BLABBERMOUTH — Wolfgang Van Halen has once again weighed in on the proposed all-star VAN HALEN tribute project, saying he got “closure” by performing his late father’s songs at the recent Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts.
No progress has been reported on a possible VAN HALEN tribute concert since April when the former METALLICA bassist revealed to The Palm Beach Post that he was approached by VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen about six months earlier about playing bass for the project. Newsted told the Florida newspaper that he agreed to go to California to jam with Alex and legendary guitarist Joe Satriani and see if it felt right, but he eventually realized that it would be impossible to do justice to VAN HALEN‘s legacy. Three months later, Wolfgang told Rolling Stone magazine that the idea for the Eddie Van Halen tribute was ultimately nixed due to the personality clashes within VAN HALEN.
The son of Eddie Van Halen, who played three VAN HALEN songs — “On Fire”, “Hot For Teacher” and “Panama” — over the course of two concerts in September alongside Dave Grohl on bass, Josh Freese on drums and THE DARKNESS‘s Justin Hawkins on vocals, told Classic Rock magazine that he was no longer actively interested in pursuing the idea of a standalone Eddie Van Halen tribute event. “I think I already did it with the Taylor Hawkins tributes,” he explained. “I feel a lot of closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father.”
“When it comes to VAN HALEN and entities surrounding the band it’s unfortunate, certainly compared to FOO FIGHTERS who have their shit together with interpersonal relationships,” Wolfgang added.
“I don’t know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can’t get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose. That’s been the curse of VAN HALEN for its entire career. So my playing at the Taylor shows delivered that catharsis without the stresses of dealing with the VAN HALEN camp, and the players involved. Their camp is very dysfunctional — everyone! Hell, it was difficult to make plans even when the band was active.”
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