Wolfgang Van Halen stopped by the Drumeo studio for a brand new video characteristic about his uncle, Alex, the drummer of Van Halen. Within the 20-minute clip, Wolfgang opens up about his uncle’s legacy as a considerably underrated side of Van Halen, whereas additionally taking part in by means of just a few Van Halen songs on the package himself.
“If he wasn’t in a band with Eddie Van Halen, I believe he could be lauded as one of many biggest drummers of all-time,” Wolfgang mentioned. “Seeing the present dwell, you’ve acquired Dave fucking leaping round, doing pirouettes and shit, and also you’ve acquired all of the loopy shit dad’s doing — there’s a lot occurring, you possibly can’t actually lock in on the truth that Alex is demolishing every part in essentially the most superb means.”
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Wolfgang goes on to debate Alex’s tools and over-the-top drum kits — a mixture of ornamental extra, like the fireplace extinguisher connected to his ’78 package, and sensible gear, such because the rototoms that appeared throughout the Van Halen II period and remained a fixture on his package from then on.
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Performing Van Halen materials has been considerably of a sensitive topic for Wolfgang, who chooses to play his personal materials together with his band Mammoth in live performance, so it’s cool to see him run by means of a few of Alex’s drum elements all through the remainder of the video. He tackles parts of songs like “Leap,” “Panama,” and others, displaying off his personal professional drumming expertise whereas demonstrating a number of the professional methods employed by Alex on the unique recordings, i.e. the long-lasting double-kick exercise on “Scorching for Trainer.”
A very fascinating a part of the video happens close to the top, when Wolfgang is requested whether or not Alex nonetheless performs drums anymore.
“It’s kinda the identical factor with me and Van Halen stuff — I’m actually simply not considering taking part in it anymore with out Dad, and I do know [Alex] feels the very same means,” answered Wolfgang poignantly. “I’ll play it for enjoyable now and again … however general, it’s actually a tricky factor for me. I simply don’t hearken to Van Halen anymore.”
He added: “Al was already a personal man to start with. Now it’s like, why would you wanna play?”
Watch the Drumeo clip with Wolfgang Van Halen under. In the event you’re looking to select up the drums or enhance your expertise, Drumeo is providing a 30-day free trial for brand new members.
In the meantime, Wolfgang will probably be on the street for a lot of the yr with Mammoth, together with a not too long ago introduced Fall 2025 US headlining tour with help from Myles Kennedy. Choose up tickets right here.