WOLFGANG VAN HALEN On DAVID LEE ROTH: 'I Thought We Were On Good Terms' Until Recently

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast, Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen's son, who joined VAN HALEN at just 15 years old, was asked if he gets along with VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not really, at least as of recently. I thought we were on good terms, and he actually made a couple YouTube videos about me, about how much he doesn't like me, which was, like, 'Okay, cool man.'

Asked what Roth's justification was for making those videos, Wolfgang said: "He basically just said a bunch of stuff that was true to him, I guess. It doesn't matter if it's not true because the people that are going to listen to it will believe it and use it to hate me anyway. So you've just gotta move forward.

"I think the big thing, one of the bigger things is that my dad isn't around," Wolfgang explained. "So I think he just went for what's still there to kind of point at."

Wolfgang went on to say that Eddie and David "always" had difficulties in their relationship with each other. "I mean, throughout their history, I think, absolutely," he said, before adding: "I don't know what it is with '80s bands. There's always fucking something. I've kind of used it as my own… just, like, I don't want this to happen. So it's, like, for my band, it's, like, why can't we just have a good time and just be happy and make music? Like, is it that fucking difficult?"

Elaborating on why he thinks there is so much speculation about the inner workings of VAN HALEN, Wolfgang said: "I think the really tough thing with VAN HALEN is that my dad and my uncle never talked about it. They just pushed forward and kept doing what they were doing. I think that left room for interpretation or one side to be loud about it, to have the only truth be out there, and that's the only thing that people end up believing, when that's not necessarily the case."

In January, Roth posted an audio clip to YouTube in which he blasted Eddie Van Halen's son for allegedly engaging in unpleasant behavior and making poor decisions during VAN HALEN's final tour.

"This fuckin' kid," David said, "he's complaining the entire tour like I'm not paying enough attention to him on stage." Roth continued: "He's complaining to everybody around me — the business manager, the security guy, the clothing lady — 'Dave's not paying enough attention to me.'

Roth went on to recount an incident at the New York stop of the tour where Wolfgang allegedly "commandeered a couple of monkeys to go in back, behind my back, over to the side of the stage and throw out these two great dames that I invited to be my guests to the show.

"In fact, you aren't gonna believe this shit. This fuckin' kid, what he doesn't know is that these two dames work for the accounting firm that represent him, not me. But as usual, he, just like his uncle and his uncle's brother, stiffed them for tickets."

Roth later told a similar story that allegedly took place at Los Angeles's Hollywood Bowl at the last-ever show of VAN HALEN's final tour. According to David, just as he and the rest of VAN HALEN were about to launch into "Ice Cream Man", Wolfgang had another female guest of Roth do "the walk of shame" and got her ejected from the venue.

In March, Wolfgang was asked by "The Morning X With Barnes & Leslie" why he thinks Roth has called him out "in such a vile fashion". He responded: "I guess I'm honored he even thinks about me as much as he seems to. I guess you have to take what he says with a grain of salt considering he also said that he wrote [Eddie Van Halen's classic instrumental] 'Eruption' and came up with the Frankenstein [red-white-and-black-striped pattern Eddie Van Halen made famous on his guitar]… He said he wrote all the solos that Dad wrote."

Wolfgang continued: "I guess that's all I can say. I seem to have been born into this VAN HALEN drama that has come way before me. And I guess now that my dad isn't here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing."

During the same chat, Wolfgang shot down the possibility of a VAN HALEN tribute concert or tour involving him. "I don't wanna play that music without my dad," he said.

With Wolfgang on bass, VAN HALEN embarked on lengthy tours in 2007, 2012 and 2015. The band's final run of shows took place in the summer and fall of 2015. The North American trek included 41 concerts beginning on July 5, 2015 and ending on October 4, 2015.

Back in December 2021, Wolfgang, who joined his father Eddie Van Halen in VAN HALEN for the band's 2007 reunion tour with Roth, replacing Michael Anthony, was asked about David's retirement in an interview with Consequence. He said: "Dave is a… he's very much a one-of-a-kind [chuckles] sort of guy. We don't really talk, if ever. We were always cordial on tour together, but it's not like I've spoken to him at all in the last six years. But, I mean, he's fucking David Lee Roth. I'm so happy for him and for everything that he's accomplished. And he's just a phenomenal… He'll always be one of the best."

In November 2020, Wolfgang told Rolling Stone about his relationship with Roth: "We're cordial. But it was very business-related. You know, we were always cool, but we really only ever saw each other onstage."

Last year, Wolfgang implied in an interview that David Lee Roth was largely to blame for a proposed Eddie Van Halen tribute concert never materializing. He told Rolling Stone at the time: "What I can say is that there was an attempt at doing something. But, you know, I don't like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to VAN HALEN. After being in VAN HALEN for a long time, I really have strived to have an environment where there is no walking on eggshells and there is no personality that you have to deal with. It's just guys having fun making music and just having a good time. But, you know, from my time in VAN HALEN, there was always some stuff that gets in the way from just making music and having a good time. And, I think, that's what happened.

"I would love to just sit here and say everything and say the truth," he continued. "There are plenty of interviews my dad did, where he straight up just said everything. And people hated him for it and thought he was lying. So I could just say shit, but people have already decided how they feel about things, facts or not. So I can say the facts. But that may not align with how certain people feel. I know how VAN HALEN fans get. They are very motivated by which specific people they like in the band. And it's just not worth it. Just, we made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen."

Wolfgang went on to say that he "would really like to do something" for his father, but that the tribute concert idea "never even got off the ground."

"Look at anything that's happened with VAN HALEN," he said. "And look how things have fallen apart. You know? The fact that in my tenure, in VAN HALEN, we managed to do three tours, put an album of original material and a live album out is a fucking miracle.

"People love to pin every decision VAN HALEN has ever made on Dad," he continued. "But Al's the brain. Al has been the guy forever. He's the dude. When it comes to VAN HALEN, Dad just wanted to play guitar. But, you know, Al's mentality, and it's the mentality that VAN HALEN took for the entirety of its band, is that there's nothing worth talking about unless it's happening. So the reason that nothing has been talked about from VAN HALEN, the official channels, is because nothing's happened. And I know how that will stir people up and piss them off. But that's how the operation is run."

Asked what he would say if someone were to assume that the main problem was a certain singer with three initials — referring to David Lee Roth — Wolfgang replied: "I would say 'Do your research on the history of VAN HALEN, and come to your conclusions.'"

Eddie passed away in October 2020 at the age of 65. He had been battling throat cancer and died surrounded by friends and family at a Santa Monica, California hospital.

VAN HALEN had been inactive since it completed its U.S. tour nine years ago.

In early 2019, rumors were rampant that the classic-era lineup of VAN HALEN would reunite for the first time since 1984. It has since been revealed that a health setback involving Eddie was responsible for the tour not materializing.