Wolfgang Van Halen
HIS FATHER WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST GUITARISTS WHO EVER LIVED, AND NOW WOLFGANG VAN HALEN IS CARRYING THAT FAMOUS NAME FORWARD. IN THIS REVEALING INTERVIEW, HE DISCUSSES THE CREATION OF HIS NEW ALBUM, MAMMOTH WVH, ON WHICH HE PLAYED EVERYTHING. INCLUDING EDDIE’S ICONIC FRANKENSTEIN.
Wolfgang Van Halen’s solo debut began in 2015 when Eddie told Guitar World: “It’s like AC/DC meets Van Halen meets aggressive pop... It’s so powerful that I’m jealous.” The project had to wait, as Wolf fulfilled his commitments as bassist in Van Halen and Tremonti, as well as drummer for Sevendust’s Clint Lowery.
But following the devastating loss of Eddie on October 6th, 2020, Wolf released the tribute single “Distance”. A moving video featuring childhood footage of Wolfgang with Eddie quickly racked up four million views, and the song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Rock chart.
With the album completed, Wolf told Twitter, “It’s important I forge my own path.” But that doesn’t mean distancing himself from his father. His band name and album title, Mammoth WVH, is a nod to Van Halen’s original moniker, and album opener “Mr. Ed” features a tapping lick to make any EVH fan grin. But on the preview singles, Wolf shows his own identity – whether it’s the bruising slow groove of “You’re To Blame” or the stomping shuffle on “Don’t Back Down”.
Speaking to us from his home in California, Wolf explains how he put the album together and reflects on how his father’s influence has shaped him as a musician.
How do you feel about all the reaction there’s been to Mammoth WVH so far?
I really didn’t see it winning this many people over so soon, or at all, really. I just made the record for me. For it to resonate with a bunch of people has been really awesome.
It must be so hard performing “Distance” on TV when it’s such an emotional tribute to your dad.
Yeah, performing it is a whole different thing.
That was very difficult. In terms of releasing it, it just seemed like the right thing to do. I’d been working on my music for so long, and with somebody as important as that in my life not being around anymore, it just seemed right. It certainly wasn’t the first song I was planning on releasing. It’s a bit to the left of the core sound of the album, but I think it fits still.
It seemed the right thing to get that out there as a tribute for Pop and have it all go to his favourite [music education] charity, Mr. Holland’s Opus. There was no ill intent behind it, that’s for sure. I know there are some people who are like, “He’s just using this,” but I love my dad and I just wanted to show everybody. A bunch of Van Halen fans were like, “This was the closure I needed.” You can relate the song to any type of loss anyone has ever experienced, so the comments on the video are beautiful and heartbreaking, like, “I just lost my dad and I heard the song on the radio and it really touched me.” I didn’t expect it to resonate with so many people.
The album has quite a few easter eggs for fans. Is the ending to “Don’t Back Down” a quote from Van Halen’s “So This Is Love”?
Yeah, except Dad does the little kink with the pick on the strings, and I do a little phaser pick slide. That’s definitely the vibe I was going for. I’m surprised at how quickly people caught that. It’s the same thing with the back cover of the album, people were like, “Oh my god, it’s arranged like the first Van Halen album!” I didn’t think people would notice that the second they saw it. They’re kind of winks and nods. There’s nothing bigger behind it.
You’re not hiding from the Van Halen connection.
I’m just not milking off the legacy. I’m sure that’s up for debate for some people that hate me, but I’m being myself. I’m not sitting there doing covers of “Panama” and going, “If you want Van Halen, come to me!” If you want Van Halen, go over there.
I was surprised to hear you tapping straight out of the gate on “Mr. Ed”.
That’s actually why I called it “Mr. Ed”. That was the demo title because at the beginning of the riff I do a little harmonic tap. Then I just liked that name so much that I kept it.
There’s a video online where Paul Gilbert says you’ve got “world-class vibrato, just like your dad.” On this album your vibrato is nothing like Eddie’s. What were your influences there?
Nothing in particular. I kind of just do it. I don’t really have anything in mind while I’m doing it. I’m sure there’s plenty of things that influenced me into doing it, but nothing actively in my mind. I never sat there and went, “I’m not going to sound like Van Halen.” I’m going to make music I want to hear.
What were the main guitars you played on the album? There’s a Fender Starcaster in the “Don’t Back Down” video.
Yeah, I never tracked with a Starcaster, I just thought it just would be fun to have. I recorded a lot with the Gibson ES-335 that I play in the video. I have a black [EVH] Wolfgang Custom that was kind of all over it. It was such a free-for-all, really, that it’s kind of hard to remember everything, but mostly it was that 335 and the black Wolfgang.
Did you play any of your dad’s gear?
Yeah, a handful. I played the original Frankenstein on the solo on “Mammoth” and on “Feel”.
What was that like?
You feel the history. It’s kind of terrifying holding it, just because arguably it is the most famous guitar in musical history. It’s definitely quite the thing to hold it. When we were pulling it out of its safe, Dad picked it up and he was just noodling with it for a second. He’s like, “Yeah, feels about the same,” and he tossed it onto the couch. Everyone just gasped when he did that. To Dad it’s just a little piece of junk he built himself, but to us it’s the most famous thing in the world.
What amps did you use?
That was probably the one area that we made a collective effort to not replicate Pop. We did use a bunch of 5150s mostly, but there were also Marshalls – a red early ‘70s 100-watt Superlead and a ’72 Superlead metal-panel 1959 model. All the Marshall heads were modified with extra gain stages. We used a lot of cabinet variations, with Celestion G12H-30s, G12M-25s and G12-EVHs just to contrast the sound.
How about pedals?
If we ever used a pedal it was for an overdub or we plugged in for a certain moment. On “Don’t Back Down” we did use a Foxx Tone Machine fuzz, but I can’t think of any others.
What are your favourite guitar parts?
I used a talk box on the solo for “You’ll Be The One”. When we were tracking all the guitar solos, Elvis was like, “I got a talk box, you want to fit it somewhere?” It was fun to do but it was really tough because my nose kept exhaling too much so you couldn’t really hear it. I had to tape my nose just for the tracking of it.
You’ve Tweeted that “Think It Over” is one of your favourite songs.
It’s also Dad’s favourite. It’s definitely one of the poppier songs on the album. I thought it was important to show where the sound could go. My dad always said something I loved. He always called the solo my George Harrison solo: nothing flashy but perfect for the melody supporting the song.