Wolfgang Van Halen rules out possibility of him playing on a Van Halen tribute tour: “With the way Van Halen operates, I don’t think it’s possible”
The rocker believes he got his closure when playing at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts.
Image: Scott Legato / Getty
Wolfgang Van Halen has ruled out the possibility of a Van Halen tribute tour that would see him on guitar.
WVH has openly discussed rumours of a potential Van Halen reunion or tribute tour many times before, and has spoken honestly about “drama” within the surviving members that deters the possibility of a stint on the road.
In a new interview in the print edition of Total Guitar, Wolfgang rules out the possibility of him playing guitar as part of a tribute outfit. “Unfortunately, with the way Van Halen operates and has operated, I don’t think it’s possible,” he says.
The rocker and son of guitar icon Eddie Van Halen played during the Foo Fighters’ tribute concerts which honoured their late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, but despite the great feedback he received for his performance, WVH has argued that the arrangements for those shows were vastly different to what a potential Van Halen tribute would look like.
“With Foo Fighters and what they pulled off with the Taylor Hawkins tributes, the whole organisation from the ground up is very rooted in not too much personnel. With Van Halen and all of the history behind it, there may be a bit too much of that to be put aside for what should happen.
“Personally, I feel like I got my closure when I played the Taylor Hawkins tributes, because – at least just for me – they were just as much about my dad as they were Taylor,” he explains.
Wolfgang is of course currently rocking with his own band Mammoth WVH, who have an album (Mammoth II) coming out this August. The guitarist has become a legend in his own right, and he has honoured his father by using some of his most “notable” guitars for solos on the new record.
You can pre-order Mammoth II here.