hank3 and Superjoint first because I would agree they were probably the more significant driver of converting metal fans to country. However I think Vinnie and David Allan Coe played a significant role there as well. Depending on how your specific conversion happened, you may see this as either embellished, or right on the money.
Saving Country Music started as an organization called Free Hank III. I got into more classic country music through Hank3 directly. I was never a big metal fan. But as I began to study why there were so many punk and metal fans gravitating towards country, I began to understand the origins of their fandom. After writing this article, I’ve seen many people saying that the pattern I described here was exactly how they came to country. There’s also many others who charted a different path, but that doesn’t mean the Vinnie Paul/”Rebel Meets Rebel” path wasn’t a significant one. There may be more significant ones, but for those that followed that path, it was very significant to them, if that makes sense.
I would have never written this article if Vinnie Paul had not died. That’s not to say that I embellished this story or perspective, but when someone passes away, I believe it’s important to celebrate and extol their contributions.
June 24, 2018 @ 4:16 pm
R.I.P. Vinnie.
June 25, 2018 @ 7:04 am
RIP Vinnie, and thank you for everything. Rest easy.
June 25, 2018 @ 7:04 am
RIP. I was going to say youre reaching a bit and overstating the influence but the comments say different. Kid Rock had a similar sphere of influence and introduced many to country music around the same time so I suppose anything is possible. Just as classy as Anselmo too.
June 25, 2018 @ 7:18 am
Nice read. Makes me think of SCM circa 2010 when I first started reading.
I’m older than some around here and my journey from rock toward country music started with some of the more overtly country sounding great southern rock bands of the ’70s. First and foremost would be Charlie Daniels Band, but also Marshall Tucker Band and those first three Outlaws albums. Also, some of Neil Young’s more country sounding songs like Harvest, Star of Bethlehem, Love is a Rose, and Comes a Time. I did get deeper into Hank3 as a result of reading this site and then other underground country artists like Dale Watson, Wayne the Train, ‘357 String Band and Hellbound Glory. Oh, and The Boomswagglers. As for Hank3, I had bought Risin’ Outlaw when it came out. I liked it but wouldn’t say I loved it. For example, it wasn’t nearly as good as those first three Buddy Miller solo albums, which I still treasure. So when Lovesick, Broke and Driftin’ came out, I didn’t go out and buy it, even after reading an interesting article on him in No Depression magazine. Then maybe several months after being a regular reader here, I said what the hell and picked up LB&D and Straight To Hell and loved them. I’ve gotten a few other of his country albums and they’re all worth having, but those two are the ones that I go back to the most. And really, I do find Risin’ Outlaw to be quite enjoyable now, even if Hank3 isn’t crazy about how it was made.
I’ll have to check out this Rebel Meets Rebel project. I didn’t know about it previously.
June 26, 2018 @ 5:16 am
Agreed, Jack. CDB, MTB, Outlaws all lead me to more southern, swampy music. I feel like Charlie Daniels has been vastly overlooked by most country historians, and fans, for his contributions to the genre.
June 26, 2018 @ 8:49 am
I think the ability of Charlie Daniels to convert new country fans is one of the reasons he’s in the Hall of Fame before others with way more “hits” and numbers in country proper.
June 26, 2018 @ 10:23 am
You may be right, Trig. He just seems to get glossed over. At least the HOF, and the Opry give him his dues.
June 25, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
A very interesting read and an interesting comment section too I might add. For me, personally, I found Hank3 (and saving country music) my freshman year of college, by accident listening to Hank Jr. on YouTube because I was going to strangle some punk if I heard another spin of whatever the current “country” No. 1 was in the fall of 2011. I was born and raised in the farm and back then there was still some pretty good country stations in the area the played the classics that i still love. Hell the morning show used to do a sing along to “You never even called me by my name” and I loved it before I even really knew who DAC was (if anyone remembers Coleman in the Morning with Gentleman Gene Davis on 101.3 WNCO out of Ashland, Ohio, good lord that station went to hell in hurry). Anyhow Hank3 was, is, and always will be the reason I like he music I listen to now. From all the great underground country to the Texas country, to stuff like Pantara and Rebel Meets Rebel. I’ve turn people on to that kind of music to people wondering what he he’ll im listening to. Tore up and Loud come on the stereo in the shop the other night and my buddy was at a loss. I thought it was funny that he was less than amused by it. And if Vinne had anything to do with it, even just a little bit, he’s alright in my book. I personally don’t know a lot about him, but he seems to have been a good dude.
June 26, 2018 @ 2:54 am
By all accounts, the Abbott brothers were good eggs.
June 26, 2018 @ 8:57 am
Phil Anselmo …racist fucking asshole.
Do some Youtube research….some absolutely embarrassing ones out there.
His heroin addiction, alcoholism and poor judgement/ behavioral issues are the main contributing factors to Pantera’s demise.
He was told that if he showed up to Dime’s funeral, his legs would be broken.
The whole band loathed him.
Despite his connection with Hank III , he is considered a true absolute piece of shit in the industry if there ever was one.
June 26, 2018 @ 9:00 am
RIP Vinny Paul.
You were a monster behind the kit and you played as hard as you worked.
Give Dime a kiss from all of us and have more than one Black Tooth Grin while the two of you are catching up.