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Emma Frost

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Greta Van Fleet (GVF) to me, are the best modern rock and roll band. Much like myself they grew up listening to classic rock and roll, blues and soul music. I find their lyrics to be very ethereal and spiritual, and when mixed with the overwhelming guitar and keys create an out-of-this-world experience. To be able to stage such energetic and musically beautiful shows is something I aspire to do.

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The Backseat Lovers (TBL) are an indie rock band whose sound leans towards a more stripped back style, with their records nearly identical to the live shows. I have seen TBL live and am always blown away by their lead singer Josh's emotional emphasis when performing. I feel the emotions behind each song are amplified by his emphatic delivery. I enjoy their quirky approach to music with frequent tempo switches and a punchy sound, and I hope to emulate something similar in my own music.

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"Obviously The Beatles are a huge influence" (Byrne, 2022) to The Backseat Lovers. The Beatles "changed the boundaries of rock & roll …and triggered the coalescence of an entire generation" (Carey, 2023) since their rise in the 1960’s. I don’t think it is hard to see the influence that The Beatles’ music has had on TBL. The band make their admiration for The Beatles clear  with their song Address Your Letters from the 2018 album Elevator Days not only naming John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but also opening with a joke told by Lennon at The Beatles 1963 Royal Variety performance.

The Backseat Lovers have also taken inspiration from The Beatles in the structure of their songs. The "emotional apex" (Lillianthal, 2022) of TBSL 2022 album Waiting To Spill, "take(s) major inspiration from The Beatles here in the piano balladry and the use of putting two separate songs together into one, which was famously done in 'A Day in the Life'."(Lillianthal, 2022).

It is evident that The Beatles have had a lasting impact on The Backseat Lovers music, from the lyrics to structure and possibly even more.

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Cage The Elephant are one of the top three influences on The Backseat Lovers (‌The Gemstudio, 2020). Inspiring more of the rock aspects of TBL music, the members recount "growing up listening to their parents’ classic rock albums and discovering acts like … Cage the Elephant" (Midnight, 2022). These albums inspired TBL to have "music (that) feels different than what we’re getting out of other artists their age" (Graham, 2022), possibly from a combination of "local music, plus mixing contemporary and classic rock" (Graham, 2022).

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Radiohead are a formidable band that "became a touchstone for everything that is fearless and adventurous in rock" (Erlewine, 2020), with a notable "experimental rock" (Erlewine, 2020) style.

The Backseat Lovers most likely took inspiration from these experimental styles to make their music sound more uniquely theirs, frontman Joshua Harmon said in Clash Magazine (2022), that “Sonically we’ve been getting far more interested in having a unique sound,” with "soft nods … made to artists like … Radiohead" (Hansen, 2022). The Backseat lovers leaned into this unique sound on their 2022 album with "noodling riffs and rich arrangements are bigger than ever, while a sprinkling of weirder, experimental moments (take the glitchy opening to the chugging ‘Growing/Dying’) means that the album has more sounds in common with the likes of Radiohead" (Mylrea, 2022).

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Led Zeppelin are probably the first artists that come to mind as an influence, when listening to the music of Greta Van Fleet. The band have received comparisons since they first started gaining traction in the music industry, with an interview from Chicago's Q101 radio station in 2017 asking “I'm sure you’ve heard this a few times, this band Led Zeppelin, they compare your band too… is that okay with you?" to which GVF lead sing Josh Kiszka responds "Yes we’re okay with that, there's worse things that could have happened".

Over the years the comparison has not stopped, with an interview from Alternative Press Magazine in 2019 on the same topic, Kiskza stated that Led Zeppelin are "one of the influences of ours. But at this point, it’s like, ‘Okay, we’ve acknowledged that. Let’s move on.’" The comparisons will likely follow the band for years to come as the influence that Led Zeppelin had on their sound can be heard with "Josh Kiszka gain[ing] recognition for performing vocal patterns eerily similar to that of Robert Plant" (Stephen, 2021) and ‘Jake Kiszka [who] acts as lead guitarist and studied Jimmy Page…since he started playing guitar at the age of two.’ (Stephen, 2021).

Frontman for Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, joined the conversation regarding the two bands in 2022, stating "They are Led Zeppelin I" (Taysom, 2022). While the influence Zeppelin has had on GVF can be heard clearly, some may argue that Greta Van Fleet have taken a little too much inspiration from one of the "best rock bands of all time" (Singer, 2024).

I believe that hearing GVF's early albums, the similarities can be heard clearly in the tone of the signing to the intricate guitar solos. It does not surprise me that the band take influence from greats like Zeplin and are constantly compared to them, but I eagerly await to hear the future of GVF as they evolve and create a more distinctive sound for themselves.

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Blues artists appear to have been a major influence in shaping the music of Greta Van Fleet, including specific artists like Howlin’ Wolf, known off-stage as Chester Arthur Burnett. With three out of four members of Greta Van Fleet being brothers, their parent's musical interest certainly had an impact on the band's own musical journey, as highlighted in the Cincy Blues Society article (2019) "Growing up, the Kiska brothers’ main influence was their parents’ vinyl record collection which consisted of blues and folk music. The fact that their dad is also a musician – a blues harmonica player and vocalist, paved a natural pathway for the brothers to become musicians themselves".

Burnett, the Chicago blues artist, is regarded as one of the 100 Greatest Artists, according to Rolling Stone (2010) Howlin’ Wolf "made Chicago the world capital of the blues’ "(Buddy, 2010). According to Ostberg for Encyclopaedia Britannica (2024), Burnett grew up from a cotton plantation to being inducted into both the Blues and Rock N Roll Hall of Fame (1980 and 1991 respectively). Until the greats of the 1960s and 70s rock scene began crediting him for his influence, Burnett was relatively unknown outside the blues community (Ostberg, 2024).

It is evident that the members of Greta Van Fleet were influenced by this great artist, and showed appreciation for him performing their rendition of the Howlin’ Wolf song ‘Evil’ at a June 2017 show at Route 20 Sturtevant, WI ‌(K&M Live Music, 2017). Daniel Wagner, drummer for GVF, is quoted saying "We as a band have developed a lot of our sound mainly from rock and roll, blues, and soul artists such as … Howlin’ Wolf" (Chadwick, 2017).

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Bob Dylan influenced the music of Greta Van Fleet long before the band was formed. Bassist Sam Kiszka revealed that "at a very young age I found a lot of emotion in Bob Dylan’s music … I found something powerful about that, and I wanted to make other people feel the way Bob Dylan’s music made me feel." (Erickson, 2017). Bob Dylan became the artist that made Kiszka "take music seriously" (Gamboa, 2019), stating ‘"There is just something about Bob Dylan. He is the most phenomenal and that really inspired us to think about music." (Gamboa, 2019).

An interview with Childers for Loudwire in 2018 featured Jake Kiszka speaking about ‘You’re The One’ from Greta Van Fleet’s 2018 album ‘Anthem of a Peaceful Army’, it was the "track that is the oldest song from their history to make the new disc, written when he and brother Josh Kiszka were 17". When asked about the inspiration for the song Kiszka was quoted saying "it was [Bob] Dylan and The Band …  it was certainly folk elements surrounding 'You're the One.'"(Childers, 2018).

Bob Dylan’s music and lyrics have inspired Greta Van Fleet from the early days and could be considered as one of the pivotal artists that inspired them to take music seriously and become the artist they are today.

To me the emotion in GVF's music is the clearest influential link to Bob Dylan. Their music is so packed with imagery and emotion while generally steering away from the generic pop tropes, leaning more towards ethereal concepts.