Players

Rockers of the moment Greta Van Fleet return with their second album, The Battle At Garden’s Gate: “It’s exactly the record that we wanted to make, and I’m very, very happy about that,” says bassist Sam Kiszka, as we catch up with him for a chat about all things low‐frequency

Interview: Joel McIver Photography: Getty

The Michigan-raised bass player Sam Kiszka and his brothers Josh, a singer, and Jake, a guitarist, are joined by drummer Danny Wagner in Greta Van Fleet, a band that has successfully redefined rock for Generation Z. Their debut album, Anthem Of The Peaceful Army, came out in 2018 when the band were finishing high school, and was met with immediate success, scooping GVF a Grammy and exposure for them at the very highest levels of the industry.

A certain number of older critics have complained that GVF wear their Led Zeppelin influences a little too shamelessly, thanks to the almost comically accurate Robert Plant impression delivered by Josh Kiszka, but there’s no denying a) the group’s expert musicianship or b) the expectation that has built up around album number two, The Battle At Garden’s Gate. Let’s ask Sam how he brings the low notes to this thoroughly energetic band of brothers.

How are the songs written in your band, Sam?

The way that we work is that we find these seeds –a melody, a drum beat, anything – and we take those seeds and we find a good spot for them to grow. And sometimes we forget about them for a long time, so when we come back we’re able to stretch it and pull it and paint it and, you know, fuck it up and put it back together and rebuild it. And our producer Greg Kirstin is a real talented guy. He’s got a real interesting style of taking the producer’s chair. The way that he will interact with the band is very special, because he knows what goes on musically, between the four band members. He waits for the moment that he’s needed, and then he swoops in with a solution.