Wolfgang Van Halen, Marc LaBelle on Fans Who Get Angry Over Rock Bands Becoming Mainstream
There’s a strange phenomenon that occasionally happens in the rock world where when a new act gets mainstream attention, they tend to then be on the receiving end of a lot of hate.
It was a topic explored by Wolfgang Van Halen and Dirty Honey frontman Marc LaBelle in a new appearance on Loudwire Nights. Wolfgang's band, Mammoth WVH, and Dirty Honey will be hitting the road together on a co-headlining tour kicking off January 21, 2022 in Chicago.
Regarding the topic, Wolfgang said, “I think a heavy slice of that is nostalgia about things being better back in the day, and more attention being put on other genres currently. But I think if you say ‘rock is dead,’ you’re wrong. And I think that’s a big point of this tour, is that we are the ‘young guns’ of the genre, and we’re here to prove that we can do it just as good as the old guys.”
LaBelle followed up saying, “I would argue better in a lot of cases quite honestly. Rock fans do seem to be somewhat angry anytime a newer act comes on the scene and starts to make waves. I remember when Greta [Van Fleet] came out, it was like a total mixed bag of people just absolutely s—-ing on them, or people loving them. Who cares that there may be some nostalgia in the sound of their music? It’s a good thing for all of us that they’re having success — why would we hate on them?