MAMMOTH FEATS
Wolfgang Van Halen says he’s surprised by quick success
As he begins another year of touring with his band, Mammoth WVH, Wolfgang Van Halen says “he didn’t expect to be where we are this soon in our career. I didn’t see it coming. I feel very lucky to be where we are.”
That seems … odd?
The 32-year-old son of the late Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli is as sincere as his viewpoint is surprising.
He did, after all, start his performing career playing to sold-out arenas as Van Halen’s bassist from 2007 to 2020, and alongside that was part of Creed/Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti’s solo band. He was a known commodity by the time Mammoth WVH released its debut album in 2021, hitting No. 1 on three Billboard charts and launching a pair of No. 1 Mainstream Rock hits in “Distance” and “Don’t Back Down.”
Last year’s “Mammoth II,” meanwhile, also debuted atop the Hard Rock Albums charts, and the band found itself playing to stadiums opening for Metallica. And Van Halen himself was part of the award-nominated “I’m Not Ken” the “Barbie: The Movie” soundtrack.
It’s a lot of good stuff, and it seems that with his experience and his lineage, Van Halen would not be surprised.
“Well, it’s a bit different when it’s your thing from its inception,” Van Halen explains via Zoom from his home in Los Angeles, where he also helps to run his father’s EVH Gear company. “It’s this baby you’ve cradled yourself from the very beginning.
It’s such a close thing to my heart because I’ve poured everything into it. So to be able to see people appreciate that, it feels nice … and better than I expected it to be at this point.”
While he does have a touring band, Mammoth WVH is 100% Van Halen in the studio, playing all the instruments and doing all the singing with only producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette and recording engineers alongside. It’s a testament to Van Halen’s DNA and drive, of course. He started out playing drums, then moved on to other instruments, and at this point, he’s comfortable as a oneman band, at least when recording.
“From its inception, it’s been my artistic expression or whatever,” says Van Halen, who married longtime girlfriend Andraia Allsop in October. “And at the end of the day, it’s just plain fun. I have a good time playing everything. Could I see