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Mele’s Musings: Discipline, sense of duty makes me appreciate firefighters

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Save the Perkins Loan Program … again

<p>Close your eyes and the hard charging rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll and high-register vocal howl of Greta Van Fleet invokes the sound of a classic British band that brought a heavy expression to American blues &#8212; a band that allegedly got its name when drummer for The Who Keith Moon joked their music would go over like a lead balloon following a recording session.</p><p>That sonic similarity is no surprise as the Michigan rockers have openly said their sound is sculpted around the idea of creating a new chapter in the lineage of the British blues revolution that was spearheaded by bands like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.</p><p>&#8220;That British invasion is the reinterpretation of the blues,&#8221; guitarist Jake Kiszka said. &#8220;They took it to a different level, and ultimately what we want to do is flip the blues upside down from the perspective of an American interpretation.&#8221;</p><p>Greta Van Fleet will perform at 8 p.m. Aug. 25 at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, and the show, scheduled to take place in the downtown theater&#8217;s Chandelier Lobby, is already sold out.</p><p>Supporting acts Rahway and Goodbye June will open the show.</p><p>The band &#8212; comprised of 21-year-old Kiszka; his twin brother, Josh Kiszka, on vocals, their 18-year-old brother, Sam Kiszka, on bass and keyboards; and Sam&#8217;s high school buddy, Danny Wagner, on drums &#8212; has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity and radio play since releasing their single &#8220;Highway Tune&#8221; in March and their corresponding EP &#8220;Black Smoke Rising&#8221; in April.</p><p>The rock youngsters, who sound more seasoned than their years suggest, were indoctrinated early into the world of music.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve always been in a creatively accepting environment,&#8221; Kiszka said. &#8220;At every family outing, there was always an instrument available because everybody plays really.&#8221;</p><p>Kiszka called a yearly gathering of extended family and friends at Michigan&#8217;s Dunn Lake a big factor in the band&#8217;s musical upbringing.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all these people from different places, and we all gather. The one thing that binds everyone together is music, and it was a really big inspiration that you could see all these people coming together and being united,&#8221; Kiszka said.</p><p>Kiszka said he&#8217;s always known he wanted to do something significant with music and utilize his influences on an individual basis but never thought he&#8217;d be in a group with both of his brothers.</p><p>&#8220;When I first got together with our initial drummer, it was just the two of us in the garage playing, and I was looking for a bass player and a singer,&#8221; Kiszka said. &#8220;When I influenced Josh to come out and sing, it was incredible and he filled the room, and I thought, &#8216;I have to utilize this resource.&#8217;</p><p>&#8220;Then I convinced Sam to join us, and he far surpassed me with the bass and the keys.&#8221;</p><p>Now the band of brothers brings together their influences &#8212; rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll, jazz, folk, world music &#8212; to create something that nods to the greatness of past bands while driving forward into modern sensibilities.</p><p>&#8220;The glue that binds us is the blues. That&#8217;s the fair ground we all get off on,&#8221; Kiszka said.</p><p>Kiszka said in creating the &#8220;Black Smoke Rising&#8221; EP, the foursome focused on showing range, composing four songs that they felt would be different from each other.</p><p>&#8220;Very naturally, it happened,&#8221; Kiszka said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of instrumental talent. Sam plays bass, keys and drums, and Danny plays guitar, keys and drums. I laid down the mandolin track on &#8216;Flower Power.&#8217; We wanted depth of instrumentation.&#8221;</p><p>Their hit single, &#8220;Highway Tune,&#8221; was initially recorded five years ago when the band first formed. They signed with an original media company based in Detroit but moved on after the contract ended.</p><p>Two months before the single was released nationally, the media company reached out with an opportunity.</p><p>&#8220;They said, &#8216;We have placement on &#8216;Shameless,&#8217;&#8221; Kiszka said of the popular Showtime series. &#8220;&#8216;Would you be willing to put up &#8216;Highway Tune?&#8221; And we said yes on a handshake deal.&#8221;</p><p>The TV spot gave the song a bump in exposure, and since its official release, it&#8217;s been climbing the charts.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re very excited,&#8221; Kiszka said. &#8220;It is very humbling to see the reaction.&#8221;</p><p>The guitarist said the band has about 25 original songs they&#8217;ll be playing on tour through the Midwest and East Coast, and they&#8217;ll decide what songs to put on their upcoming full-length album based on how the tunes evolve and affect audiences on tour.</p><p>&#8220;I think the music is subject to the environment,&#8221; Kiszka said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really changed the sound and, I think, for the better. I think we&#8217;ll only get better and hone in on what is unique to us.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve played a show in Pennsylvania,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We&#8217;re very excited for the show on Aug. 25 in Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other Life Section stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/features" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Although all four members of Greta Van Fleet are 21 and younger, the band has a five year history, and its players are seasoned beyond their years. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Greta-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Although all four members of Greta Van Fleet are 21 and younger, the band has a five year history, and its players are seasoned beyond their years. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Greta.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The young Michigan rockers are on a tour of the Midwest and East Coast that takes them to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre Aug. 25. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Greta.jpg</photo1><caption1>The young Michigan rockers are on a tour of the Midwest and East Coast that takes them to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre Aug. 25. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Greta3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left: Sam Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Danny Wagner and Jake Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet have been gaining momentum since the March release of their hit single &#8216;Highway Tune.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Greta3.jpg</photo2><caption2>From left: Sam Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Danny Wagner and Jake Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet have been gaining momentum since the March release of their hit single &#8216;Highway Tune.&#8217; </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Michigan rockers bring new take on classic sound</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or on Twitter @TimesLeaderMatt.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Greta Van Fleet to perform at F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre Aug. 25