Whether you’ve known them from the start or have just recently had their music flooding your TikTok For You Page recently, the up-and-coming band Greta Van Fleet has all very much struck a musical chord and found a new spot in all of our hearts. With songs like “Light My Love” to “Heat Above” becoming increasingly more and more well known, let’s take the time to learn more about this new-age, 70s-inspired rock band!
Greta Van Fleet Consists of Four Members
Originally hailing from Frankenmuth, Michigan, GVF members include brothers Josh, Jake, and Sam Kiszka as well as Danny Wagner. According to Genius, the group was formed in 2012. Josh is in charge of those gut-wrenching and powerful vocals heard on their sensational tracks. Jake is in charge of their infamous power chords (or shall we call them “Stardust Chords”) on the guitar. Sam is known for his beautiful bass riffs as well as dabbling in a bit of the beautiful notes we hear on the keyboard. Finally, we have Danny in charge of the intense drum beats that we all can continuously feel in our hearts and soul.
Music Styles Both Old and New
After signing to Lava Records in 2017, Greta Van Fleet has put out a total of 3 albums. One of their first tracks “Highway Tune” was featured in the popular TV show Shameless. Their discography includes From the Fires (2017), Anthem of the Peaceful Army (2018), and their most recent album titled Battle at Garden’s Gate (2021). A lot of the music style is credited to being influenced by the band Led Zepplin, which the Greta Van Fleet told Billboard back in 2017. This might explain why the older generations’ ears tend to perk up when hearing songs by GVF due to the familiar crooning tunes from their own youth. Greta Van Fleet brings a newer feel to what rock and roll in the 21st century really is, while still giving that euphoric and nostalgic feeling that older bands have solidified in their own work.
The Modern Hippy
While on TikTok, you may see a lot of Greta Van Fleet’s fans donning 70s styles that may hold the resemblance of what we think hippies may look like. In a 2020 interview on the talk show Off the Record, Sam and Danny actually state that yes, they are in fact, hippies. But that of course isn’t a bad thing. The members consider themselves to be the type of folk who sees the bigger picture in everything– something that 70s-era hippies were highly big on. At the same time, Danny spoke in the same interview about his want to preserve nature in all ways that he can. In today’s day and age, this is a consistent talk amongst many millennials as well as members of Gen-Z. Many are huge activists on protecting the planet in any way they can.
Finding the absolute beauty in nature is the root of the band’s song “Age of Man”. GVF actually put out on social media that they hope while fans were listening to the song that they would find their nearest national park to admire while they were giving the song a listen. A lot of classic rock does come from movements that pertained to protecting our planet. I know I’m not the only one who also would have loved to be amongst the love, peace, and music at the Woodstock festival. If that makes me and others alike a modern-day hippy, then I am happy to hold that title close to my heart.
If you haven’t run to search them on Spotify yet, go ahead and take a listen to Greta Van Fleet’s discography: