Former Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen recently shared new details about the band’s decision to have Wolfgang Van Halen handle bass duties in Van Halen’s later-era lineup, saying the group attempted to reach original bassist Michael Anthony before moving forward.
The drummer described the moment as part of the band’s long-running, insular studio routine with Eddie Van Halen, and framed the change as a practical call that ultimately opened the door for Wolfgang to step in.
In an interview with KazaGastão, Alex said he and Eddie were rehearsing when they heard bass join in from behind a curtain and realised it was Wolfgang, adding that “for the record” they did call Anthony first, but “he just didn’t answer.” Alex also suggested the band felt an obligation to make the attempt because of Anthony’s long history with the group.
“Ed and I, as usual, were in the studio alone, because nobody else tolerated it, they’d rather be at the beach! I’ve got news for you, you’ve gotta work for this sh*t,” Alex said. “Nobody showed up, and one day Ed and I were playing and this bass comes in, and it had a nice feel to it. And behind the curtain it was Wolf… For the record we did call Mike, because we owed him that. We did call him, and he just didn’t answer.”
Alex went on to praise Wolfgang’s approach after his stint with Van Halen, saying he has been careful not to position himself as “Ed Jr.” and instead chose to build his own path. He also recalled the intense, work-first atmosphere he says he and Eddie maintained in the studio, contrasting it with others who “would rather be at the beach.”
“Wolf’s very careful that he doesn’t want to be Ed Jr. He was in a very tough spot, meaning he could have just continued with the Van Halen stuff, but he decided he was his own man,” Alex continued. “Everything that he’s done – I’m very proud of him, by the way. That’s probably not the right thing to say about an adult, he’s [35] years old! You shouldn’t be proud of an adult, right… That’s what you do to your children!”
The comments add another wrinkle to the longstanding debate over how the lineup shift was handled and why it became so contentious among fans, particularly after the 2007 reunion era. Van Halen’s history of internal fractures has been a recurring theme, including reports that two members were once banned from a Van Halen reunion amid the band’s ongoing tensions.
Whatever the behind-the-scenes specifics, Alex’s account reinforces that the transition to Wolfgang was not presented as a spur-of-the-moment decision, but as an outcome of a final outreach effort and a musical moment that clicked in real time during rehearsal. It also underscores how much of the band’s late-period story remained shaped by close-knit decisions made between the Van Halen brothers.
