New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)

TAKES THE STAGE IN BRIDGEPORT,

- By Mike Horyczun

Music fans wondering what the future of rock ‘n’ roll looks like should focus their gaze on a four-piece band from Michigan named Greta Van Fleet.

The group consists of three musical brothers, 25-year-old twins Josh Kiszka on vocals and Jake Kiszka on guitar, with younger brother Sam Kiszka on bass and keyboards and Danny Wagner on drums, both 22.

Greta Van Fleet exploded on the music scene by winning the 2019 Grammy for

Best Rock Album for its eightsong EP “From the Fires.”

The recording features a powerful mix of well-crafted, sophistica­ted rock songs channeling the likes of Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and others, all with a contempora­ry flair and original approach.

The band’s first official full-length album, “Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” followed and debuted at the top of the Billboard Rock Album charts, and its newest effort, “The Battle at Garden’s Gate,” came out in April.

The group’s “Strange Horizons” tour makes its only New York metropolit­an area stop in Bridgeport, playing shows on Aug. 27 and 28 at Hartford HeathCare Amphitheat­er.

Greta Van Fleet guitarist Jake Kiszka and drummer Wagner took time out recently to talk with Hearst Connecticu­t Media about the band, the music and the new album.

Question: Many people see you and the music you’re making as the future of rock ‘n’ roll. How does that make you feel?

Jake Kiszka: Rock ‘n’ roll is a large genre, and there are many of us. I think what we’re doing, in particular, is very different than what most are doing contempora­rily in terms of rock ‘n’ roll as a whole. I think we’re a rock ‘n’ roll band that brings a lot of different people together in terms of what we’re playing and the way that we approach the genre for our generation.

Our demographi­c seems to be from ages 8 to 80. It’s interestin­g when you consider the lineage or evolution of rock ‘n’ roll, and the fact that now it’s a genre that’s consumable not just for rebelling or just for the youth but as a collective of all ages. It’s something that brings everybody together.

Question: Who were some of your musical influences growing up?

Danny Wagner: My first influence ever as a drummer growing up was Ringo Starr. He took the Beatles songs, and he wrote drum parts for them. It really taught me quite a bit about how to approach a song as an instrument. It’s always fun to play around with the fact that, especially as a drummer, you can completely change the entire dynamic of the song.

Kiszka: I started playing guitar around 3 years old or something, so anything that I listened to as foundation­al was guitar-centric. I was always drawn towards that instrument.

There is something to be said about us as a band, that our dominant influence as a unit is blues. It’s kind of where we all came from. So a lot of the guys that I learned guitar from stemmed from my first acoustic and were people like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Elmore James, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker — and that list goes on.

Question: Let’s talk about the new album. How does “The Battle at Garden’s Gate” compare with your other recordings?

Kiszka: This album did take a different turn, but in a sense it’s an album that we always wanted to be able to make. We wanted to make something large and cinematic in this elaborate way. We’ve never really approached it like this, but we had the resources and the capability to achieve those objectives. And I think we nailed that.

Wagner: Since we built up our chops on tour, we really wanted to approach the studio in a very live, organic sense. Writing a lot of the songs on tour, anticipati­ng this upcoming album, we wanted to add a dynamic to what would be our future shows.

For ticket informatio­n, visit https://hartfordhe­althcaream­p.com.

 ?? Alysse Gafkjen/ Contribute­d photo ?? Greta Van Fleet will perform at the Hartford HeathCare Amphitheat­er in Bridgeport on Aug. 27 nd 28.
Alysse Gafkjen/ Contribute­d photo Greta Van Fleet will perform at the Hartford HeathCare Amphitheat­er in Bridgeport on Aug. 27 nd 28.

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