Wolfgang Explains Why He Doesn't Play Van Halen Songs At Mammoth WVH Shows

09-24-2023

Wolfgang Van Halen explained during a recent appearance on the Talk is Jericho podcast why he does not perform Van Halen tracks during his Mammoth WVH live sets.

He did however make an exception during the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts where he performed the Van Halen classics "Of Fire, "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" and the all-star concerts honoring the late Foo Fighters drummer.

"It was wonderful. It was the exception where it was like, 'This would be the time to do it.'," Wolfgang said of the special event". Taylor was such a huge fan and to get my own satisfaction by doing a direct Van Halen tribute for Dad, it felt like the right thing to do in that moment. I'm really proud of it."

Wolfgang goes on to explain why fans should not expect him to cover Van Halen in the future, "I'm happy to be able to prove myself. The important key distinction is that I'm not doing what my dad did, I'm my own person, I'm my own musician... it's why I don't play any Van Halen music or have a plan to play Van Halen music during my sets.

"Even my dad hated doing covers back in the day, his quote resonates with me all the time when he says I'd rather bomb with my own music than succeed with somebody else's, and that's exactly how I feel about playing Van Halen music. I'd much rather fail on my own than succeed heartlessly by playing 'Panama'."

Wolfgang was on the podcast to promote Mammoth WVH's sophomore album, "Mammoth II". Stream the full Talk Is Jericho episode here.