Mammoth WVH is the solo project of Wolfgang Van Halen, son of guitar god Eddie Van Halen. Before his father’s death ended Van Halen in 2020, Wolfgang was the band’s bassist from 2006 onward, and he paid loving tribute to his father with his first Mammoth WVH song, “Distance.”
Wolfgang Van Halen was born in 1991. He was an only child and developed a close relationship with his parents, learning music from his rock star dad and eventually joining his band as a teenager. In 2012, he also joined Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti’s group Tremonti, first filling in on bass for a tour, but then becoming a full-time member of the band. Wolfgang was steadily working on songs of his own, but he kept his original material under wraps until his father died in October 2020. He formed Mammoth WVH the next month, repurposing the name Mammoth from the first iterations of Van Halen, which featured his father on lead vocals. A talented singer and multi-instrumentalist, Wolfgang recorded every instrument for his new project himself. His first song, “Distance,” debuted in November 2020, and an accompanying video was montaged from home movies of him and his father in different stages of his early life through to the hour at hand.
Even as he sets the stage for his musical future, Van Halen pays homage to his father with his band’s name. “Since I was a kid, my dad would tell me the story of the band and that it was called Mammoth,” he says of the name brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen originally gave their band. “It was a three-piece with dad singing, so that’s another connection I have with it. Just growing up, I was like, ‘That’s the coolest name! When I grow up, I want to call my own band that,’ and here we are.”
Van Halen is looking forward to touring this summer with Guns N’ Roses. “You kind of have to say it out loud and it still doesn’t seem real,” he grins. “I’m super thankful. I’ve known Slash and Duff for some time, and I know Axl signed off on it, so it’s an honor for them to want me to be there.” When he hits the road, the Mammoth WVH lineup will consist of Van Halen on guitars/lead vocals; Ronnie Ficarro, formerly of Falling in Reverse, on bass/background vocals; Garrett Whitlock, previously with Tremonti, on drums; Jon Jourdan of To Whom It May on guitar/background vocals; and Frank Sidoris, previously with The Cab and Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, on guitars/background vocals.
Mammoth WVH, the project headed up by Wolfgang Van Halen, has announced a deluxe version of his debut album for November 11, 2022. The deluxe version features the Japanese bonus track “Talk & Walk,” as well as “As Long As You’re Not You” and “Goodbye” that didn’t originally make the album.
The new spring 2023 advance single is “Another Celebration at the End of the World” from the upcoming album Mammoth II out August 4th!
Ref: AllMusic, Billboard
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM plays Mammoth WVH. All part of 50 years of Rock, Blues and More, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN/
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