 ron | Wolfgang Van Halen Wolfgang Van Halen, the frontman and creative mastermind behind Mammoth WVH, casts an eye back over his remarkable 2021 in the new end-of-year issue of Classic Rock magazine, and admits that his surname can be both “a blessing and a curse.” In conversation with Classic Rock’s Polly Glass, Van Halen addresses the “mixed blessing” that comes with his iconic surname, in terms of having to prove himself as an artist in his own right. “It’s definitely a blessing and a curse,” the 30-year-old musician acknowledges. “I’m very blessed to have the opportunities that I’m able to just because of my last name, but I really don’t think that the last name keeps those doors open for you. If you don’t have the goods to back it up, you’re not going to be there for long. So I guess if I disappear in the next year, I didn’t have it! [laughs]” Mammoth WVH have enjoyed a hugely successful 2021. The group’s self-titled album, on which Van Halen wrote every song, and played every instrument in addition to singing lead and harmony vocals, reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 album chart in America upon its release in June, and last month the group received a Grammy award nomination for debut single The Distance in the Best Rock Song category, alongside Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Kings Of Leon and Weezer. The quartet also supported Guns N’ Roses on the most recent US leg of their 2020 Tour. |
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