WOLFGANG VAN HALEN On Playing VAN HALEN Songs At TAYLOR HAWKINS Tribute Concerts: 'I Knew If I Messed Up, My Life Was Over'

In a new interview with The Garza Podcast, hosted by SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Chris Garza, Wolfgang Van Halen once again reflected on what it meant for him to perform his late father's songs at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts more than four years ago. The son of Eddie Van Halen played three VAN HALEN songs — "On Fire", "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" — over the course of two concerts in September 2022 alongside Dave Grohl on bass, Josh Freese on drums and THE DARKNESS's Justin Hawkins on vocals. Wolfgang said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[It was] terrifying. Terrifying. I would love to see my heart rate spiking at that. That was a crazy thing. It was a really out-of-body experience. It was emotional for me 'cause I don't wanna play VAN HALEN stuff. I don't wanna do that without Dad. So it just felt like it was my one moment to just kind of play it and be able to have that moment of having a tribute to my dad. And I know Taylor would've fucking loved it. And so, yeah, that was really cool."

He continued: "The Wembley [show] was crazy. That's the most people I've been in front of, like, probably for the rest of my life. [Laughs] I think it was, like, 80,000 people, but then you think of who was livestreaming it at the time. That number must be ridiculous. But you just couldn't even think about it. I was just trying to to play and not mess up, 'cause I knew if I messed up, my life was over. That's how I saw it. Like, 'If I fuck this up, I should just dig a hole and live there.' But then it came to a point where some people were, like, 'He's not doing it.' It was so good to some people that they couldn't believe that I was playing it, so I guess that's a good problem to have at the end of the day."

Wolfgang added: "Josh ended up apologizing to me. He was, like, 'Dude, I'm so sorry we played it so fast.' And it's, like, 'Nah, dude.' It was electric. That was a crazy, crazy moment… Yeah, that was a crazy thing, man. I don't know how I made it through."

Asked if he ever met Taylor, Wolfgang said: "Yeah, yeah. He came to a show in San Diego, a VAN HALEN show, in 2012, and he was such a great dude. We were just shooting the shit for maybe, like, an hour. It was just him, me and Dad. He was a special guy. He was such a sweet guy. So that was my one exception [to playing VAN HALEN songs without Dad]. [Taylor] always wore the VAN HALEN shorts, the Frankenstein shorts, when he was playing. So I was, like, he would've been stoked about that, and I know Dad would've been proud. So it felt like if this was the time I was gonna do it, this is it. That was it for me. And so it was still very fresh."

Addressing the fact that a proper tribute concert for Eddie Van Halen never materialized, Wolfgang said: "I don't wanna get into the whole drama of just VAN HALEN in general, but the history of that band is very messy. And that's how a lot of those bands [were] back then in the day... I don't know what it is about '80s fucking bands. They're just so messy. I don't get it, and I think it might be a reason why I end up playing everything on my own, 'cause it's like I just have myself to fuck with. But, yeah, had the story of VAN HALEN been a little different, we probably could've done something. But there's just too many personalities, too many things that just people can't just look past simple things to celebrate the reason why it was a thing in the first place, which was Dad. So that's where it felt really cool that I was able to have that tribute moment for my Dad [at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts], on my schedule, for my statement. But, yeah, I was totally aware that if I messed that up, it was over. So, to me, it was literally life or death when I was walking on that stage. Man, just thinking about it is freaking me out even."

Wolfgang previously spoke about the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in a March 2023 interview with Pablo of the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X. He said at the time: "I'll never forget it. At the same time, it went by so fast, I can't even remember it. It was just all energy… It was really, really crazy. It was one of the most special things I've ever had the opportunity to do."

Asked if it was easy or hard for him to play VAN HALEN songs under those circumstances, Wolfgang said: "More difficult, just emotionally. I don't think people realize how much I don't listen to VAN HALEN anymore. It's a tough thing; it's a tough subject. But it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. Taylor would have been really, really stoked. From the one time I met him — he came to a VAN HALEN show in 2012. He was just the coolest, most friendly guy. He left such a huge impression on me."

As for how he ended up taking part in the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts, Van Halen said: "Dave [Grohl] texted me and I thought it was… I didn't believe that it was him. I had to hit up [FOO FIGHTERS guitarist] Chris Shiflett, 'cause I had just done his podcast. I was, like, 'Hey, is somebody punking me or is this Dave?' He was, like, 'Yeah, that's Dave. You should hit him back.' [Laughs]"

In October 2022, Wolfgang told Guitar World that he "didn't even know" if he could emotionally handle playing the VAN HALEN songs live. "I had a lot of conversations with Dave. What a kind sweetheart of a man he is," Wolfgang said. "We talked a lot about [it]. Initially he was, like, 'What do you think? Would you be comfortable doing this?' Initially, I didn't wanna disappoint Dave Grohl. And I was, like, 'Sure.' And he was, like, 'Why don't you think about it and get back to me?' And so I did. I thought a lot about it and I was, like, 'You know what? If there was ever a time, this is it.' I talked to him about it and I was just honest. I was, like, 'I don't know if I could do this, but if I do, I need your support. I need you up there with me.' I was like, 'Whatever the incarnation of what it becomes, I need you there with me.' And he was, like, 'Absolutely.'"

Regarding the other musicians tasked with performing the VAN HALEN material at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts, Wolfgang said: "Knowing that Josh was gonna be there, I was, like, 'Josh Freese is one of the best drummers on the planet.' Seeing the response of people saying, 'Who was on drums?' It was, like, 'Dude, you've gotta learn yourself something and realize that Josh Freese has literally played on fucking every single thing you've ever heard, ever.

"I was pretty sure Justin could do it, but then once we got there and he hit it, it was, like, 'Fuck, this is gonna be amazing.' It was really exciting. He is a sweetheart of a human; he's such a kind man. It was really special, man. I'm super happy and proud with how everything came to be."

According to Wolfgang, he and the other musicians only rehearsed less than a handful of times before the London concert on September 3, 2022. "We rehearsed it a couple times in L.A. with just Josh, Dave and I [in] one day," Wolfgang said. "And then we got there and rehearsed one day with Justin. So all in all we played each song maybe five or six times. It was really special."

Wolfgang also responded to those people who have suggested he has an easier time playing the classic VAN HALEN songs because he is the son of Eddie Van Halen. "I didn't just put a CD in and upload it into my head," he laughed. "I practice a lot. It's a really weird backhanded compliment, where it's, like, 'Oh, you did nothing to be able to do this.' And it's like, 'No, I work very hard to be able to do what I can do.' I understand where it's coming from, though."

In the summer of 2022, Wolfgang spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about why he was adamant about not playing VAN HALEN covers when touring with his own band MAMMOTH."People are like, 'Oh, don't mention VAN HALEN. He hates VAN HALEN.' It's, like, 'It's my fucking name. Why would I hate it? It's my dad. I love my dad. I was in the fucking band.' I don't hate it at all."

He continued: "All I've ever said is I don't want to play VAN HALEN music at MAMMOTH shows. I'd rather bomb with my own stuff than gain attention for playing dad's. Expecting to hear VAN HALEN at a MAMMOTH show is like expecting to hear NIRVANA at a FOO FIGHTERS concert. And getting pissed off that they didn't play NIRVANA.