Much has been said about Greta Van Fleet, much, much, much. Everywhere you go, from the internet to the forums, [Especially the forums] and on the streets, it’s Greta Van Fleet, Greta Van Fleet.
It’s all everyone ever talks about now a days…. they keep saying: Is Greta Van Fleet, the future of rock?…..Well let’s read on and see if they are.
Many people in the rock world are scared right now. They are in a state of panic about their beloved Rock and Roll. Is It dying?…. Is it gonna die? Yes, it is almost comical but it has come to that state….. after 50 years of Rock it has finally come to a head…. OR is it?
We never knew it could come to this, never even crossed our minds in the past that this could happen to us…. but it has…. the Rock machine has died….Or has it?
Case In Point! In Comes Greta Van Fleet
Back in the 1950’s, Jazz Music was now dead. Rock music had just now taken over Jazz Music. And now Hip Hop has now taken over Rock Music. Who would have thought that this style of music would take over? This once incidental music form which started off small would someday take the world, well it has, and it’s exploding…..with music blaring out the car windows,…. off the radios,….. the T.V.,…. and yes,….YouTube.
But there’s a new hope on the horizon now…. That is Greta Van Fleet. A 20 something band that is real small now, but may grow into something big. Larger than life. But do they have what it takes? Kinda what KISS did in 1973. KISS was also something that started small and then exploded and became larger than life.
Greta Van Fleet, The quincentennial [500th year] rock group, well maybe not that old, but they should be able to carry on the ROCK and ROLL spirit that every one says will never die. You hear people say ROCK AND ROLL and Rock will never die from time to time. So maybe that is true, that Rock will never die. And Greta Van Fleets gonna save it, if history repeats itself as it so often does.
Case In Point! Let’s Go Through History And See That It Repeats
Maybe they will save Rock And Roll. Maybe they will save Rock, if history repeats itself they will. And that’s IF it repeats itself.
Lets see some history repeats. We’re gonna go back, WAY back…… but let’s me say a little bit about the future first. Rock began to die when Hip Hip was rising up in extreme popularity… Ok, now let’s go talk about the past.
Let’s see history repeat itself…. Jazz began to die when Bebop was born in the 1950’s. You see that history now? Bebop was born Jazz died….Hip Hop was born Rock dies.
Jazz began to die 
Bebop was born 
Hip Hop was born 
Rock dies???
But that doesn’t really mean Rock dies just cause Jazz died….. NO! It doesn’t mean Rock has to die because we must look at other parts of history and see where something died and then came back to life.
And what history is that you ask? Well let’s see what we uncover for all you ROCKSTERS and interested people, to see.
We see that Country died and then came back to life. And NO! I’m not talking about NOW! The resurgence of Country that’s going on now and it is ALIVE and THRIVING right now. It is not dead at this present moment, but their was a time when it died… well almost died.
Case in point, back in 1985, it was on the verge of dying and everyone was saying back then that it was dying off, getting ready to, “fall off the hill” in COUNTRY talk as they say… but anyway, good ol boys like Garth Brooks and George Strait and lots of others, and I mean LOTS of others, began to save it and bring it back to its feet. This happened in around the 1990’s. I know it because I seen it with my very own eyes, and with my ears too, (laughing).
We see that DISCO…. now wait! Did you have to go there? Yeah I do, I know that some Rockers hate disco, but that’s not the point. The point is that DISCO died and came back to life…. Disco’s dead dude! No it’s not…. well not exactly, it just kinda rose up its head in DANCE MUSIC, namely Electronic Dance Music, that they still have in this present time. A resurgence of sorts, that been happening for a while. It came out of the shadows in around the 1980’s or so, and is quite happy living on now, in this present time.
Case In Point! Copy To Become Better? Greta Van Fleet
Some people have accused Greta Van Fleet of copying everyone from Led Zeppelin to the Rival Sons. But one thing is sure, they have their own sound mixed in there.
And we see through Rock history that there has always been copiers. VAN HALEN copied other musicians. The Beatles copied other musicians. Jimi Hendrix copied other musicians. So what’s the deal?
What’s the big deal if Greta Van Fleet copied Led Zeppelin? Because they NEVER have….. huh? That’s right they NEVER have copied a single Led Zeppelin song in the studio. NOR have they covered a Led Zeppelin song in the studio either.
SOUND like Led Zeppelin, YES! Copied or did a cover song of Led Zeppelin NO! As far as in the studio goes…. You got to start some where. So Greta Van Fleet started playing. They started recording. They started a unique sound, even though it sounds like Led Zeppelin, it does have a lot of cool elements mixed in. As they progress, we are hoping that they will find their sound, just like other musicians have.
All the way from garage bands to famous bands there has always been those who have sounded like other bands. On purpose or not, they have sounded like some other band or bands.
In fact, EVERY band sounds like other bands. Huh? I said EVERY band sounds like another band. Case in point: every time someone famous does a song and they release it on the radio, what happens?…. that’s right! They always compare it to another band, they say, well he or she sounds like Nirvana or they sound like Nickleback etc. The list goes on and on, of who bands sound like.
And some bands get mad, very mad if you even hint that they sound like another band. They start crying, well without tears, (laughing) that someone accused them of sounding like another band or artist. Some artists or bands don’t care if you say what they sound like and some do care.
We like to call them influences. Well, I sound like Creed or I sound like, The Doors and such.
Greta Van Fleet don’t give a dang what you call them, they are not sensitive about it. In fact Josh Kiszka said, I didn’t know who f*@king Led Zeppelin was until I was in high school. And he also goes on to say that, “like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin that a shriek came out of my mouth one day, when I was struggling to be heard over the band. Everyone in the band stops and says, ‘Whatever you just did, keep doing it, cause it sounds bad$#!”
Josh’s brother Jake said he does cop to carefully scrutinizing Jimi Page and also other guitarists and even Pete Townshend. Says he even intensely studied what Page did so good, that he knew how he thought.
Case In Point! Does Greta Van Fleet Listen To Newer Music?
When the twin brothers Josh and Jake were 15 years old and their little brother Sam was 12 years old they were playing cover-bands at biker bars. They churned out the music that they like. Their dad had a serious record collection of folk and blues music and and one relative used to bring classic rock music to their house. Armed with a lot of songs, they had no problem being able cover the songs that they chose to play.
But does Greta Van Fleet like the new music of today? You bet your sweet dollar they do! They do like some of it. One of them are the likes of, the Black Keys of which they like his album called Magic Potion. And Josh does like World Music. While Jake likes Rock and Roll. Sam likes Jazz and Danny their drummer likes Folk Music.
Jake Kiszka 
Sam Kiszka 
Dan Wagner 
Josh Kiszka
But for now it seems they are just going Full Throttle in playing their own style when they are playing music. Whether through practicing or playing, they are sticking to pumping out music. Starting from there practice sessions, to their studio recordings.
Playing Rock and Roll as their band says. And the sound that comes out is Rock and Roll. They write their songs in a folk set up and then it evolves into something else.
Case In Point! They Play Their Songs And Then It Evolves Into Something Else
Yes, as they play their songs it evolves into something else. Which is why it’s not strictly Led Zeppelin style sounding. It also has elements of Greta Van Fleet sounds in it, which makes it sound cool and up to date sounding. Josh says that Robert Plants voice from Led Zeppelin has been an influence, but it wasn’t what he was going for. He says his style comes out naturally. Which leads us to believe that one day they will find their own style, just as so many other musicians have done in times past.
Case In Point! Bands Who Sounded Like Someone Else And Now Sound Like Themselves
Which bands sounded like someone else and then evolved into sounding like their own sound after awhile? Well let’s see……
RADIOHEAD: Case in point! The famous rock band Radiohead have ALWAYS evolved. Every album they sound different than the last one. Radiohead’s first two albums was when they were a alt-rock band that was trying to find their identity.
Much like Greta Van Fleet are trying to find their identity now. But they, Radiohead, forced themselves to experiment with their sound. And these experiments made their albums, up to now, some of the most creative, influential, well received albums of the past couple of decades.
To see HOW they evolved into what they are now and how their sound kept changing go to: www.baeblemusic.com/musicblog/6-19-2017/a-beginners-guide-to-radiohead.html It is a GREAT Blog about how they evolved. It even chronicles videos of how they evolved over the years. If that link doesn’t work just google: “BAEBLE BLOG A Beginner’s Guide to Radiohead” ….and you will find the article.
Some some songs of Radiohead where the albums sound different from one another are: Creep from their First album in 1993. And Everything In Its Right Place from their Fourth album in the year 2000. And Burn The Witch from their Ninth album in 2016. All these albums sound different from each other.
U2: Case in point! U2 has continued to evolve and has for a long time. 43 years to be exact. Started by Larry Mullen Jr in 1976 when he posted a note on the school’s notice board searching for musicians for a new band. Finding Bono the lead singer out of it, as well as other musicians out of it, that are still playing today.
Although they initially started out as a post-punk style band, U2’s music style has evolved throughout their career, while still maintaining a anthemic sound.
The band’s sound has been influenced by the changing musical styles over the years. They stay relevant to their time period but they always retain their own characteristics.
This is what Greta Van Fleet can also do, by following U2’s way of changing their style, from time to time. They can be influenced by the changing musical styles and stay relevant to their time period and keep their own musical characteristics, if they so choose. And I think they will eventually evolve into their own sound, after a period of time.
Linkin Park: Case In point! Linkin Park a famous rock band also changed their sounds also from time to time.
A we could go on and on, about Rock bands changing their sound but we’ll leave it at that.
Case In Point! Can Greta Van Fleet Change Their Sound?
Can Greta Van Fleet change their sound?….. Oh course they can!.. To satisfy you hungry beasts!.. Who are always crying for rock artists sound to change from album to album, yet you don’t want them to stray to far from what their sound is.
As you have seen, some rock artists have changed their sound from time to time, and when they do, some people get highly upset when they do, but some people like it. But one things for sure, after the album or songs has been released, there is no going back for the artist, once he releases it.
Once Greta Van Fleet releases their next album, will it sound different? Or after they release the next album after that, will it also sound different? And then after that, the next number of albums they produce?….that is if they keep making them that is.
So again, will Greta Van Fleet sound different in the future? I don’t know. As well as you don’t know what they will sound like neither. And maybe as they go along producing their songs, maybe they don’t even know what their sound will sound like until they are working on their songs, and out comes the magic out of their chords. And out comes the magic out of their singing, and thus, makes the magic come out in their sound.
OR maybe they will deliberately change their sound, I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that people, rockers, music aficionado’s, will be watching in the future to SEE what they will do.
AND THE WORLD AWAITS!
Related Questions
Who is in Greta Van Fleet’s band and what instruments do they each play? The band Greta Van Fleet consists of Josh Kiszka who does vocals, Jake Kiszka plays the guitar, Sam Kiszka plays the bass and Danny Wagner plays the drums.
What is motivating Greta Van Fleet to play rock music? Greta Van Fleet is not motivated by money, by which they claim. They say that they are doing it for the sheer love of music. They all came together to play music. And loved it so much, that they felt like playing in front of people.
Greta Van Fleet released a pair of EP’s in 2017. What does a EP mean? A EP is a extended play record which contains more than a single but never contains more than a album. A EP usually contains about 4 songs, while as a album usually contains about 8 to 12 songs.
Photo credits:
Greta Van Fleet on stage playing instruments and singing File:Greta Van Fleet.jpg photo courtesy of Troy Larson:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Greta Van Fleet on stage playing instruments and singing with wide open background behind them photo courtesy of Stefan Brending. Title of image: File:2018 RiP – Greta Van Fleet – by 2eight – 8SC7963.jpg Description of image: ARGO-Konzerte,Daniel Wagner,Festival,Greta Van Fleet,Jacob Kiszka,Joshua Kiszka,Konzert,Livekonzert,Livemusik,Musik,RiP,Rock im Park 2018,Samuel Kiszka,Zeppelin Stage. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Joshua Kiszka photo courtesy of Stefan Brending. Title of image: File:2018 RiP – Greta Van Fleet – by 2eight – 3SC7223.jpg. Description of image: ARGO-Konzerte,Festival,Greta Van Fleet,Joshua Kiszka,Konzert,Livekonzert,Livemusik,Musik,RiP,Rock im Park 2018,Zeppelin Stage.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Jacob Kiszka photo courtesy of Stefan Brending. Title of image: File:2018 RiP – Greta Van Fleet – by 2eight – 3SC6986.jpg. Description of image: ARGO-Konzerte,Festival,Greta Van Fleet,Jacob Kiszka,Konzert,Livekonzert,Livemusik,Musik,RiP,Rock im Park 2018,Zeppelin Stage. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Samuel Kiszka photo courtesy of Stefan Brending. Title of image: File:2018 RiP – Greta Van Fleet – by 2eight – 3SC6974.jpg. Description of image: ARGO-Konzerte,Festival,Greta Van Fleet,Konzert,Livekonzert,Livemusik,Musik,RiP,Rock im Park 2018,Samuel Kiszka,Zeppelin Stage. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Daniel Wagner photo courtesy of Stefan Brending. Title of image: File:2018 RiP – Greta Van Fleet – by 2eight – 3SC7188.jpg. Description of image: ARGO-Konzerte,Daniel Wagner,Festival,Greta Van Fleet,Konzert,Livekonzert,Livemusik,Musik,RiP,Rock im Park 2018,Zeppelin Stage. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Josh Kiszka singing with hands up and singing into microphone photo courtesy of Stefan Brending:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en Foto: Stefan Brending / Lizenz: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0 de
U2 singing into steering wheel microphone:Image by toddpoirier on Pixabay
