Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang William Van Halen (born March 16, 1991), is an American musician. He is the current bassist for Van Halen, replacing Michael Anthony in 2006.

Biography

Named after the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his parents are guitarist Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli. His uncle is Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen. His middle name is rumored to be taken from the title of the Van Halen song "Big Bad Bill (is Sweet William Now)," a cover of a jazz standard David Lee Roth sang about Eddie.

Wolfgang (an Old High German word meaning "wolf strife") was a part of his father's vision for Van Halen from a very young age. The instrumental "316" was named in his honor, after Wolfgang's birthday. Later, his father named a custom guitar after him, the Peavey Wolfgang. Eddie stated that Wolfgang is new to the bass guitar.

Wolfgang later began actively participating in the band. He also made guest appearances during some dates of Van Halen's 2004 tour, appearing during his father's extended guitar solo spot and playing "316" with him.

Although Wolfgang began working on new material with his father and uncle in late 2006, it is unclear if or when any of it will be released. A fall 2007 Van Halen tour was announced during a press conference on August 13, 2007. The tour began on September 27, 2007 and finished in July 2008.

Like his father, Wolfgang is a multi-instrumentalist; in addition to bass, he also plays drums, guitar, and keyboard.

Wolfgang made headlines in early 2008 by appearing on the cover of the April issue of Guitar World with his father, in the magazine's very first father-son issue. Wolfgang was also mentioned on the Rachael Ray talk show in 2007 when his mother, Valerie, spoke with Rachael about the stresses of having her son on the road. She said, "He's just like, 'Mom, don't say anything stupid about me on Rachael Ray!'" She also said that Wolfgang is a "good boy" and when he finds himself in an adult situation, calls her and says, "Mom, I'm not comfortable here."

Wolfgang was talked about extensively in Valerie's memoir, Losing It- And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time.

Following the completion of the 2007/2008 Van Halen tour Wolfgang headed back to school and will hope to graduate in Summer 2010. He will then re-join Van Halen for a possible album and tour. Wolfgang currently appears as the bassist for Van Halen on Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

External links

• Official Van Halen Website