15 Facts You Need To Know About Greta Van Fleet

Though the band formed in 2012, it wasn’t until 2017 when they were finally signed to Lava Records and not long after they released their debut EP, they began making waves in the rock world. They were branded as imitators of Led Zeppelin and other ’70s rock acts but with the release of their first full-length studio album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, they’ve risen above the hate.

Here are interesting facts about the group:

1. Led Zeppelin members are well aware of the constant comparisons. In a 2018 interview with Loudwire, frontman Robert Plant said: “There’s a band in Detroit called Greta Van Fleet. They are Led Zeppelin I.”

2. Plant even took a dig at lead singer Josh Kiszka – jokingly, of course.

“Beautiful little singer, I hate him,” Plant said. “He borrowed [his voice] from somebody I know very well, but what are you going to do? At least he’s got a bit of style, because he’s said he based his whole style on Aerosmith.” Plant ended it with an eye roll.

3. Guitarist Jake Kiszka has been hugely influenced by Jimmy Page.

“I went through a year of really intensely studying what Page did,” Jake told Rolling Stone, “to the point where I knew how he thought.”

4. Greta Van Fleet allegedly ripped off the logo from the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things” – the font is ITC Benguiat, and it was popular in the ’70s and ’80s. It was also often used in Stephen King novels. Jake set the record straight when he appeared on DOMKcast.

“We had that font before ‘Stranger Things’ came out, and then it came out, and we were like, ‘Dammit, they stole our font!'” he said. “Of course, ‘Stranger Things’ is a lot bigger than we are, so there is that.”

5. Josh and Jake are twins.

6. Jake revealed in a Billboard interview that he began playing the guitar when he was “around 2 or 3 years old.”

7. They formed in the small suburb town of Frankenmuth. It’s known for Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland that promotes itself as “the World’s Largest Christmas Store”.

8. They got their name from a local resident named Gretna Van Fleet. She gave them her blessing and even had a photo taken with the band!

9. Their debut single “Highway Tune” was the first song they wrote and recorded together. According to Jake, the initial guitar riff was written as early as 2010.

10. “Highway Tune” was featured in an episode of the TV series Shameless in January 2016. Bassist Sam Kiszka admitted at the time, “Actually, none of us have seen the show.”

11. Greta Van Fleet jammed with Elton John at the latter’s annual AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in 2018.

12. They impressed Elton John who called them “amazing” and said “they blew me away”.

13. In 2018, they played at sold-out shows including a three-night run at the Fillmore in Detroit.

14. Sam likes to go barefoot on stage.

“It’s very difficult to play the bass pedals on the organ with shoes on,” he said. “Imagine playing guitar with gloves on. That’s what it would be like.”

15. They once covered Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”.