For Wolfgang Van Halen, being able to finally take his band Mammoth WVH out on tour is exciting enough. To be chosen as the supporting act for Guns N’ Roses? That’s taking excitement to a whole new level.
“It’s insane,” said Wolfgang during a recent interview with Audio Ink Radio. “I can’t believe- it’s the highest honor that they thought of us and want to take us out. I can’t believe it. I mean, I was excited, in general, just to go on tour, but to take part in this, it’s a whole other thing. I’m blown away.”
Mammoth WVH will begin its trek with GN’R on July 31st at the Hersheypark Stadium in Pennsylvania. The tour will run all the way into October where the final two dates are scheduled for the Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Florida on October 2nd and 3rd. Mammoth WVH also has over a handful of headlining shows starting on August 7th at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio. Check out the official Mammoth WVH website for ticket info.
Wolfgang had more to talk about during his interview with Audio Ink Radio’s Anne Erickson. Below are his comments on his dad Eddie and Van Halen. You an hear the entire interview in the video above.
Did your father encourage you to do music? Some parents in the arts don’t want their kids to go into it, but others really encourage it.
He was super encouraging, and not in like a forcing-me-to-do-it way. He just saw that I had affinity for it and encouraged it.
Was there a moment when you felt like your dad was loving what you were doing musically? Like, “Yes! I finally impressed him!”
I mean, he was a very impressed father. He cheered me on in everything, from me playing soccer to, gosh, this one time where I threw a pumpkin at a teacher who was mean to me in kindergarten, he told me to not miss the next time! (Laughs) It was one of those little pumpkins. It wasn’t a big one. But, he just cheered me on in literally everything, and he couldn’t have been happier with the music. He was the only other person who had all the ideas on his phone, other than me. He even had stuff that kind of hit the cutting room floor that’ll probably show up on another album or something. So, he was definitely the proudest parent.
He would be so proud of what you’re doing right now with the new music.
Oh, thank you. Yeah. I wish he was here to see everything.
Do you have a favorite Van Halen song?
That is a tough question. I think that the closest I can narrow it for that question is in the Roth era, “Fair Warning” and “1984” are the albums that I lean to, and in the Hagar era, “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” and “Balance” are the albums that I lean towards. Not that I don’t like the others, because they’re all amazing in their own ways, but that’s about as tightly as I can close it for you.
That’s awesome. What do you miss most about your dad?
Just hanging out with him. It’s not even like a musical thing. Just being able to sit next to him on the couch and talk to him about my day and stuff like that. The small stuff.
Watch Mammoth WVH “Don’t Back Down” Official Live Video