Wolfgang Van Halen recently played a handful of Van Halen songs at the Taylor Hawkins tribute show in Los Angeles, and in a new interview with Guitar World, Wolf opened up about his conversations with Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl leading up to the Hawkins tribute show.
"I didn't even know if I could do it. I had a lot of conversations with Dave," Wolfgang told Guitar World. "What a kind sweetheart of a man he is. 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.'"
Recently, Wolfgang remarked how the set at the Hawkins tribute concert actually provided a lot of release for him in the wake of his Dad's passing. And with an Eddie Van Halen tribute show currently not in the cards, Wolf seems genuinely glad—relieved even—that he accepted Grohl's offer.
"I think I already [did the tribute] with the Taylor Hawkins [shows]. I feel a lot of closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father…. So my playing at the Taylor shows delivered that catharsis without the stresses of dealing with the Van Halen camp, and the players involved."
I gotta just say, I love everything about Wolf… his attitude, his swagger—the dude just gets it. Mark my words, he's going to have a very long and successful career in music, as true to the Van Halen family tradition as anything else.
