Wolfgang Van Halen joined Howard Stern on Monday morning (Nov. 16) for his first interview since the death of his father, Eddie Van Halen.
Stern asked what’s next for the iconic rock band, and addressed rumors that the 29-year-old musician would replace his father as the group’s guitarist. “That’s f—ing stupid,” Wolfgang said. “You can’t have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen. I’m not my dad. I’m not going to replace him.”
“I’ve spent my life making sure I’m not like him and I’m my own person,” he continued, adding that if his father were still alive, he’d want his son to pursue his own career. “He’d be like, ‘What the f— are you doing? Go do your own s—!’ In my opinion, outside of maybe a tribute show at some point down the line and archival releases further down the line, it’s done.”
“I don’t have a dad anymore and I’m coming to terms with that,” he concluded. “So, I think fans can come to the terms with the fact that we’re not going to have Van Halen anymore. The music is going to live on forever but you can’t continue without Eddie Van Halen.”
Wolfgang also premiered his new song from his solo band Mammoth WVH, “Distance,” which he released as a tribute to his dad. “There are a bunch of other ideas that are just sitting there and waiting to be finished. ‘Distance was one of those,” he said. “When this happened I was like, ‘Let’s finish it and put it out for dad.’”
Watch the “Distance” video below.