Over the last year one of the biggest talks in rock has been about an All-Star Van Halen tribute concert. The internet has been buzzing following the unfortunate passing of Eddie Van Halen for a concert event that would celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary guitarist. In a recent interview on Linea Rock with Barbara Caserta, Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen says that "drama" within the bands camp is what is keeping those hopes from materializing.
Rumors started to swirl around the internet after Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted let it slip that such an event was being considered. After Newsted's comments went viral, both David Lee Roth and potential tribute guitarist Joe Satriani offered comments to confirm the rumors were true, but didn't give a concrete answer on if it was happening.
When asked about the possibilities of a Van Halen tribute concert in the interview with Linea Rock, Wolfgang responded "With Van Halen, there's many pieces that don't operate as they should, unfortunately. But that's neither here nor there, it's just how reality is, unfortunately, sometimes."
Wolfgang performed classic Van Halen songs "On Fire", "Hot For Teacher", and "Panama" at last year's two Taylor Hawkins all-star tribute concerts put together by the Foo Fighters with all-star musicians Foo's frontman Dave Grohl on bass, session drummer and (now touring drummer for the Foo Fighters) Josh Freese, and The Darkness's Justin Hawkins on vocals. Wolfgang commented how he already paid tribute to his late father on those two shows and described the Van Halen camp as "dysfunctional" compared to the Foo Fighters organization. "No, no, no. I think with the Foo Fighters, they have a lot less drama involved in their camp" said Wolfgang.
"I don't know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can't get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose, that's been the curse of Van Halen for its entire career. So my playing at the Taylor shows delivered that catharsis without the stresses of dealing with the Van Halen camp, and the players involved. Their camp is very dysfunctional, everyone, hell, it was difficult to make plans even when the band was active."
Hearing it from the man himself it seems that there are no hopes for a possible event in the near future for a Van Halen tribute concert. The Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins shows where a smash hit paying tribute to their late drummer. In the early nineties Queen put together a gigantic tribute show for their late singer Freddie Mercury which featured iconic performances by Metallica, Guns & Roses, and more. The concert also hosted by Queen saw the band performing their classic hits with a revolving door of singers of that era.
For the legacy of the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen, and for the fans, we hope that one day the Van Halen camp will unite to bring closure to one of rock's most iconic and legendary musicians on stage one last time.
