When Wolfgang Van Halen was 15 years old, his initiation into the official Van Halen camp came at a precarious time for the band. The 2004 reunion tour with Sammy Hagar, which the Red Rocker labeled “the worst experience of [his] life” had not gone according to plan, and divisions between Alex & Eddie on one side, and Hagar & Michael Anthony on the other, were growing more apparent.
In 2006, one year after Hagar’s departure, the late guitar icon pulled the audacious move of replacing Anthony, his bandmate for 32 years, with his teenage son. Despite being so young, Wolfgang anticipated how polarizing the move would turn out to be.
Wolfgang’s arrival was followed by the beginning of a new David Lee Roth era for Van Halen, which would last until the band’s breakup in the wake of Eddie’s death in 2020, and spawned one studio album in the form of 2012’s “A Different Kind of Truth.”
During a recent interview on Song Cake, Wolfgang said that it was his idea to bring David Lee Roth back, and to spice up the band’s setlists with some deep cuts.
“You know, I was the one who called and brought Dave back to begin with, and I was the one making the set lists too. So I did everything I could to get dad and the guys to play stuff that they hadn’t played before in a long time. So, I think that’s how we ended up on those tours, playing stuff like ‘Drop Dead Legs,’ and even ‘Dirty Movies’; stuff I don’t think Van Halen really ever played.”
He added:
“So, it was fun to just try and give the best show possible, witnessing everything that my dad had to live through, and because he just wanted to play music. You know, man, there was never a desire for drama. He just wanted to play guitar. And at the end of the day, I just want to make music. Why can’t you just make music and have a good time with people?”
