WOLFGANG VAN HALEN: 'I'm Starting To Think About Ideas And Getting Excited To Get In The Studio Again'

In a new interview with John Marshall of Savannah, Georgia's Rock 106.1 radio station, former VAN HALEN bassist and current MAMMOTH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen was asked where he gets the motivation to constantly work on new music and create, even while he is on the road. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think when my brain is able to... When I'm touring, I'm almost... I like to say I have two different batteries. I have a recording battery and a touring battery. And when I'm touring, the recording battery charges, and when I'm recording, the touring battery charges. So I'm never feeling empty on either side. So I think right now it's been a while since we recorded [MAMMOTH's third album] 'The End', that I'm kind of starting to think about ideas and getting excited to get in the studio again. We still have a lot of touring to do before we get to that point, but we're definitely past the halfway mark of the touring cycle for 'The End', so I'm definitely starting to just ruminate and think on ideas and stuff I have and some new stuff I've written. And whenever it's go time, it's go time. I think the environment for recording is always so wonderful with who I work with, with [Michael] 'Elvis' Baskette [as producer] and Jef Moll as engineer, that it never really does feel like work. It just feels like getting together with friends and just having a good time and writing music that sounds good to you. So it's always a pretty easy process."

As for a possible timeline for MAMMOTH's fourth studio album, Wolfgang said: "It's very much up in the air. Maybe next year, but who knows? I know we'll probably get in the studio next year at some point, but in terms of a release, I have no idea."

This past March, Wolfgang was asked by Global News reporter Adam Wallis when the "optimal time" was for him to be writing and recording an album and whether he gets to do any writing on the road on days off. He responded: "Usually it depends on the tour. So considering we're about to do a headline tour with 90-plus-minute sets, usually days off just consist of resting up for the next day. I just wanna be at a hundred and ten percent. But if we're opening, like I think once we shift this tour into opening for <>BUSH, I might have a bit more time on my hand, so I might think about writing. But considering how much touring we're doing this year, I'm sort of just keeping my mind on that.

"We kind of have it penciled in for next year, around like Q2 [second quarter of 2027], that we'll probably get back in the studio for the next [MAMMOTH album]," Wolfgang explained. "So I think maybe by the end of the year I'll start to shift my focus in my head to being more open to creative thinking, so to speak.

"I think I have, like, 30 ideas that have just been, on and off, worked on," Van Halen continued. "'Cause it's never really when you work on the idea; it's whenever it's done. And even on this recent album, the songs 'Selfish' and 'Something New' were ideas that have been around since the beginning, since MAMMOTH started. They just were never ready, and then I finally finished them, and then here they are. So I have a bunch of ideas like that just kind of sitting there ready to be worked on that if I don't come up with anything 'new new', we have the album. I just need to finish what's there. But the funny thing is, is that we get so stoked to be back to recording that I'll probably end up writing another ten, twelve songs by the time we get back to the studio. So you always just kind of have this ball of ideas that you're ready to kind of pick from."

Circling back to what he does on the road when he is not performing, Wolfgang said: "I'm a very reclusive, shy dork, so I'm not too social. It's been really tough to be the lead singer of a band and to be the person that everybody's looking at. That's not anything I would choose to be in, and that's pretty funny that I basically did that with my job. So usually on days off I'm just probably playing video games or just trying to sleep and just relax."

MAMMOTH's third album, "The End", came out last October. The 10-track effort clocks in at 39 minutes and showcases the evolution of Wolfgang and his songwriting since he launched his solo career in 2020. Recorded at the legendary 5150 studio, the album was produced by friend and collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

Continuing the tradition of writing all the songs and performing all the instrumentation and vocals himself, Wolfgang Van Halen set out to challenge himself beyond what he did on his debut and sophomore release, "Mammoth II".

MAMMOTH's touring lineup features Wolfgang on guitar and lead vocals, Frank Sidoris (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS) on guitar, Jon Jourdan on guitar and vocals, Garrett Whitlock (TREMONTI) on drums, and Ronnie Ficarro on bass.