In September 2006, 15-year old Wolfgang Van Halen replaced original band member Michael Anthony as bassist for Van Halen, and he now tours with the band along his father, Eddie Van Halen, his uncle, Alex Van Halen, and returning original Van Halen member David Lee Roth.
Anthony left the band due to continuing conflict with the band members; after his departure, Eddie Van Halen almost immediately named his son as Anthony’s replacement.
Wolfgang Van Halen’s Childhood
Wolfgang was born in California on March 16, 1991, to Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli. He is named after their favourite composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is their only child.
Bertinelli and Van Halen’s marriage was already in a fragile state when their son was born, due in part to Van Halen’s drinking and the time he spent away from home. They eventually split in 2002, when Wolfgang was 11, and he lived with Bertinelli in her California home. According to Bertinelli in her 2008 memoir Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time, Wolfie was “devastated” (p. 215) by the announcement of their divorce, but his father continued to play an active role in his life.
Wolfgang Van Halen’s Music Career Begins
It would seem that Wolfgang was destined to become a musician. In Losing It, Bertinelli says, “Ed had dreamed about one day playing music with his child; hell, he used to play guitar to my stomach when I was pregnant.” (p 229). Wolfgang first began playing drums at the age of nine, and his father taught him how to play guitar a few years later. In May of 2004, when he was just 13, Wolfie began participating in Van Halen rehearsals and in June he joined them on tour. “[He] definitely had the Van Halen gene for music,” says Bertinelli. In addition to drums and bass, he plays keyboard and guitar.
Wolfgang has since graduated from high school and continues to tour with Van Halen. While having some reservations about the rock n’ roll lifestyle that her young son is engaged in, Bertinelli stresses that she is proud of him and that he is a “good boy,” although in her 2009 memoir Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life Without Opening the Fridge, she jokes that “…getting your sex talk from Eddie Van Halen wasn’t recommended in any of the parenting books I read.” (p. 26)
Is Wolfgang Van Halen a Good – or Even Good Enough – Bass Player?
Generally, Wolfie’s presence in Van Halen has been well-received by critics and fans. In a review of their 2008 Atlanta concert, Kevin Triebsch wrote, “The younger Van Halen did a fine job, but lacked the wild stage presence of Anthony.” In a review of their 2007 Detroit concert, “El Bicho” wrote, “For having big shoes to fill in replacing fan-favorite Anthony, Wolfgang did an admirable job. He doesn’t have the dexterity on bass, vocal ability or stage presence of Anthony, but he didn’t bring the show down either.”
Not everyone is convinced, however, of Wolfie’s skills. In his post entitled “Wolfgang Van Halen Demonstrates Everything Wrong with Millenials,” Phoenix New Times blogger Martin Cizmar says, “Can Wolfie play bass? Who cares? I'm sure he's competent. Because, really, who can't play bass?,” then goes on to add, “So why is Wolfie taking the place of a guy who was in the band for nearly 40 years? Because his daddy wants to pretend his special little son is talented or gifted or cool or whatever.”
The odd unhappy fan aside, it would appear that Wolfgang has become a permanent fixture in Van Halen. In a 2006 interview with Guitar World magazine, his father simply said, “He breathes new life into what we’re doing.”
Van Halen is set to release a new album in 2011, their first since 1998.
Kim Downey - Kim Downey graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2005. She is now a part time freelance and creative writer and a full time ...
