Wolfgang Van Halen showed some love for the “Van Hagar” era of Van Halen in a new interview.
Speaking to Oklahoma City’s KATT, Wolfgang is asked about the new Van Halen release set for Record Store Day. That title — Live: Right Here, Right Now — celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Also, its release on Record Store Day marks the first time the title is available on vinyl.
Wolfgang said, “That era [of Van Halen] doesn’t get any respect, I don’t think. There’s a lot of amazing songs and just obviously brilliant guitar playing on a lot of that – on all of that stuff – and I think people don’t give it a chance ’cause they fall into that just exhausting ‘this singer is better, this singer is better’ crap, when it’s, like, just give it a chance. There’s some really good stuff in there.”
When asked how he factors into VH reissue decisions, he refers to his uncle — Alex Van Halen — as the “head honcho” on those matters. He adds, “But when it comes to decision-making or at least just kind of helping out, yeah, I am that sort of what would have been my dad’s vote for stuff there with Al. So Al and I are kind of that team.”
Wolfgang is currently on the road with Mammoth WVH. They have a gig tonight (March 17) in Houston followed by a show in Dallas tomorrow (March 18.) A full list of upcoming tour dates can be found at MammothWVH.com.
