Wolfgang Van Halen thinks his dad “would be disgusted” with online trolls who think they’re defending Van Halen’s legacy
Wolfgang Van Halen has opened up on facing trolling and abuse from Van Halen fans who were unhappy when he joined the band as a teenager.
It was announced that Wolf would step in on bass in place of Michael Anthony back in 2006, with him officially joining them on the road the following year. The motivations behind his critics were mostly in light of Anthony’s departure, and he still remains baffled as to why any fan of the band would want to engage in hateful behaviour that his father Eddie would of course disapprove of. These days, Wolf stays busy with his own band and has no interest in playing Van Halen material on the regular.
READ MORE: “I’ll do what I can, sir”: Wolfgang Van Halen on the responsibility he felt when asked by Ozzy Osbourne to play at his Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction
Speaking with The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan on his podcast, The Magnificent Others, Wolf reflects on the turbulence he’s faced over the years: “[My dad] enjoyed playing with me, that was one of his favourite things and it was a big reason why the years of Van Halen where I was involved happened at all,” he says.
“I think when I did the Taylor Hawkins tribute where I played those two Van Halen songs for Taylor and my dad, it was a big moment for me because it was, one, proving that I could do it, and two, showing that I choose not to [do it more often]… My dad actually had a quote when they ended up doing a lot of cover songs on Diver Down, there was a lot specifically on that album, and he said, ‘I’d rather bomb with my own material and succeed with someone else’s’, and I feel very much that way.
“I could very easily shack up and do ‘Wolf does Van Halen’ and probably make a decent living at it. It’s very hollow and astoundingly creatively unfulfilling. I feel like it’s kind of selling out, and I could never do that, that’s not satisfying to me. I would rather bomb on my own than succeed with what my dad laid before me.”
He later adds, “It’s a funny thing when you see the people who are the strongest Van Halen fans outwardly acting in a way that my dad would be disgusted with, and they don’t see that.”
Wolfgang’s band Mammoth WVH will head out on the road this May. Find out where you can catch them live. Wolfgang Van Halen is also set to make an appearance at Black Sabbath’s upcoming final show.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
