“He is just everything I aspire to be”: Wolfgang Van Halen picks Dave Grohl as his rock god
“There’s nothing better than looking up to someone and realising that they’re everything and more.”
Images: Roberto Riccuti and Valerie Macon / Getty
Wolfgang Van Halen has praised Foo Fighters rocker Dave Grohl, citing him as his personal “rock god”.
WVH shared a stage with Grohl and co during the Taylor Hawkins Tribute concerts which took place last year following the tragic passing of the Foo Fighters drummer.
In an interview on the BBC’s The Rock Show With Johnnie Walker, Wolfie chose Grohl as his rock god, stating [per Blabbermouth]: “I’ve chosen Dave Grohl because he just inspires me infinitely – in songwriting and capability as a musician. I really admire how he came from Nirvana, and then after that sadly ended, how he was able to build his own thing with Foo Fighters.
“It’s how I mirror a lot of my experience, so where I’ve come from and what I’ve tried to do myself. So he’s just everything I aspire to be.” He adds, “I first became aware of him, gosh, when I was… It was when [Foo Fighters’ fifth album] In Your Honor [came out] and [I heard] Best Of You. I remember that song would always get stuck in my head.
“It always stuck with me how he made everything better – his songwriting, singing. Yeah, I guess that’s why maybe I look up to him so much. He really is just everything I aspire to be, especially after getting to know him a little bit and spending a little bit of time with him… There’s nothing better than looking up to someone and realising that they’re everything and more. And he is that.”
Wolfgang recently spoke to us at Guitar.com on the release of Mammoth II, the second album from his own band, Mammoth WVH: “On the first album, I was still trying to figure out if I could do it. There were so many ifs – ‘Can I play all these instruments? Am I going to be able to sing? Can I succeed as a lead singer, will that work?’” he said.
“But then after doing that for two years, it allowed me to experiment and figure out how I wanted to push the sound and get more creative. There’s so much on here that’s an evolution of the first album that wouldn’t have fit on [there] – there’s heavier stuff, stuff that’s poppier, there’s more epic, longer songs. Mammoth II is the perfect name for it, because it really is like a sequel to the first album.”
Get tickets to see Mammoth WVH live via their website.