Is Musical Ability Genetic Or Learned? WOLFGANG VAN HALEN Weighs In

During a new appearance on "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", Wolfgang Van Halen, the ex-bassist of the band VAN HALEN and son of the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen, was asked if he thinks musical ability is "genetic or learned." He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think maybe genetics maybe placed a sort of nugget of interest towards music. And I understand — constantly, every day, I think every day on social media I get somebody saying, 'Oh, it's in your genes. It's in your blood.' And I get that to a certain extent, and I totally get that it's coming from a positive place, but overall, it's, like, I play [laughs] a lot. I've been playing since I was nine, and I'm 32. I've been playing way more than half my life. And at a certain point, it's that sort of ten-thousand-hour rule: the more time you put into something, the more results you get."

He continued: "Yeah, I can understand where that comes from also. I grew up in an environment that was very music positive. Although that's a weird thing to say; if there ever was a music-'negative' environment, I wouldn't wanna be in that. But, yeah, growing up in the environment and just being encouraged, I guess, by both my parents, it certainly didn't stop me from improving."

"Mammoth II", the second album from Wolfgang's MAMMOTH WVH project, will be released on August 4 via BMG. The 10-track record was recorded at the legendary 5150 studio and was produced by Wolfgang's friend and collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

The debut single from "Mammoth II" is the upbeat rocker "Another Celebration At The End Of The World". The accompanying music video is an 8:25 introduction to the MAMMOTH WVH live band. Picking up where the No. 1 single "Don't Back Down" music video left off, the new video showcases a frustrated Wolfgang firing the other Wolfgangs from that video and replacing them with his live band featuring Frank Sidoris (guitars),Jon Jourdan (guitars),Ronnie Ficarro (bass) and Garrett Whitlock (drums). The video was directed by Gordy De St. Jeor.

In November 2020, Wolfgang confirmed that he asked his father for permission to use the MAMMOTH WVH band name for his solo project. MAMMOTH WVH is a nod to family history — Eddie and Alex Van Halen's band was called MAMMOTH when singer David Lee Roth first joined it in 1974.

Last November, MAMMOTH WVH released a digital deluxe edition of the debut album via EX1 Records. The new digital deluxe features the bonus track from the Japanese version of the album, "Talk & Walk", as well as two previously unreleased tracks, "As Long As You're Not You" and "Goodbye".

MAMMOTH WVH's first single, "Distance", reached No. 1 on the MediaBase and BDS Active Rock Radio charts. A tribute to Wolfgang's father, the song was not originally intended to be on MAMMOTH WVH's debut album, but due to the overwhelming response to its accompanying video, which has been viewed over seven million times on YouTube, it was added as a bonus track. All of Wolfgang's proceeds from "Distance" are being donated to Mr. Holland's Opus.

"Distance" is an open letter to Wolfgang's father, declaring "no matter what the distance is, I will be with you." The video for the song is created from a collection of family home movies through the years and offers an inside look in to one of music's most notable personalities. Chronicling the family through the years, the video ends with a touching voicemail left from Eddie to his son.