The day Wolfgang Van Halen found out his father was famous: interview

Wolfgang Van Halen says he was “six or seven” the day he found out his father Eddie was a famous rock guitarist. “They were doing all the CD remasters” for six Van Halen albums from the David Lee Roth era, he told UCR.

“I found a box of them all, and saw my name on it and a picture of my dad. I said, ‘Daddy, what is this?’ and he said, ‘Oh, yeah, uh … that’s what I do.’ And he kind of introduced me to everything. “

Wolfgang quickly followed in his father’s footsteps, obtaining a drum kit after an unconventional lesson from Eddie; a song from the band’s 1991 album For illegal carnal knowledge inspired him to take his father’s instrument.

“When I was 12 and graduated sixth grade, I wanted to perform ‘316’, the song my father wrote for me when I graduated from college,” he recalls. “So, I just learned this song, and from there I got down to the guitar and tried to learn everything I could. In a few years, he switched to bass.

Wolfgang released his first single, “Distance”, earlier this week. The song was released under the band name Mammoth WVH and pays tribute to his father, who died last month.

Although Eddie Van Halen provided “little lessons here and there,” Wolfgang was almost completely self-taught. “He never really tried to push me in any direction,” he says. “I think the only thing he really presented to me was AC / DC, the album Powerage was a big link for us. “Down Payment Blues” was my dad and my favorite song. But from there I kind of developed my own taste. I was really in Blink-182. I played State enema all the time – that’s how I learned the drums. It wasn’t until I discovered Tool that I started to see an improvement in my skills trying to play like Danny Carey. “

Wolfgang eventually learned the Van Halen catalog well enough to join the band as a bassist in 2007. He was also tasked with choosing the set lists for the shows. He has a particular affinity for an unexpected album: “I was only alive since [1995’s] Balanced and For illegal carnal knowledge grow up like a child. So I still have a very close bond with Balanced. It’s still one of my favorites [Sammy] Hagar Albums. “

He also supports his father’s repeated claims that Peter Gabriel’s 1986 smash Therefore was the last album the guitarist had ever purchased, noting that “not too much” outside music was never played in the house. “The one thing my dad has ever been like ‘Wolf, you gotta check this out’,” he recalls. “He put on a helmet and played ‘Red Rain’ for me. He liked Therefore so much, and so do I. It’s one of my all time favorite albums. It’s his favorite album, and he transferred it to me. “

Still, Wolfgang’s likes came from his father’s favorite bands like Cream. His records on a desert island include Karnivool Its awake, Tools Aenima, Porcupine Tree’s Deadwing and “maybe something classic like Abbey Road, another that I can listen to throughout and that I never get tired of. “

He doesn’t remember having any disagreements with Eddie about music growing up. “I was really into System of a Down in college, but I don’t think he ever knew the name of the band,” says Wolfgang. “He always called them ‘La la la la la la la la la la la’, because of the song ‘BYOB’. He thought that was really funny.”