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I hope rock 'n roll is on the verge of a come-back.
Greta Van Fleet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greta Van Fleet onstage at the Red River Valley Fair, West Fargo, North Dakota, July 14, 2017. Left to Right: Sam Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Jake Kiszka, Danny Wagner.
Background information:
Origin: Frankenmuth, Michigan, United States
Genres: Hard rock, blues rock
Years active: 2012–present
Labels: Lava Republic
Website: www dot gretavanfleet dot com
Members: Josh Kiszka, Jake Kiszka, Sam Kiszka, Danny Wagner
Past members: Kyle Hauck
Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan, formed in 2012. It consists of vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist Sam Kiszka and drummer Danny Wagner. They were signed to Lava Records in March 2017 and in April the band released their debut studio EP, Black Smoke Rising. Their debut single, "Highway Tune", topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock and Active Rock Rock stations in September 2017 as number one for four weeks in a row. A second EP From the Fires, containing the four songs from Black Smoke Rising and four new songs, was released on November 10, 2017, alongside a second single, "Safari Song". The band's heavy rock sound is influenced by the work of Led Zeppelin and many other rock and blues bands, with lead vocalist Josh Kiszka having a voice that has been compared to Robert Plant's "husky growl".
History
Formation and early years (2012–2015)
The band was formed in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 2012 by brothers Joshua "Josh" Kiszka, Samuel "Sam" Kiszka, Jacob "Jake" Kiszka and Kyle Hauck. Hauck subsequently left the band in October 2013 and was replaced by Daniel "Danny" Wagner the same year. The band name was created when one of its members heard a relative mention Gretna Van Fleet, a resident of Frankenmuth; their use of the variation on her name was done with her blessing. In the time Hauck was the drummer, the band recorded and released three songs: "Highway Tune", "Cloud Train", and "Standing On". On February 28, 2014, a live EP was recorded in one take and subsequently released on June 7, 2014. In 2014, their song "Standing On" was featured in 2014 Chevy Equinox advertisements in the Detroit area. It is one of several songs, along with "By the Riverside", "Cloud Train", "Lover, Leaver, Taker, Believer", "Down to the River", "Sing in the Rain", "Thunder Stomp", "You're the One", and "Written in Gold", that were previously released but are currently unavailable.
Black Smoke Rising and From the Fires (2016–present)
On January 17, 2016 the song "Highway Tune" was featured on the Showtime show Shameless.[14] On March 31, 2017 the first single "Highway Tune" was released on iTunes. On April 2, 2017 they started streaming the song "Highway Tune". On April 18, 2017 the music video for the song "Highway Tune" was released exclusively on Loudwire. Their debut EP titled Black Smoke Rising was released April 21, 2017. On April 21, 2017 they were named Apple Music's new artist of the week. Black Smoke Rising is planned to be the first of three EP's that will make an album when all released. They started touring in May 2017 to promote the EP with The Struts.
In October 2017, the band won Best New Artist at the Loudwire Music Awards. On the same day it was announced that an eight-song double EP titled From the Fires would be released on November 10, 2017. In addition to the four tracks from Black Smoke Rising, From the Fires features the new recordings "Edge of Darkness" and "Talk on the Street", as well as covers of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and Fairport Convention's "Meet on the Ledge". The four new tracks were recorded in September 2017 at Rust Belt Studios in Detroit and produced by Al Sutton and Marlon Young, the same duo that produced Black Smoke Rising. A second single, "Safari Song", was also released.
Greta Van Fleet opened for fellow Michigan native Bob Seger at the Dow Event Center on September 7. In November 2017, the band announced that they would begin recording their first full-length studio album shortly after the release of From the Fires, and that they expected its release by mid-2018.
The group performed at Elton John's Academy Award Party on March 4, 2018 at the host's personal request. John joined Greta Van Fleet onstage for his "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and their "You're the One".
Music and influences
Greta Van Fleet's music has been categorized as hard rock and blues rock. Although all four members bonded over blues, each does have their own music tastes; Jake gravitates towards rock and roll, Sam likes jazz, Danny prefers folk, and Josh likes world music. Sam stated that "It's not like we set out to be a rock and roll band, it's just that sound that comes out [when] we get together and play." Songwriting is done by the band as a whole after one of the four members finds the concept for a song. Danny said a lot of their songs are first written in a "folk set up" before evolving into something else.
Greta Van Fleet are often compared to Led Zeppelin. Although Jake admitted to "intensely studying" Jimmy Page, he said there was no intention to imitate their sound. Likewise, on his voice being compared to Robert Plant's, Josh said he was an influence "though it's not what I was going for." Claiming that he did not even know who Led Zeppelin was until high school, he explained that his singing style came out naturally one day while struggling to be heard over the rest of the band.
Some of Jake's guitar influences include John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Pete Townshend. Some of the drummers that inspired Danny are Carmine Appice, John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell and Michael Shrieve. Sam's favorite bass player is Motown session bassist James Jamerson.
Members
Current members
Joshua "Josh" Kiszka – lead vocals (2012–present)
Jacob "Jake" Kiszka – lead guitar (2012–present)
Samuel "Sam" Kiszka – bass guitar, keyboards (2012–present)
Daniel "Danny" Wagner – drums (2013–present)[35]
Former member
Kyle Hauck – drums (2012–2013)[36][37]
