Q&A with Greta Van Fleet ahead of their Okanagan debut

Formed in Frankenmuth, Michigan, in 2012, Greta Van Fleet has taken the world by storm with their throwback performances and sound.

Touring behind their recent LP, The Battle at Garden’s Gate, the band is ready to deliver what promises to be a wild show in their Okanagan debut.

Ahead of the performance, Ryan from 104.7 The Lizard caught up with drummer Danny Wagner. The two talk golf, playing with a fleet of brothers, life on the road, and favourite songs to perform.

Ryan: What do you think about performing in Canada? Are there any noticeable differences with a Canadian audience to elsewhere in the world?

Danny: I know they are huge fans of rock and roll. I have noticed that. And our show is very specific, where we just kind of jam around a lot live, which is not as common as most would think anymore. And it takes an attention span to get through one of our shows. And they are very, very good about that.

Ryan: What’s it like being in a band with three brothers? Are you breaking up fights?

Danny: No. Despite what people think, we don’t get physical. I think it is a wonderful thing, personally, being the one person who is not a brother. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a brother, but it is cool to have this outside perspective about what goes on mentally between all of them. They have these telepathy tendencies that merge and show in the music as well. They are all wonderful and I do feel like a brother. They treat me like a brother in the best way.

Ryan: Your band is known for all the shows you play. You are always on the road. How do you do it? Especially as a drummer, that’s a two hour workout every night.

Danny: It’s a lot. It can be a lot. But there are different ways you can approach it and maintain a healthy mindset and a healthy body throughout all of it too. We put the pedal to the metal immediately when we first started touring. We didn’t know how to prepare for it any of it. We just started playing shows.

But then you start to realize that getting down to posture on stage and maintaining fitness throughout the entire body, so you are not hurting yourself and causing long term issues. It doesn’t take that much, just a little bit of effort everyday to consciously think about your body and longevity. Other than that, we just have fun.

Ryan: Most of my favoruite bands, when I look at their albums, their best records are always in the middle of their discography? Is the best yet to come?

Danny: Absolutely. That’s been our mentality since the very beginning of this band. We are always trying to grow and never stop searching for that and hopefully never reach it, because that means it's started going downhill. We have some really awesome stuff coming up soon. We’ve been working on an album in the studio for the majority of this year. We are nearing completion.

Ryan: When you are writing, how do you work with the jargon of it all. Is there a sort of inside language?

Danny: We all have really basic knowledge as far as reading music goes and communicating using terms. But other than that it’s all feeling, and, ‘what was that you just did. The do, do, boop, bang. That bit. Do it again. Double it. Or half time it.’ When we are writing it's just a feeling. There is a telepathy going on when we are playing. It is the most magical thing when it plays out and you are immersed and the realm of conversation that goes on between the musicians.

Ryan: Do you remember the first time you heard yourself on the radio?

Danny: It was a big deal. And still is a big deal when I hear myself on the radio. The first time, I was 14 or 15. We had just recorded Highway Tune. We had a family parent friend that knew someone that knew someone at this small radio station down in Detroit and somehow convinced them or slipped them a few $50 bills to play Highway Tune one night on a school night. We all sat up on the landline with each other because we knew it was going to play at like 6 or 7 o’clock on the dot that night. It was the craziest thing.

Ryan: Is there one technically challenging song or part of your show that you maybe get a little nervous about each night?

Danny: I do a drum solo every night. It’s my favourite and least favourite part of every show. I just make it up on the spot. There is that fear of going into it. It takes a lot of energy and I go all unconscious during it but it’s my favourite part. I’d say technically that’s the hardest part. Not many people can take on a drum solo confidently.

Ryan: And what’s your favourite song to perform, if you had to pick one?

Danny: If we are looking for a song, I would have to say it’s The Weight of Dreams. Which is the really long one on the last album. It’s like nine minutes in the studio and that was us being like really, really trying to keep it as short as we can. That song was born on stage. That was written during sound checks and performances. It was a big jam piece and was our foot in the door to the cinematic realm of writing music. That is my favourite because it really shows the world who we are as musicians to the fullest. We just jam and communicate. I always get very excited.

Tickets for the Aug. 29 show at Prospera Place are available online.