Credited as the breakout rock band of 2017, today Greta Van Fleet – Josh Kiszka/ vocals, Jake Kiszka/guitars, Sam Kiszka/bass & keys, Danny Wagner/drums – celebrates the release of its double EP From The Fires (Lava/ Republic Records), available digitally and as a physical disc. For a taste, check out the brand new “A Change Is Gonna Come” here. Use this link to access the entire release via outlets like iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, more.
The eight-track From The Fires combines four new tracks recorded in September at Rust Belt Studios in Detroit – two GVF original songs, “Talk on the Street” and “Edge of Darkness,” and two covers, Sam Cooke’s emotional “A Change Is Gonna Come” and “Meet On The Ledge” by the late 60’s folk rock band Fairport Convention – with the four songs from the band’s debut EP, Black Smoke Rising, released earlier this year. From The Fires was produced by the same duo that helmed Black Smoke Rising, Al Sutton and Marlon Young. As Greta Van Fleet vocalist Josh Kiszka said, “These eight songs belong together as they share a theme of basic humanity.”
The From The Fires track listing is as follows:
1. Safari Song
2. Edge of Darkness
3. Flower Power
4. A Change Is Gonna Come
5. Highway Tune
6. Meet On The Ledge
7. Talk On the Street
8. Black Smoke Rising
Check out the New “A Change Is Gonna Come”
The four new recordings shine a light on some of the band members’ earliest musical influences, the blues, soul and funk of artists like Muddy Waters, Joe Cocker, Sam & Dave, Howlin’ Wolf and Wilson Pickett. As Screamer magazine said in its From The Fires review, “These new tunes show how much Greta Van Fleet is really capable of and how deep the talent runs.”
According to Josh, “Edge of Darkness” is about “the bravery behind the compassion that we feel for each other. One of the lyrics is ‘I’ve got love in my heart,’ and I think, as a global community, it’s a spiritual thing to share all that we have together. Giving love is giving power.”
Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” is one that has special meaning for the band. When Josh and twin brother/guitarist Jake first heard it, they thought it was a song they’d like to cover, but never did. Fast forward a few years and ironically, co-producer Marlon Young suggested they cover it for this release. “All of us are very affected by oppression of any type,” said Josh, “cultural, racial, sexual. I’ve never experienced what Sam Cooke did so I have to admit, it was a little difficult for me, getting behind the mic, but I did it because singing this song meant a lot to me.” As Icon vs Icon wrote about this track, “This is where the group truly shows they are like no other. This isn’t simply a rock song, or even blues, it’s a gospel ballad that will move even the toughest soul.”
Josh has always connected with folk songs, with their beautiful melodies and harmonies and is a big fan of late ’60s folk-rock groups like Spyro Gyra, Pentangle and Fairport Convention. “Meet On The Ledge was composed by Fairport Convention’s Richard Thompson. “I was on a train going to New York,” he recalls, “and on the way, I listened to an entire decade of Fairport Convention’s music. ‘Meet On The Ledge’ was the fourth or fifth track I heard and it caught me by surprise. I was absolutely entranced, the verse and chorus blew my mind.”
About “Talk On The Street,” Josh describes it as “a fun song, full of catchy riffs and dynamic drums, kind of an ambiguous wild ride, a real rock’n’roll song.”
Greta Van Fleet will do some writing and recording this month, take some well-deserved time off for Thanksgiving, and then hit the last weeks of its first-ever U.S. tour – with all headline dates sold out in advance – on November 30 at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Dates are below.
November
30 Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL SOLD OUT
December
1 Limelight Eventplex, Peoria, IL (GVF co-headline) SOLD OUT
2 Sokol Auditorium, Omaha, NE SOLD OUT
5 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY SOLD OUT
6 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY SOLD OUTT
12 Capone’s, Johnson City, TN SOLD OUT
14 Delmar Hall, St. Louis, MO SOLD OUT
15 Granada Theatre, Lawrence, KS SOLD OUT
16 Wooly’s, Des Moines, IA SOLD OUT
18 Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN SOLD OUT
19 Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN SOLD OUT
28 St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI SOLD OUT
29 St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI SOLD OUT
30 Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI SOLD OUT
ABOUT GRETA VAN FLEET
Greta Van Fleet is four young musicians, brothers Josh (vocals), Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass/keys) Kiszka, and best friend Danny Wagner (drums). Josh and Jake have just turned 21, Danny and Sam are 18. They’re all from the tiny Michigan hamlet of Frankenmuth known for its family-style chicken dinners and the world’s largest Christmas store. All four were raised on their parents’ extensive vinyl collections (shared influences are Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, The Who, Jimi Hendrix), and were encouraged to be creative, daring and innovative. Each band member has killer musical chops and Josh has a voice that is simply jaw dropping. The band is making some of the most exciting, high-energy, sweaty, sexy rock’n’roll heard in a long time, and are bound and determined to bring real rock’n’roll back to the mainstream.
With their debut single “Highway Tune” spending five weeks as the #1 track at Mainstream Rock radio, more than 4.5-million YouTube views for the companion music video, 7.4-million Spotify plays, their first-ever tour of the U.S. completely sold out, and spectacular praise from the media, Greta Van Fleet is – in just a few months – as hot a developing band as one can be.
