Director Robert Rodriguez caught a Mammoth show a few years ago and quickly became a fan, so when the opportunity to work together arose, Wolfgang Van Halen jumped.
“[We] hit it off a few years ago,” Van Halen told host Chuck Armstrong on Tuesday’s Loudwire Nights (May 6). Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.
“We were friendly anytime we were in his neck of the woods. We’d hang and, you know, I think we just made the ask.”
The ask, as Van Halen explained, was Rodriguez helping create the music video for Mammoth’s new song, “The End.”
“We didn’t know if he’d be into it,” he admitted.
“But he was super into the idea and it just kind of snowballed into this amazing, happy thing that we now have. It’s crazy.”
Van Halen said he always had it in the back of his mind that he wanted to do something like this with Rodriguez, and in particular, pay tribute to one of his favorite movies.
“I wanted to do a parody of one of my favorite movies of his,” he said. “You know, a light homage to From Dusk Till Dawn. Having Danny [Trejo] there is just kind of crazy to see it actually come to fruition.”
To help with Van Halen’s vision, Rodriguez called Greg Nicotero, who has worked on everything from George Romero’s Day of the Dead to The Walking Dead, to help out with the idea of “The End” — which involved zombies, werewolves and a whole lot of carnage.
“I think just the amount of serotonin that my body went through those two days for the shoot, I was like depressed for the rest of the week.”
As if having Rodriguez and Nicotero being involved wasn’t enough, there are some major cameos in the music video, including Myles Kennedy, Van Halen’s mother, Valerie Bertinelli, and Slash.
“Slash showed up for a quick sec,” Van Halen recalled.
“We were cracking up when he was doing it. It was like two shots and that was it. It was just so fun.”
Wolfgang Van Halen Gets Ready For Black Sabbath’s Final Show
In addition to celebrating “The End,” Van Halen spent some time discussing his involvement with Back to the Beginning, the final show for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
“You know, my family lineage is intertwined and has gone way back with the likes of Ozzy,” Van Halen shared.
“My dad was very, very close with Tony [Iommi], probably the closest of any other guitar players out there. It was a crazy honor to be there for the Hall of Fame induction as well as this. It’s a crazy thing.”
Van Halen was clearly humbled talking about Back to the Beginning, not simply because of his family’s lineage, but because of what Ozzy means to him.
“There are some legends out there where it’s just like, they can’t be replicated and they’re just so original — they started a movement,” he said.
“My dad was very much — he kind of focused on his stuff. But anytime my dad gave cred to something else, that meant it was, like, legit. And he always told me one of his favorite guitar riffs was ‘Into the Void’ by Black Sabbath. There’s just nothing better, man.”
What Else Did Wolfgang Van Halen Discuss on Loudwire Nights?
- What it’s like writing, singing and playing every instrument himself in the studio: “Why fix what isn’t broken? I’m just having a good time. It’s a wonderful learning experience every time and it’s just a fun, fun thing. I enjoy the process.”
- Why he loves touring with his band: “There’s the touring family and then there’s the recording family. I got the band on tour and everybody I love there.”
- What’s next for Mammoth: “I can’t say, even though it’s kind of obvious. I’d say just keep your ear to the socials, to the Mammoth socials and if you’re wanting more, you’ll be happy to learn information.”
Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below
Wolfgang Van Halen joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, May 6; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.
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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
Content shared from loudwire.com.