A rare Wolfgang Van Halen interview has been published by Esquire magazine.
It’s actually a companion piece to a session with Eddie Van Halen, another rarity these days, since frontman David Lee Roth handled all the initial media interviews upon the release of the band’s new album, “A Different Kind Of Truth.”
You can read up on Eddie’s interview here.
The Van Halens sat down with Esquire during their late February stint at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where the band played two shows.
The Wolfgang session covers a few things, including his realization that the newest era of the band was being built around him.
“I guess it really didn't hit me until, like, the first night of the tour, in 2007,” says the bassist. “It just felt so normal, because we had already been rehearsing for two years. It just kind of fell into place, you know? I didn't really have anything that I felt like I needed to do other than music. It's the only thing I had, I think.”
Eddie has talked about Wolfgang taking the initiative to organize and lead certain aspects of the VH operation, including song lists and soundchecks.
“I mean, I kind of come up with the set lists,” explains Wolfgang. “When we've got a song that we haven't done, it's like, we should probably run through this before the show and figure out like the count of it. Because dad, for some reason, counts in odds. He'll land on three instead of four.”
As for soundchecks, “It's kind of just a ritual, almost. We've been doing this new thing to mix it up — every single show we've played has been different — I want to keep it interesting. Since we're on the second tour, I think we've earned the ability to play older songs, like ‘Hear About It Later.’”
Read more with Wolfgang at Esquire here.
This week, Van Halen play a series of Canadian dates, as they hit Vancouver (Mon), Calgary (Wed), Edmonton (Fri), and Winnipeg (Sun).
Van Halen Van Halen – She’s The Woman
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