Wolfgang Van Halen said he felt a “great closure” after the death of his legendary father after performing Van Halen’s songs at recent concerts dedicated to the memory of Taylor Hawkins.
The 31-year-old musician performed “On Fire“, “Hot For Teacher” and “Panama” together with The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins on vocals, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters on bass and Josh Freese on drums at two concerts in honor of the late drummer.
“I think I’ve already done that with Taylor Hawkins tributes. I feel a great closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father,” Wolfgang explained.
“When it comes to Van Halen and the organizations surrounding the band, it’s unfortunate, of course, compared to the Foo Fighters, who have their shit together with interpersonal relationships.”
Wolfgang performed as Van Halen’s bassist for 14 years from 2006 to 2020, but insists that the band is “very non-functional,” which makes a tribute concert featuring the rest of the band unlikely.
Speaking to Classic Rock magazine (via Music-News), he added: “I do not know what is happening with some bands, but some individuals simply cannot bring themselves to work together for the same goal. This has been the curse of Van Halen throughout his career.”
“That’s why my playing at Taylor’s concerts brought catharsis without the stress associated with the Van Halen camp and the players involved.
“Their camp is very dysfunctional — that’s it! Hell, it was hard to make plans even when the band was active.”
