A three-month-old Wolfgang perched on his father Eddie Van Halen’s lap as the rock legend plays the piano is one of the endearing clips from the music video of ‘Distance’, a single from the former’s forthcoming album. A tribute to his father who passed away in October due to cancer, the album also marks the launch of Wolfgang’s band MammothWVH.
The Rock-ballad has visuals of Wolfgang’s childhood with his father and ends with a voice message from Eddie Van Halen proclaiming how proud he was of his son and how much he loved him. “I found it from the 40 voice mails I had on my phone. This particular one showed how amazing a father he was, and the love he had for me,” says Wolfgang, connecting via Zoom from California, when asked why he chose to incorporate the audio clip into the video.
“He was like a best friend; he believed in me and was so proud of me. That love keeps me going to this day,” he adds.
The lyrics of ‘Distance’ — “ I’m so happy, You’ve found a place, That’s better for you ” — portray the anguish of a son. Wolfgang says he is happy that his father was able to hear all the songs. “‘Distance’ struck a chord with many,” he adds.
As a child, Wolfgang would often try his hand at his uncle Alex Van Halen’s drums; his 10th birthday gift was a drum kit from his father. Though he moved on to playing bass, he confesses his fondness for drums. He also takes pride in naming his band Mammoth, which was the original name of Eddie Van Halen’s band.
- Eddie Van Halen’s contribution — the famous guitar solo — to Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ that made it an eternal hit is just a speck in his humongous body of work. Apart from making ‘two-handed tapping’ a technique that most lead guitarists dream of emulating, EVH was part of numbers that continue to enthral. Some of his band’s all-time hits are ‘Jump’, ‘Eruption’, ‘Panama’, ‘When it’s love’, ‘Mean Street’ and more.
- Eddie Lodewijk Van Halen was named after Ludwig Van Beethoven and Eddie named his son after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
“My dad would tell me the story how Van Halen was originally called Mammoth, and I thought it was such a great name,” he says. Wolfgang played all instruments and lent vocals for ‘Distance’. However, MammothWVH also counts Slash guitarist Frank Sidoris, Tremonti drummer Garrett Whitlock and bassist Ronnie Ficarro among its members; the band is likely to perform for the first time in 2021.
Bands and bonds
Wolfgang’s first exposure to the stage was as a toddler, when he ran on to the stage while his dad was performing. “My mother would take me to his shows, and I’d be standing at the side. She would let me run on stage. All I wanted was to just go and see my dad, but when I turned and looked at the thousands of people in the crowd, I realised I’m sharing him with all of them,” he smiles.
Wolfgang was 16 when he joined his father’s band as a bass guitarist. He held his own among the band’s established members, some of whom were giants of Rock music, which included his uncle, Alex. “I’m naturally an anxious person. Nervousness was always there despite the long rehearsals we would have. There is that blood relation between the three of us... it kind of felt natural,” he says. Ask him how his dad was as a bandmate, Wolfgang says, “We were equals. If one of us made a mistake, the other one picked up the slack. We were a great support system.”
On being asked if he had inherited any of his dad’s mannerisms or traits while performing on stage, Wolfgang says, “If I’m found emulating him that would be by accident. It is important that I must be my own person, and not be a carbon copy of my dad.” Did he inherit any of his mother’s (the award-winning actor and celebrity chef, Valerie Bertinelli) culinary skills? “I’m a terrible chef but when it comes to acting I did pretty good in theatre in school. Cooking? No way,” he chuckles.
Respect for legacy
Though he misses the hype before an album launch, Wolfgang feels social media interaction is just as good. “The positive feedback I get is amazing,” he says, adding, “Once the pandemic is over, I would love to travel, including India. I’m super excited.”
He doesn’t intend to carry forward Eddie Van Halen’s legacy by laying his hands on his father’s unreleased music, as most of his fans seem to be suggesting. “There is a whole lot of process that needs to be respected. It can’t be done haphazardly and for a quick buck. It needs to be done finding the proper time and dedicate it to him,” Wolfgang insists.
Before parting ways, he shares his favourite piece of advice from his father. “One of the favourite things he told me was if you ever make a mistake, do it twice so the audience thinks you are meant to do it,” he laughs.
