Wolfgang Van Halen recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho podcast, where he discussed his dad’s wish and how he honors it. During the chat, the rocker revealed that it is also his one rule on shows, and admitted how he broke it at the Taylor Hawkins tribute show. Wolfgang shared his thoughts about the performance:
“It was wonderful. It was the exception where it was like, this would be the time to do it. Taylor was such a huge fan, and to get my own satisfaction of 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.”
During the tribute show, the rocker shared the stage with The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, Dave Grohl, and Josh Freese. Reflecting on being able to play with his heroes, Wolfgang said:
“Taking away all the context and the emotional moment and jamming with three musicians I’ve looked up to my whole life was crazy, then you put everything back in, and it’s like man, I can’t believe I pulled that off.”
Wolfgang then revealed his rule, which was broken for one time only for the tribute show:
“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.”
It’s evident that he isn’t the only person that doesn’t like covers. He clarified that his rule was also his Eddie’s wish and explained how he honors it:
“Even my dad hated doing covers back in the day. His quote resonates with me all the time when he said, ‘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 shared his dad’s quote in one of the earlier interviews by stating that he would rather bomb with his own stuff than gain attention for playing his dad’s stuff. He also resembled the situation of expecting to hear Nirvana songs on a Foo Fighters show.
The Mammoth WVH frontman will keep on being his own person, as he clarifies that just doing what he currently does is enough of a reference and tribute to his father.
Below, you can see Wolfgang’s Taylor Hawkins tribute performance.
