Wolfgang Van Halen Laughs Off Miming Accusations

Eddie's son finds accusations humorous

Keavin Wiggins | December 27, 2022

Mammoth WVH Photo by antiMusic's Rob Grabowski — Photo by antiMusic's Rob Grabowski

One of the highlights of the tribute concerts to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was the set of Van Halen classics performed by Eddie's son Wolfgang, which were met with almost universal praise.

Almost universal. There were some naysayers that suggested Wolfgang "mimed" the performance to backing tapes. A suggestion that Wolfgang laughed off in a new interview with Classic Rock.

Wolfgang, who performed all of the instruments on the debut album for his group Mammoth WVH, was asked about his performances at the Los Angeles tribute concert at the Kia Forum and the UK show at Wembley Stadium in London, that featured a who's who of rock stars playing tribute to Hawkins.

He was asked what it was like to take part in the events and he responded, "Man, it was an honor to participate in either, let alone both of those shows. Taylor was one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to drumming - the drums are my first instrument."

The Classic Rock interviewer then said, "Your performance at both shows was greeted with a lot of praise. You made those famous solos played by your father look relatively easy. Guitar World said you played them with 'eerie accuracy.'"

Van Halen responded, "Hearing those things are a huge compliment. Some people took it really far and said that I didn't actually do it at all."

In the follow-up question, Wolfgang addressed and laughed off the "miming" accusations. "(Laughing) The most obvious response is to consider that an insult, but I take it as even more of a compliment.

"You line up the solos, and there are times when I'm not even playing what's on the (original Van Halen) record.

"Preparing for those shows was really tough, because it forced me to go back and look through those songs. I still wasn't completely comfortable in doing that, emotionally speaking, so it took a lot."