Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. World still spins around without you, no one but yourself.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. Fought so hard, but nothing's going to change. VAN HALEN: (Singing) World still spins around without you, no one but yourself to blame. SIMON: Wolfgang Van Halen - his solo debut album is "Mammoth." Thank you so much for being with us. A world without music is a world I don't want to take part in. Music is one of the most important things ever. SIMON: What do you think music puts in our lives? And it's all I'm good at, and all I want to do. I just kind of - you know, I was just around it that it just kind of sunk into me. Sounds like that didn't happen in your household. There are some fathers or parents who would say, I don't want you - the music business is rotten and nasty, and I don't want you anywhere near that. SIMON: It's funny because your father brought such perceptible joy to his performance. VAN HALEN: (Singing) One by one, remembering a brighter sun. I always admired how Dave Grohl did the first Foo Fighters album, where he recorded everything himself. VAN HALEN: Yeah, I just thought it'd be a fun thing to do. SIMON: Did you make a point of playing every instrument yourself? So it's a lot more pressure, but it's also much more creatively freeing. It's 100% all me, playing everything, writing everything. SIMON: Every damn instrument is you, right? VAN HALEN: It's all just me, so I guess there's nobody to blame if things go wrong. How creatively is it different from the work you did with Van Halen or the other band you were in, Tremonti? VAN HALEN: (Singing) Hey you, anything is possible. So I always told myself that when I grew up, I'd name my own album and my own band. So I always loved that name whenever he would tell me that story. VAN HALEN: When my dad had a band before Van Halen, it was called Mammoth. SIMON: You name your album and one of your tracks "Mammoth." Help us understand that title. (SOUNDBITE OF MAMMOTH WVH SONG, "MAMMOTH")
But to him, it's just like this little thing he made. And everybody in the room went, like, (gasping) because it's so - you know, it's priceless. And dad just kind of picked it up and just kind of played it for a second and then, like, tossed it on the couch. It's quite arguably one of the most famous guitars or instruments in music. It was a crazy moment 'cause it's a very special guitar. You know, we were all kind of gathered around it.
VAN HALEN: Yeah, just to chase his sound, you know? I pulled it out to start recording. SIMON: Now, your father built this guitar himself - right? - from rejected parts is the story. Like, if the whole building burnt down, it would be OK. When I brought it out for recording - you know, we keep it in - just, like, locked down, super-safe.
For one of the guitar tracks, I played the original Frankenstein guitar. SIMON: And let me ask you about the song, "Feel." You're playing your father's guitar? And to be able to be on stage and play music with my uncle and my father every night, it was truly a blessing. You know, I was just there to support my father. You know, after soundcheck, I'd be doing math. SIMON: So what was it like to be on tour at the age of 15? It's just kind of imagining how tough life would be without him but also remembering that our relationship is too strong to let any one of us being apart from each other be an issue. And a tough thing to deal with emotionally, and I guess this song was just kind of a way of therapeutically dealing with that. You know, my father had struggled a lot health-wise - up and down for years for a really long time. No matter what the distance is, you'll be OK, oh. No matter what the distance is, I will be with you. VAN HALEN: (Singing) A life without you, I'm not ready to move on. I realize it might be difficult - but that's how some great songs come into being, too - if you could tell us about the song "Distance." SIMON: And we have to ask you about the first single that's been released from the album. WOLFGANG VAN HALEN: Thanks so much for having me. SIMON: He's a one-man band - singing, playing drums, guitar, bass and the keyboard. (SOUNDBITE OF MAMMOTH WVH SONG, "DON'T BACK DOWN") Wolfgang Van Halen has his debut album out now. At the age of 15, he joined the family business, playing bass alongside his rock legend of a father. Wolfgang Van Halen was born to play music.
0 kommentar(er)
