Greta Van Fleet | |
Number of songs: 4 | Total weeks on charts: 8
Appearing in a total number of: 4 charts | Total period running: 27 days
Appearing in a total number of: 4 charts | Total period running: 27 days
Songs by Greta Van Fleet
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Biography
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 a month later the band released their debut studio EP, Black Smoke Rising. Their debut single, "Highway Tune", topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in September 2017 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". Their debut full length studio album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, was released on October 19, 2018, with the first single, "When the Curtain Falls", being released ahead of it in July 2018.
The band was formed in Frankenmuth, Michigan, in 2012 by brothers Josh Kiszka, Sam Kiszka, and Jake Kiszka, plus Kyle Hauck. 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 (subsequent) blessing. At the time Hauck was the drummer, the band recorded and released three songs: "Highway Tune", "Load Train", and "Standing On". Hauck left the band in October 2013 and was replaced by Danny Wagner the same year. 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", "Down to the River", "Motown Funk No. 4", "Sing in the Rain", "Thunder Stomp", and "Written in Gold", that were previously released but are currently unavailable.
On January 17, 2016, the song "Highway Tune" was featured on the Showtime show Shameless. On March 31, 2017, the first single "Highway Tune" was released on iTunes. On April 2, 2017, iTunes started streaming the song "Highway Tune". On April 18, 2017, the music video for the song "Highway Tune" was released exclusively on Loudwire. The band's debut EP titled Black Smoke Rising was released April 21, 2017. On April 21, 2017, Apple Music named Greta Van Fleet new artist of the week. The band toured with The Struts during May 2017.
In October 2017, the band won Best New Artist at the Loudwire Music Awards. The band released an eight-song double EP titled From the Fires 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. The band also released "Safari Song" as a single in October 2017.
Greta Van Fleet opened for fellow Michigan native Bob Seger at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan (just minutes from their hometown) 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". After the set Elton John recommended the band get more dramatic and flamboyant with their performance and wardrobe.
On July 26, 2018, the band made their TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon performing "When the Curtain Falls", the first single off of their upcoming debut album.
In September 2018, the band announced the name of their debut album – Anthem of the Peaceful Army, and its release date, October 19, 2018.
Greta Van Fleet's music has been categorized as hard rock and blues rock. Although all four members bonded over blues, each does have his 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. Jake related that he "... went through a year of really intensely studying what [Jimmy] Page did to the point I knew how he thought.", but he has studied other classic rock guitarists in a similar manner, specifically mentioning Pete Townshend. Likewise, on his voice being compared to Robert Plant's, Josh said that Plant has certainly been an influence, "though it's not what I was going for." Stating 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. In a March 2018 interview, Plant cited Greta Van Fleet as one of his favorite up-and-coming bands, saying "they are Led Zeppelin I" and describing Josh as "a beautiful little singer."
Some of Jake's guitar influences include John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Bert Jansch, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. 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:
Josh Kiszka – lead vocals, tambourine, acoustic guitar (2012–present)
Jake Kiszka – guitars, backing vocals (2012–present)
Sam Kiszka – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, organ, piano, backing vocals (2012–present)
Danny Wagner – drums, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)
Discography:
Anthem of the Peaceful Army (2018)
Sources: Wikipedia, Top40-Charts.com Editorial team
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