Name: Forging his own path: Wolfgang Van Halen talks tour, Oscars performance and his legendary father
Brand: mcall.com
SKU: mcall-com-39
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Forging his own path: Wolfgang Van Halen talks tour, Oscars performance and his legendary father

preview

When you’re a musician with the last name Van Halen, you might think it would be a daunting task establishing yourself as an individual artist, but that was never going to be a problem for multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Wolfgang Van Halen, who’s proven himself to be more than capable.The son of legendary guitarist Edward Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli was only 16 when he played bass and toured the world with his famous father and the legendary band that bears their name. Wolf would later go on to have a role in what would become the band’s final studio album, 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth.Shortly after the passing of his father in 2020, Wolfgang Van Halen released his first band album, Mammoth WVH; the name a reference to both Wolf’s initials and an homage to an earlier band that featured his father and uncle, Alex, prior to forming Van Halen. The album would reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock chart and the single, “Distance,” would earn the legendary guitarist’s son his own Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song.&nbsp;Even more impressive is that all of the writing, vocal and instrumentation (including guitars, bass, drums) on the album was done by Wolfgang exclusively.Wolf’s most recent album, Mammoth II, also topped the Hard Rock album chart when it was released last summer — a feat that not only speaks to the maturity of Wolf as a player but also solidifies him as a consummate artist.On Saturday, Wolfgang Van Halen will bring his monstrous Mammoth II tour to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem for a night of rock music and ferocious guitar playing.
I recently spoke with Van Halen about his upcoming performance in Bethlehem, music and more in this exclusive new interview.You recently attended the Oscars where you got to perform with Slash and Ryan Gosling on “I’m Just Ken,” a song nominated for an Academy Award and one you helped record for the “Barbie The Album” soundtrack. What was that experience like?Wolfgang Van Halen: It was very crazy but an exciting thing to be a part of. That is not my normal place to hang around in or operate from, so I felt a little like a fish out of water [laughs].Did you know at the time how special your contributions to that film would be?I knew at the time that it was awesome but I had no idea it was going to blow up the way that it did. After I’d seen the clips and [producer] Mark Ronson explained the whole story to me I knew it would be great. To have a small part in something like that was a really cool thing. I loved playing on it and being a part of the movie.What can fans expect from your upcoming performance at Wind Creek Event Center?It’s the top of the tour back in the States. It’s our first show with the wonderful band, Intervals, opening for us. So if you feel like hanging out and listening to some cool rock and&nbsp; awesome guitar playing it’s going to be a good time.What inspired the name of your band, Mammoth?Mammoth was a band name my dad [Eddie Van Halen] had used when he was younger for a three-piece band he was in where he sung. I’ve always felt really close to that name. I even told my dad when I was growing up that if I ever had a band I would call it that, and here we are.Can you talk a bit about your latest album, Mammoth II, and its evolution?The first album I recorded in 2018 so there had been a lot of time in between. With the first album I was trying to figure out who I was as an artist. By the time the second album came around I had established everything I wanted to, so it was more about experimenting and being a bit more confident in what the project was. I had a lot of fun exploring what the band was capable of.Your dad inspired thousands of people to want to play guitar, so here’s a two-part question: How did you get the gig in Van Halen and more importantly, what was it like for you to perform live with your dad (and uncle)?It was wonderful. A time in my life I was very happy to have experienced. Being able to bond with my family in that was very special to me. When I joined they were at a point in time where they didn’t know what was going on. We just started jamming for fun and before you knew it, it felt like something really special and important was happening. That’s how it began.I’m going to put you on the spot now — what’s your favorite Van Halen song?&nbsp;Wow, it’s difficult to pick favorite songs because I really love all of it. The closest I could narrow it down to would be two albums from each era. I think the Fair Warning and 1984 albums are two of my favorites. “Hear About it Later” off of Fair Warning is a really great song I don’t think gets enough praise.What was the biggest thing your dad taught you about playing guitar?He actually never taught me how to play guitar so we never really did any lessons. I actually taught myself. The funny thing I always like to remember is something his dad told him, which was if you ever make a mistake, play it twice so that people think you meant to play it [laughs].How about his advice on music or the business in general?He always said be careful and aware of everything and only work with people you trust. Luckily things have been going well so far. We’ve built a very wonderful group of people around Mammoth I’m very proud to be working with.Musically speaking, what excites you the most about the future?I’m excited to keep working Mammoth. It’s my passion and the one thing I want to do in life. We’re having all of these opportunities to open for amazing bands. We’ve been opening for Metallica and recently opened for Slash in Europe. Now we’re playing with one of my favorite bands, Intervals. We also have some dates opening for Foo Fighters. It’s crazy to have your whole year planned out for you but now it’s fun to be able to execute and play all of these exciting shows. I feel very lucky and grateful to be doing what I’m doing right now.James Wood is a freelance writer. You can reach him at jimmywood@gmail.com.

When you’re a musician with the last name Van Halen, you might think it would be a daunting task establishing yourself as an individual artist, but that was never going to be a problem for multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Wolfgang Van Halen, who’s proven himself to be more than capable.The son of legendary guitarist Edward Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli was only 16 when he played bass and toured the world with his famous father and the legendary band that bears their name. Wolf would later go on to have a role in what would become the band’s final studio album, 2012’s A...

Forging his own path: Wolfgang Van Halen talks tour, Oscars performance and his legendary father

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS