Currently on tour supporting Guns N' Roses with some headline dates thrown in, Wolfgang Van Halen spoke with Ultimate Classic Rock about performing live and offered his thoughts on artists that use backing tracks during shows. Following is an excerpt from the story.

Wolfgang: "I think it’s a copout to use tracks, unless it’s like, for a keyboard part that you can’t necessarily get. But when I hear about certain bands these days, where it’s like, you have lead vocals and lead guitars pumping through the tracks, I think that’s lame as hell. I think you should just stay home and listen to shit on Spotify if they’re going to play to tracks like that."

"In the second pre-chorus (of "Stone", off the Mammoth WVH debut) there’s a four-part harmony, and we’re doing that live. It feels really badass to be like, we don’t have to fuckin’ sit there with tracks. We’re just straight-up doing it. I think it’s important. It’s certainly not perfect all of the time. That’s the point of live performance. It ebbs and flows."

Read the complete story at Ultimate Classic Rock here.

Mammoth WVH recently announced seven headline dates, taking place amidst the band’s concerts supporting Guns N’ Roses.

Wolfgang commented: “Throwing some headline dates into the mix! LET’S GOOOOOOO!”

Headline dates:

August
23 – Seattle, WA – The Neptune
29 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre

September
2 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
9 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
14 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom

October
1 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live

Tickets for the G'N'R tour are on sale at GunsNRoses.com.

Tour dates:

August
11 - Fargo, ND - FargoDome
13 - Missoula, MT - Washington-Grizzly Stadium
16 - Commerce City, CO - DICK'S Sporting Goods Park
19 - Los Angeles, CA - Banc of California Stadium
22 - Portland, OR - Moda Center*
25 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center at San Jose*
27 - Las Vegas, NV - Allegiant Stadium*
30 - Phoenix, AZ - Phoenix Suns Arena*

September
1 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center*
4 - Napa, CA - BottleRock Napa Valley^
8 - Indianapolis, IN - Lucas Oil Stadium
11 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena*
12 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena*
16 - Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field
18 - Milwaukee, WI - American Family Insurance Amphitheater | Summerfest
21 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center*
23 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center*
26 - Baltimore, MD - Royal Farms Arena*
29 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena*

October
2 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live Arena*
3 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live Arena*

* New Tour Dates
^  Festival Date/Mammoth WVH Not Performing