Following Eddie Van Halen's passing in October, Wolfgang Van Halen called for an end to rumours that he would pick up the six-string for a new incarnation of Van Halen. Once again, the late guitarist's son has quashed any idea of taking his father's place.
After sharing that the idea of an Eddie Van Halen tribute concert was still on the table, Wolfgang told Entertainment Tonight of filling his father's shoes onstage, "No way. That'll never happen."
"I think a message to the Van Halen fans [would be that] some things just really suck," Wolfgang explained. "I don't have a dad anymore and I have to figure out how to process that and deal with it. And that's the process that Van Halen fans need to go through and realize that you can't have the band anymore without Eddie Van Halen. The music will live on forever, but you can't have [the band] without him. Impossible."
Wolfgang added, "My dad would probably be really pissed off at me if I [took his place].... He'd probably be like, 'What are you doing playing my stuff? Go do your stuff.' He would've been really upset, like, 'You have all this music you're sitting on. Why wouldn't you go forward with that?'"
Earlier this week, Wolfgang shared debut single "Distance" as Mammoth WVH in tribute to his father. Recalling the times they had spent onstage together, he told ET, "One of my favourite things he ever told me was what his father told him — when you're playing music, if you ever make a mistake, do it twice so people think you did it on purpose!"
Eddie Van Halen died October 6 following a battle with throat cancer. He was 65. Proceeds from "Distance" will be donated to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.
After sharing that the idea of an Eddie Van Halen tribute concert was still on the table, Wolfgang told Entertainment Tonight of filling his father's shoes onstage, "No way. That'll never happen."
"I think a message to the Van Halen fans [would be that] some things just really suck," Wolfgang explained. "I don't have a dad anymore and I have to figure out how to process that and deal with it. And that's the process that Van Halen fans need to go through and realize that you can't have the band anymore without Eddie Van Halen. The music will live on forever, but you can't have [the band] without him. Impossible."
Wolfgang added, "My dad would probably be really pissed off at me if I [took his place].... He'd probably be like, 'What are you doing playing my stuff? Go do your stuff.' He would've been really upset, like, 'You have all this music you're sitting on. Why wouldn't you go forward with that?'"
Earlier this week, Wolfgang shared debut single "Distance" as Mammoth WVH in tribute to his father. Recalling the times they had spent onstage together, he told ET, "One of my favourite things he ever told me was what his father told him — when you're playing music, if you ever make a mistake, do it twice so people think you did it on purpose!"
Eddie Van Halen died October 6 following a battle with throat cancer. He was 65. Proceeds from "Distance" will be donated to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.
