“I can see why people would want to hate me”: Wolfgang Van Halen reflects on the abuse he suffered when he joined Van Halen
When Wolfgang Van Halen joined Van Halen in 2006, the move wasn’t without controversy. Wolfgang, the then-15-year-old son of guitarist Eddie Van Halen replaced longtime bass player Michael Anthony, who was a member of the band since shortly after its inception for 32 years.
In a new conversation on the WTF with Marc Maron Podcast, Wolfgang recalls the abuse he received after joining the band, and the role he played in supporting his father, who had recently become sober.
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He says he “tried to avoid” the criticism upon joining, “because it was only in really dedicated spaces back in the day, like message boards, stuff like that.”
“I was just having a good time enjoying my newly sober dad, and jamming with my family and having a wonderful time,” he goes on. “And it was just this wonderful, happy, joyous thing. Until it went public, and then it was, like, ‘Yeah, I can see why people would want to hate me.”
On whether the motivations behind his critics were in the departure of his predecessor Michael Anthony, Wolfgang says: “Yeah. [But] that’s between my dad and him. I was just there to make sure my dad stayed on the sober path that he was on. And me being there for him and keeping the train moving was my full intent.
“I would make the setlists and everything. I started putting in B-sides that I don’t think Van Halen ever played back in the day. I just wanted to give the fans something because why can’t we just make music and have a good time doing it?”
Michael Anthony left Van Halen in 2006 as a result of creative differences with Eddie Van Halen and the rest of the members.
Wolfgang is still susceptible to criticism, and has engaged with it on social media in recent times, but says he’s trying to take a step back and not interact with his critics. “I’ve taken a step back and it’s done wonders for my mental health.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Wolfgang touches on his rocky relationship with David Lee Roth. Asked whether the pair get along, he replies: “Not really!
“Until recently I thought we were on good terms and he made a couple of YouTube videos about me, about how much he doesn’t like me. Which was like ‘Okay, cool.’
“He basically just said a bunch of stuff that was true to him. It doesn’t matter if it’s not true because the people that are going to listen to it will believe it and use it to hate me anyway. So you’ve just gotta move forward.”
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