Wolfgang Van Halen is coming into his own these days, emerging from the family business to show off his wicked bass skills as a now permanent member of Tremonti, the band led by Creed / Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti.

The bassist may have been a last minute fill-in just before Tremonti were to embark on their first tour, but Tremonti reveals that he likely would have been in the band sooner had it not been for his Van Halen commitments. Tremonti told Billboard, “He’s an amazing musician. He doesn’t have that Van Halen gig just because his last name is Van Halen. He’s an amazing bass player. He’s also an amazing drummer and guitar player — he’s definitely got a lot of his dad’s genes in him. And he’s got a real sharp mind when it comes to memorizing and learning.”

The young musician admits his entrance into the music scene did come with its fair share of backlash. Wolfgang explains, “There’s definitely a lot of hate out there that I try not to acknowledge. It’s definitely intimidating as a 16-year-old to have the world hating on you and saying you’re only in Van Halen because it’s your dad’s band and all of that. But I just kind of do my thing. I know what I can do, and when people tell me I can’t and I know that I am doing it, whether it’s in Van Halen or with Mark, it almost makes me feel better.”

Wolfgang reveals he’s been involved with writing for Tremonti’s next album, as they’ve been working out material on the road. He adds, “Van Halen is definitely the priority, but whenever Van Halen isn’t doing anything, I treat this as another band I’m legitimately in. I’m really excited to be on the next record and have some sort of influence on the writing.”

However, with Tremonti heading back to Alter Bridge, the focus for Wolfgang returns to re-joining his father and uncle in Van Halen. The bassist says there are still plenty of ideas floating around from the band’s early demos, as well as some new stuff they’ve been working on as well. As for what’s next with Van Halen, he coyly responds, “You never know what’ll happen.”

-loudwire.com