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MAJO AGUILAR in conversation with GRETA VAN FLEET
Mexico City, May 16th, 2022
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ONE: AN INTRODUCTION TO GRETA VAN FLEET
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Around eight o'clock, people start getting desperate in the Pepsi Center. The crowd cheerfully chants in unison “Greta, Greta, Greta," calling for the natives of Michigan to come out and play. The opening act, Mexican group, The Headphones, has just left the stage as an Aerosmith song plays softly to set the mood for the crowded floor. Everyone chats, everyone drinks the most overpriced, yet the coldest and most delicious beer they have ever had, when the lights go off. A bass drum, some guitar chords, and Josh Kiszka’s voice saying hi makes everyone shout, then the curtains open and Greta Van Fleet marvels everyone with the song "Heat Above," from their record Battle at Garden’s Gate (2021), followed by an eerie light set. Josh Kiszka personifies the soul of the lyrics with his voice, Sam Kiszka provides depth and interweaves his talent between the piano and the bass, Danny Wagner has the rhythm controlled with powerful percussions, and Jake Kiszka shines like no other as I personally find him to be one of the finest guitar players in modern rock music. Does this sound exciting yet? Well, it was just the beginning of what became an almost three-hour long show that shook and wowed the audience, filled with improvisations and heavenly solos that could make people euphoric and leave them speechless.
TWO: A CHAT FROM THE LAND OF SILVER, ARGENTINA
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A couple weeks before their show, we had the pleasure of being joined by two fourths of the band, Danny Wagner and Jake Kiszka, as they discussed the band’s interests and experience via zoom from Argentina before heading to their show.
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Danny and Jake, thank you so much for taking the time to chat and make the interview, this is the first musical interview of the magazine, so we are very grateful!
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J: Thanks to you!
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D: It’s a pleasure!
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Alright, so I’ve seen interviews of your recent performances and, overall, I think that you have matured enormously as a band, I have been a listener since the beginning and it’s obvious there has been a significant growth as performers. So how do you feel about it? How different do you perceive GVF from 2022 to GVF from your first tour?
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D: Well, we have a lot of shows under our belts now...
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J: I think there’s always been a conversational evolution that goes into playing. It’s much like a language for us. We’ve been doing it for so long that there’s a natural progression to it. Even more so, crafting more music and playing in different regions and trying to expand upon the set has made us grow in our sound and our performances. Switching the set up every single night is entirely different, so constantly adapting and doing what we are doing has really helped us evolve very quickly.
I heard your recent record and I really enjoyed it. I think there’s a sound evolution even though you still keep the Greta Van Fleet essence, but it’s definitely a music progression. So talking about this, what non-music related things inspire your music the most?
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D: It’s a little bit of everything honestly. At least personally, just touring in general, getting to see different cultures and being in the chaos of constantly moving and as Jake was saying earlier, it is constantly adapting to things in the moment. And you know, we were also writing while touring, so it kind of reflects naturally on our music in that way. We went into our album with this idea of creating a cinematic, almost a movie score in a way, scoring what we have done in the last couple of years. And upon meeting Greg Kurstin, he kind of took that idea and personified it and he had very high confidence that we would build a product like that. So in the end it’s like an album we both wanted to make.
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Now that you mention Greg Kurstin, I know that on your two previous records “From The Fires” and “Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” you worked with producers Marlon Young and Al Sutton, but on this one you worked with Greg, who by the way has an incredible career- I know he was nominated for a Golden Globe some years ago for the film Annie and that has worked with Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a lot other great artists. Why did you change producer and how was your experience working with this new element?
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D: As we said, we were looking for a more cinematic sound, and so Greg has worked in film and understood what we were looking for, he made our vision possible, and we felt like we needed this change for achieving something like the album we made.
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J: We recorded in Los Angeles, and we also recorded some tracks outside Nashville like "Age of Man," and the experience of being there surrounded by nature was good for our music, we kept writing lyrics and recording, there was a constant feeling of creative freedom.
"We went into our album with this idea of creating a cinematic, almost a movie score in a way, scoring what we have done in the last couple of years. And upon meeting Greg Kurstin, he kind of took that idea and personified it and he had very high confidence that we would build a product like that. So in the end it’s like an album we both wanted to make."
-Danny Wagner on their album, Battle at Garden's Gate
You just mentioned touring has had a very important part in this, so I’m pretty sure you have had different experiences while touring, what experience has shocked or impacted you the most? Something that you keep thinking about.
J: I mean, being able to visit different places and countries has been amazing-
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D: We’ve enjoyed South America so much, the crowds are different, they are very welcoming.
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J: Yeah, South America has been great for us. To see and to learn about the countries and about these beautiful different cultures has been such an experience, most of all because we are from North America and we were able to be in touch with cultures that are very different from ours, the people and what they do, they are so full of life.
On which audience they felt the most difficult to connect with and which one they felt the most welcomed, Jake and Danny added that it is not a question of a certain audience of a certain place, that the thing is that there will always be difficult audiences, but the one that has gained the groups heart is the Latin and Central American audience, that’s for sure. Greta Van Fleet feel grateful and cheered up by their fans of this region, who are faithful and passionate.
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In two weeks you will be playing in Mexico City for the second time. What places of this country would you like to visit and why?
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D: We would like to actually get to know some places...
Wait, so you didn’t visit anything when you came here the first time?
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D: No, we couldn’t! we were only in the city and were unable to go explore like we would have liked to.
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J: What should we do? What places would we go to? We’re actually planning to go to the pyramids!
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Oh really? Great! That 's a great option, you should definitely go. And the food around the area is just fantastic. It is delicious, I have family around the area and believe me, the food there is great. And in the city, I think you should definitely visit Bellas Artes. It is a marble palace dedicated to art built by orders of our ex-president Porfirio Díaz, who was in charge around the 1890s up to the 1920s, when revolutionaries revoked him from power.
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D: Sounds great! What’s the name of the place again?
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Bellas Artes. It is in the heart of the city, downtown to be precise. I know you will love it there. And you should go do the most cliché thing, eating tacos. I know it’s so cliché to say that to foreigners, but it’s a must do, so any Salon Corona taquería downtown will be good!
J: Wow. Thank you so much! we will try to go!
One of my favorite musical crossovers has to be you and Metallica. I know that you just played in Chile on Wednesday, so how did that show and Las Vegas show go? How did you experience them?
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D: Oh, well, that has been such an experience for us. It’s been almost surreal to play for Metallica, and both shows have been amazing. Having the chance to play with a band that we’ve listened to for such a long time is an immense honor. We are very grateful, both shows, Chile and Las Vegas have been excellent.
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How did you find out you were playing with them? Who told you the news?
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J: Actually nobody told us. We directly received a call from Lars [Ulrich] asking us if we would like to open for them and we didn’t hesitate a second, we said yes straight away. And as Danny just said, playing for a band that we’ve listened to for such a long time has been surreal, we are really excited about it.
"We directly received a call from Lars [Ulrich] asking us if we would like to open for them and we didn’t hesitate a second, we said yes straight away. And as Danny just said, playing for a band that we’ve listened to for such a long time has been surreal, we are really excited about it."
-Jake Kiszka on playing with Metallica
What topics are you most interested in to discuss in your next record? Because I perceived your previous albums as fantastic and quite clever concept albums, I think that by now you’ve been very assertive in the way you discuss the topics you are singing about, the messages have been clear. What are you interested in right now?
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D: That’s such a good question.
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J: Right now, I think we are into what's going on in the world right now. The things we see, the things we learn while touring. All the different kinds of lives, the situations that happen in everyday life.
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D: I think we are just absorbing everything we see, we don’t stop writing on tour, we are constantly creating and being influenced by our surroundings, by everything, by the people. So we haven’t stopped.
What sound is GVF looking for in the future? What’s next for the band?
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J: I think that what we want to do is to keep evolving. We want to grow as a band and to mature and keep making music that we enjoy.
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What’s the most beautiful sound to you?
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D: That’s tough… but I think it might be the sounds of nature.
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J: Yeah, like the sound of rain. We had a lot of that while in Nashville.
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What’s a contemporary band or artist that you are listening to the most right now and that you would like to share?
D: Well I’ve been listening to Alabama Shakes a lot, you?
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J: Lately I’ve been into Jack White’s records, they are so great.
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There’s an almost new group that I would like to share with you. They are Irish and they are very talented and I think that you will especially like them, their name is Fontaines DC. You should give them a chance!
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J: Absolutely, we will give them a listen!
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Danny and Jake, thank you so much once again for taking the time. We are very honored to have you, have a great show in Argentina and see you soon in Mexico!
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D: Thanks to you!
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J: See you in Mexico.
"Right now, I think we are into what's going on in the world right now. The things we see, the things we learn while touring. All the different kinds of lives, the situations that happen in everyday life."
-Jake Kiszka on the future of GVF
"I think we are just absorbing everything we see, we don’t stop writing on tour, we are constantly creating and being influenced by our surroundings, by everything, by the people. So we haven’t stopped."
-Danny Wagner on the future of GVF
THREE: STAGE AND HEART PRESENCE IN THE MOON’S BELLY BUTTON, MÉXICO CITY
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Two weeks passed since we spoke to Danny and Jake about their interests and creative process, and two weeks later Greta Van Fleet made nothing but magic. If anyone has had the desire to see them live, they shouldn’t wait any longer to buy tickets, because it’s more than worth it. Modern Rock and Roll goes through great moments and rough patches, and these young men make worthy again the phrase "it's only rock and roll, but I like it." Greta Van Fleet is a band that proves that the most important element of a band is how much heart and passion they put outside the safe walls of a studio, they know how to make their audience fall in love with the simple but powerful and intoxicating sound of strings and strong percussions, they know how to ignite the young and the old, women and men. The band’s most powerful statement is not only their sound quality while playing live, but the intense and evident brotherhood bond that floods the air when they share a stage, each one has an eerie personality that distinguishes them from one another, they know that passion can not be snapped up, so they make what very few bands do while playing live, they let things flow and allow their love for music to build the path. Whether it is a fifteen minute long solo or an improvisation, Greta Van Fleet is a band that will make anyone lose their mind and loosen their hearts to the thing that brings masses together, music.
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