MAMMOTH WVH: TOUR 2023 (With Special Guest Nita Strauss) - Starland Ballroom (Doors at 6:30 PM)

MAMMOTH WVH

Mammoth WVH is an American rock band formed and fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen, initially as a solo project while he was still a part of Van Halen prior to their disbandment.

Wolfgang Van Halen's musical talents started at a young age. In 2006, when Wolf was 15 years old, his father Eddie Van Halen stated on The Howard Stern Show that his son had unmatched musical talent, stating: "Wait 'til you hear this kid play bass, guitar and drums. He can do anything I do on guitar...the name 'Van Halen', the family legacy is gonna go on way after I'm gone 'cause this kid is just a natural." 

Wolfgang Van Halen became an official member of Tremonti, guitarist Mark Tremonti's own band (a side project from the lead guitarist and songwriter for Alter Bridge and Creed) in 2013, replacing previous bassist Brian Marshall, who also plays for Alter Bridge. Wolfgang appears on Tremonti's 2015 studio album Cauterize and its 2016 follow-up Dust.

In a February 2015, Eddie announced that his son Wolfgang had started working on a solo project album.   Recording took place at 5150 Studios, and lasted until 2017. Release of the debut album was delayed, as Wolfgang chose to spend time with his father, whose health was declining.  In June 2019, Wolfgang appeared as a guest on his mother Valerie Bertinelli's Food Network television show, and announced that he had finished recording the album.  

The first single "Distance" was released on November 16, 2020, as a tribute to his father, who died from a stroke on October 6, 2020, after years of battling throat cancer.  Wolfgang later revealed that he began work on the song years prior as a coping strategy, while his father's health was declining, stating that he knew there would be an eventual death of his beloved parent, bandmate, and best friend. 

In February 2021, Wolfgang announced that Mammoth WVH's self-titled debut album would be released on June 11 of the same year.  Later that month, Wolfgang stated that Mammoth WVH will move forward as his primary project, confirming that while it started off as a solo project, he considers the lineup a band. The musician has additional plans with them including a tour. When asked why he recorded the entire album himself, he stated that he wanted to challenge himself and referred inspiration from Dave Grohl's work as the sole member of the early years of Foo Fighters.  

In June 2021, Wolfgang described the debut album as "personal" and "therapeutic", while acknowledging influence taken from his father's career.  In developing the overall sound and style for the project, Wolfgang stated that while "I'll always be there to champion my father and his legacy...I definitely made a choice to not sound directly like Van Halen...I think that would be boring if I was a carbon copy of my dad." 

Wolfgang Van Halen chose the band's name to be Mammoth WVH, as a derivative of his father's first band named Mammoth, which eventually evolved into Van Halen. The younger Van Halen stated that the concept for the name came from a combination of inspirations. As a child, Wolfgang grew up hearing the name of his father's former band believing, "That's the coolest name! When I grow up, I want to call my own band that." The younger Van Halen admired that Eddie had a multi-faceted role including serving as the original lead singer of Mammoth, and with his intentions to solely write, perform, and produce the album, he settled on the name. Upon settling on the title, he presented his idea to his father who responded to it with immense positivity and gave his blessing.