MAMMOTH WVH, the brainchild of former VAN HALEN bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, has announced a headline tour this fall in support of the band’s upcoming second album, “Mammoth II”. These dates come on the heels of the band’s successful European tour last month that saw them opening for METALLICA, ALTER BRIDGE and DEF LEPPARD/MÖTLEY CRÜE. The headline tour will kick off November 4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and run through December 9 when MAMMOTH WVH returns home to Los Angeles. The headline run will make stops in Chicago, Illinois (November 9); Sayreville, New Jersey (November 17); Dallas Texas (November 25); and Seattle, Washington (December 3),to name a few. The headline dates will feature Nita Strauss as direct support. These dates also come as MAMMOTH picks up their spot opening for METALLICA in the U.S. for their previously announced dates on November 3 in St. Louis and November 10 in Detroit.
A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, July 19 at 10:00 a.m. local and end on Thursday, July 20 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “BBM” to access tickets before the general public. General on-sale will be Friday, July 21 at 10 a.m. local time.
Tour dates:
Nov. 04 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
Nov. 05 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Nov. 07 – Columbus, OH – The Bluestone
Nov. 09 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
Nov. 11 – Grand Rapids, MI – Elevation at the Intersection
Nov. 13 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
Nov. 14 – Montreal, QC – Théâtre Beanfield
Nov. 15 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live
Nov. 17 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
Nov. 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Keswick Theatre
Nov. 19 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
Nov. 21 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater
Nov. 22 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House Of Blues
Nov 24 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Ballroom
Nov. 25 – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum
Nov. 26 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
Nov. 28 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
Nov. 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
Nov. 30 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
Dec. 02 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Dec. 03 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
Dec. 04 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
Dec. 07 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Dec. 08 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
Dec. 09 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco
“Mammoth II” will be released on August 4 via BMG. The 10-track record was recorded at the legendary 5150 studio and was produced by Wolfgang‘s friend and collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette.
Continuing the tradition of writing all of the songs and performing all of the instrumentation and vocals himself, Wolfgang set out to challenge himself to expand his sound beyond what people had already come to know him for. From the rocking opener “Right?” to BEATLES-esque fade on closer “Better Than You”, “Mammoth II” showcases the growth of Wolfgang as a songwriter, musician and especially vocalist. Songs like “Like A Pastime”, “Take A Bow” and “Waiting” are all sonically different from each other but unique to what mastermind Wolfgang Van Halen and MAMMOTH WVH is.
The debut single from “Mammoth II” was the upbeat rocker “Another Celebration At The End Of The World”. The music video for “Another Celebration At The End Of The World” is an 8:25 introduction to the MAMMOTH WVH live band. Picking up where the No. 1 single “Don’t Back Down” music video left off, the video showcases a frustrated Wolfgang firing the other Wolfgangs from that video and replacing them with his live band featuring Frank Sidoris (guitars),Jon Jourdan (guitars),Ronnie Ficarro (bass) and Garrett Whitlock (drums). The video was directed by Gordy De St. Jeor.
MAMMOTH WVH‘s debut album was released via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.
Featuring Wolfgang on vocals and all instruments, “Mammoth WVH” was met with positive reviews and topped Billboard‘s Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.
MAMMOTH WVH‘s first single, “Distance”, reached No. 1 on the MediaBase and BDS Active Rock Radio charts. A tribute to Wolfgang‘s father, the song was not originally intended to be on MAMMOTH WVH‘s debut album, but due to the overwhelming response to its accompanying video, which has been viewed over seven million times on YouTube, it was added as a bonus track. All of Wolfgang‘s proceeds from “Distance” are being donated to Mr. Holland’s Opus.
“Distance” is an open letter to Wolfgang‘s father, declaring “no matter what the distance is, I will be with you.” The video for the song is created from a collection of family home movies through the years and offers an inside look in to one of music’s most notable personalities. Chronicling the family through the years, the video ends with a touching voicemail left from Eddie to his son.
In November 2020, Wolfgang confirmed that he asked his father for permission to use the MAMMOTH WVH band name for his solo project. MAMMOTH WVH is a nod to family history — Eddie and Alex Van Halen‘s band was called MAMMOTH when singer David Lee Roth first joined it in 1974.
MAMMOTH WVH made its television debut in February 2021, performing “Distance” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and running through an exclusive acoustic arrangement on “Today”.
Last November, MAMMOTH WVH released a digital deluxe edition of the debut album via EX1 Records. The new digital deluxe features the bonus track from the Japanese version of the album, “Talk & Walk”, as well as two previously unreleased tracks, “As Long As You’re Not You” and “Goodbye”.