Wolfgang Van Halen responded to detractors on Twitter, one of whom accused him of “taking advantage” of his name.
Singer and multi-instrumentalist, son of the late Van Halen guitarist Eddie, has been criticized for using the name Van Halen by fans of the classic rock band. He was also accused of allegedly not honoring his father by not performing Van Halen songs live.
Yesterday (March 21), a Twitter user came after Van Halen, saying: “If a person wants to make a name for himself, he will not take advantage of his famous father’s surname and the name of the band. His father and uncle didn’t have that. Everyone in the group didn’t have that. In fact, most current and former bands and singers didn’t have that.”
Van Halen responded by saying, “Van Halen is literally my fucking name, you grape.”
Van Halen is literally my fucking name you grape https://t.co/ceuP5axF1x
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) March 21, 2023
In another tweet, Van Halen added: “Guys, you realize that Van Halen is literally a name. Like long before it was a band. Right? That good old American rock and roll you love so much was written by a Dutch immigrant named Edward Lodewik Van Halen, not some dude who changed his name to make it sound cool, “rock and roll” and all that shit?
You guys understand Van Halen is literally a name. Like way before it was a band. Right? That good ol American rock and roll you love so much was written by a Dutch immigrant named Edward Lodewik Van Halen, not some dude changing his name to sound cool and "rock n roll" and shit? https://t.co/AJtu3m1wlW
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) March 21, 2023
Van Halen then decided to highlight the situation by posting a survey on Twitter and asking his followers to help him choose a new name — “Wolfgang Led Zeppelin”, “Wolfgang AC/DC”, “Wolfgang The Who” or “Wolfgang Paul”. McCartney.”
“I really wanted to write Wolfgang Paul McCartney and Wings, but there was a limit on the number of characters,” he added.
Guys what should my new name be?
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) March 21, 2023
Elsewhere, Wolfgang Van Halen announced today (March 22) Mammoth WVH’s second album, “Mammoth II”, which will be released on August 4. He also shared his title single “Another Celebration At The End Of The World”.
“I knew I wanted the new album to contain elements of what people heard on the debut, but also give me the opportunity to expand a little,” he said in a press release.
“Another Celebration At The End Of The World” is definitely a song that demonstrates what people can expect from the new album,” Van Halen said in a press release. “He’s an energetic rocker with some fun guitar moments. I also pushed myself to vocals, and it’s a song I can’t wait to go out and play it live. I see it as an integral part of our live performance in the future.”
The track list for ‘Mammoth II’ is as follows:
1. ‘Right?’
2. ‘Like A Pastime’
3. ‘Another Celebration At The End Of The World’
4. ‘Miles Above Me’
5. ‘Take A Bow’
6. ”Optimist’
7. ‘I’m Alright’
8. ‘Erase Me’
9. ‘Waiting’
10. ‘Better Than You’
