NEED TO KNOW
- Wolfgang Van Halen mentioned he finds the time period “nepo child” a “bit unfair”
- The rocker mentioned it “takes the individuality of the particular person away”
- He performed in dad Eddie Van Halen’s band Van Halen, and now has a band of his personal
Wolfgang Van Halen is wading into the controversial nepo child dialog, almost 20 years after he first joined late dad Eddie Van Halen’s band.
Van Halen, 34, informed Metallic Hammer that he’s not too keen on the phrase “nepo child,” as he feels it strips artists of what makes them particular. Nonetheless, he admitted that there have been events the place it’s an apt descriptor.
“I’m one to speak, however I feel the time period ‘nepo child’ is a bit unfair. I feel it takes the individuality of the particular person away,” he mentioned. “Folks say Jack Quaid is likely one of the ‘good ones’ and it’s like, who decides that?”
Quaid, 33, is the son of actors Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, and has carved out a profitable appearing profession for himself because of hit tasks like The Boys.
“I’m not going to call names, however in some instances it does apply: the concept of individuals getting a leg up once they don’t have any creative advantage or expertise,” Van Halen mentioned. “All I’m making an attempt to do is be myself and have my very own creative integrity and my very own voice. I hope that folks can see that.”
The rocker joined dad Eddie’s band Van Halen on bass when he was simply a young person, and labored with them by 2020, when his dad died at age 65 and the group — which additionally included his uncle Alex Van Halen on drums — disbanded.
In 2021, he launched his debut album because the one-man band Mammoth, and acquired a finest rock music Grammy nomination in 2022. His third album, The Finish, got here out final month.
“I’m definitely making an attempt to forge my very own legacy. That’s my purpose every single day,” he informed Metallic Hammer. “The a technique I’d be like, ‘You understand what? We made it’ is that if we’re in a position to promote out a present on the Hollywood Bowl, as a result of that was the final place I ever performed with my dad.”
Van Halen, whose mom is actress Valerie Bertinelli, beforehand opened as much as ipromiseyoumedia in 2021 about carving his personal path, and mentioned his songwriting is as “private as will be.”
“Songwriting is a extremely therapeutic factor for me, so I used to be understanding a whole lot of stuff with these songs,” he mentioned. “Lots of people have, understandably, preconceived notions about what this should be. Like, ‘Oh, he is the son, it should sound precisely prefer it.’ However I’ve accomplished all the pieces I can to be my very own particular person. And I feel it actually exhibits on the album.”
