Wolfgang Van Halen says working on his new album gave him the strength to carry on following his dad’s death.
Guitar god Eddie Van Halen sadly passed away following a lengthy battle with cancer in October 2020 at the age of 65, and his son has admitted making music is what keeps him going.
Speaking to Guitar World magazine, Wolfgang, 31, said: “There’s many times when I don’t have the strength to do anything, and more than not, that seems to be the case.
“But you’ve got to find the things that give you life.
“For me, that’s music and being able to wake up every day and think about how I am going to create this second album.”
He added: “It’s stressful, but it’s also very exciting, and it’s what I pull all my thinking into.”
His self-titled first album released under Mammoth WVH, released earlier this year, was critically acclaimed and saw Wolfgang receive his first-ever GRAMMY nomination for Best Rock Song with the track ‘Distance’ about his late pop.
The prize ended up going to Foo Fighters and their song ‘Waiting on a War’, but Wolfgang was happy to have even received the nod alongside some of his favourite artists.
In a typed-out message on Twitter, the rocker began: “We came, we saw, but we did NOT conquer and that’s ok!
I got to have a wonderful night with the two most important women in my world.
“Such an honor to be nominated for the first song I ever released on my own, in a category with artists I’ve looked up to my entire life. I don’t know if that’ll ever set in fully. (sic)”
Wolfgang noted that his father also didn’t win the first time he was nominated in 1985.
He continued: “Pop didn’t win the first time he was nominated too, so it looks like I’m following in his footsteps quite nicely.”
Wolfgang concluded: “Who knows what the future holds. All I know is I’m feeling pretty damn grateful. What a wild experience this was.
“Thank you to the @recordingacademy for the recognition, and thank YOU for the support. Y’all mean the world to me.”
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