Van Halen Become Even More Of A Family Affair

Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli have been separated for five years and they filed for divorce last December, but the guitarist will have custody of their 15-year-old son Wolfgang when he takes him out on the road next year as the veteran hard rock group's new bassist.

"If I excel at the speed of sound, he excels at the speed of light," the proud papa said on The Howard Stern Show. "This kid is just a natural."

The teenager replaces Michael Anthony, who's been touring with former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar. That didn't sit well with Eddie, who took a shot at the duo on Stern's radio program.

"I got no problem with these guys, but they're billing themselves as the other half of Van Halen. My brother [drummer Alex] is the other half of Van Halen. They're out there selling hot sauce and tequila and playing all my songs. It doesn't bother me. It just makes them a cover band."

The Van Halen clan have been rehearsing for a 2007 tour that's still cloaked in mystery since no one knows who'll be fronting the band. But original singer David Lee Roth seems convinced that it will be him.

"I see it absolutely as an inevitability," he told Billboard.com. "To me, it's not rocket surgery.

"It's very simple to put together. And as far as hurt feelings and water under the dam, like what's-her-name says to what's-her-name at the end of the movie Chicago, 'So what? It's showbiz.' So I definitely see it happening."

Van Halen are one of nine acts in the running to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next year.