FOO FIGHTERS frequently covered VAN HALEN in concert, including during their 2015 tour when “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” was a staple of the Grohl-fronted band’s setlist.

Earlier this summer, Wolfgang spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about why he is adamant about not playing VAN HALEN covers when touring with his own band MAMMOTH WVH.

“People are like, ‘Oh, don’t mention VAN HALEN. He hates VAN HALEN.’ It’s, like, ‘It’s my fucking name. Why would I hate it? It’s my dad. I love my dad. I was in the fucking band.’ I don’t hate it at all.”

He continued: “All I’ve ever said is I don’t want to play VAN HALEN music at MAMMOTH shows. I’d rather bomb with my own stuff than gain attention for playing dad’s. Expecting to hear VAN HALEN at a MAMMOTH show is like expecting to hear NIRVANA at a FOO FIGHTERS concert. And getting pissed off that they didn’t play NIRVANA.”

Elsewhere in the discussion, Wolfgang addressed rumors of a potential tribute concert for his father, who died in October 2020 after a years-long cancer battle.

“What I can say is that there was an attempt at doing something,” he said. “But, you know, I don’t like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to VAN HALEN.

“After being in VAN HALEN for a long time, I really have strived to have an environment where there is no walking on eggshells and there is no personality that you have to deal with,” he added. “It’s just guys having fun making music and just having a good time. From my time in VAN HALEN, there was always some stuff that gets in the way from just making music and having a good time. And, I think, that’s what happened.”

Bertinelli split with Van Halen in 2002 after 21 years of marriage. They officially divorced in 2007. Eddie then went on to marry Janie Liszewski in 2009, while Valerie also remarried, tying the knot with Tom Vitale in 2011. Valerie told People magazine that both marriages were struggling before Eddie‘s death. She eventually filed for separation from Vitale in November 2021.

Eddie died at the age of 65. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist passed away at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had tongue surgery. He later battled lung cancer and had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany. Things took a turn for the worse in early 2019 when Eddie got in a motorcycle accident. He was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and received gamma knife radiosurgery to treat the illness. Wolfgang released an album under the name WAMMOTH WVH last year, a reference to the nam of VAN HALEN  before they cahnged their name.