Wolfgang Van Halen stopped by the Drumeo studio for a new video feature about his uncle, Alex, the drummer of Van Halen. In the 20-minute clip, Wolfgang opens up about his uncle’s legacy as a somewhat underrated facet of Van Halen, while also playing through a few Van Halen songs on the kit himself.
“If he wasn’t in a band with Eddie Van Halen, I think he would be lauded as one of the greatest drummers of all-time,” Wolfgang said. “Seeing the show live, you’ve got Dave fucking jumping around, doing pirouettes and shit, and you’ve got all the crazy shit dad’s doing — there’s so much happening, you can’t really lock in on the fact that Alex is demolishing everything in the most amazing way.”
Wolfgang goes on to discuss Alex’s equipment and over-the-top drum kits — a combination of decorative excess, like the fire extinguisher attached to his ’78 kit, and practical gear, such as the rototoms that appeared during the Van Halen II era and remained a fixture on his kit from then on.
Related Video
Performing Van Halen material has been somewhat of a touchy subject for Wolfgang, who chooses to play his own material with his band Mammoth in concert, so it’s cool to see him run through some of Alex’s drum parts throughout the rest of the video. He tackles portions of songs like “Jump,” “Panama,” and others, showing off his own pro drumming skills while demonstrating some of the expert techniques employed by Alex on the original recordings, i.e. the iconic double-kick workout on “Hot for Teacher.”
A particularly interesting part of the video occurs near the end, when Wolfgang is asked whether Alex still plays drums anymore.
“It’s kinda the same thing with me and Van Halen stuff — I’m really just not interested in playing it anymore without Dad, and I know [Alex] feels the exact same way,” answered Wolfgang poignantly. “I’ll play it for fun every now and then … but overall, it’s really a tough thing for me. I just don’t listen to Van Halen anymore.”
He added: “Al was already a private guy to begin with. Now it’s like, why would you wanna play?”
Watch the Drumeo clip with Wolfgang Van Halen below. If you’re looking to pick up the drums or improve your skills, Drumeo is offering a 30-day free trial for new members.
Meanwhile, Wolfgang will be on the road for most of the year with Mammoth, including a recently announced Fall 2025 US headlining tour with support from Myles Kennedy. Pick up tickets here.
Content shared from consequence.net.