In a new interview with Baltimore’s 98 Rock radio station, Wolfgang Van Halen, who joined VAN HALEN at just 15 years old and shared the stage with his father, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen, together from 2006 until 2015, five years before Eddie‘s death, spoke about how he has adapted to the music business now that he is the frontman of his own band, MAMMOTH. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “You certainly learn more and more. It’s not the greatest business, but what is nowadays? I think especially in the day of streaming, you’re the product. You don’t really have much choice in how you get used. And then you’ve got all this A.I. stuff that’s kind of ruined stuff even more. So you have to really love playing and creating music to do this, because that’s the good part. Everything else is the bad part. I believe there’s that one Hunter S. Thompson quote that’s really… I don’t think I can say it right now, but, yeah, I think you just keep moving. You learn and you surround yourself with people you trust, and hopefully, you throw a little dash of luck in there and you can somehow find your own niche, so to speak.”
Asked if he has ever personally used A.I. as a “tool”, Wolfgang said: “I’ve messed with it just randomly, but to me, it’s like a ruler. Use it if you wanna do a slightly more in-depth Google search. But I’m not gonna sit here and be, like, ‘write a song’ or ‘draw a picture.’ A.I. should be putting mufflers on cars, not making music and doing our creative jobs. It should be doing the menial stuff we don’t wanna do.”
MAMMOTH (formerly MAMMOTH WVH) will release its third album, “The End”, on October 24 via BMG. The 10-track effort clocks in at 39 minutes and showcases the evolution of Wolfgang and his songwriting since he launched his solo career in 2020. Recorded at the legendary 5150 studio, the album was produced by friend and collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette.
MAMMOTH released the first single from “The End”, the LP’s title track, in May. The success of the single was propelled by the landmark music video, which has surpassed five million views.
Back in 2021, MAMMOTH‘s first offering, “Mammoth WVH”, took flight, bowing at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and capturing No. 1 on three Billboard charts — Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Independent Albums, and Top Rock Albums. “Distance” soared as the first of two No. 1 rock radio hits and earned a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Rock Song”. Two years later, “Mammoth II” only saw Wolfgang pick up the pace. It debuted in the Top 5 of the Billboard Top Album Sales chart in addition to bringing him back to No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Inciting widespread applause from Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Grammy.com, Kerrang! and more, Classic Rock hailed it as “a solo second that betters his debut in every department,” and American Songwriter applauded, “‘II’ reveals a closer representation of what MAMMOTH is now and Van Halen‘s dynamism as a musician and as a writer.” The band canvased the globe with METALLICA, supported FOO FIGHTERS in North America, supported CREED on their record-breaking tour as well as filling houses on their own. They performed on NBC‘s “Today”, ABC‘s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and at the 2024 MusiCares “Person Of The Year” benefit gala in honor of Jon Bon Jovi. Not to mention, Wolfgang shared the stage with Ryan Gosling, Mark Ronson and Slash at the 2024 Academy Awards performing “I’m Just Ken” from the blockbuster “Barbie” movie. He also joined Maynard James Keenan (TOOL, A PERFECT CIRCLE),Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),Robert Trujillo (METALLICA) and producer Andrew Watt for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction of Ozzy Osbourne that same year.
To celebrate “The End” being in stores this October, MAMMOTH will head out on a fall headline run. “The End” tour kicks off on October 31 and runs for five weeks before it wraps up on December 7. Longtime friend Myles Kennedy will be the special guest on the run.
MAMMOTH‘s touring lineup features Wolfgang on guitar and lead vocals, Frank Sidoris (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS) on guitar, Jon Jourdan on guitar and vocals, Garrett Whitlock (TREMONTI) on drums, and Ronnie Ficarro on bass.
Photo by Travis Shinn