GretaVan Fleet
continued from page 24
December. And chances are you might
have been anxiously awaiting their
Lava/Republic debut full-length Anthem
Of The Peaceful Army which, after leaving
fans and critics waiting and wondering as
far as a release date, finally has one -
October 19.
The new LP is an impressive 10-song
opus reminiscent of early Grand Funk,
Rush and Led Zeppelin's catalog The first
single “When The Curtain Falls” is the per-
fect example of the band’s powerhouse
strengths: Jake’s groovy blues licks,
Danny’s deep-pocket drumming buoyed
by Sam’s bass rhythms, all cherry-topped
with Josh’s soaring vocals. Like many ‘70s
rock bands, GVF’s lyrics are part poetry,
part fantasy, with messages of peace and
hope inserted amongst sexy swagger and
sweet love ballads. The already-released
video is playfully inspired by the ‘70s, in
which the band - dressed in cloaks, vests
and harem pants – performs the song in a
desert setting, day-moon hanging in the
background.
As if the stars weren’t already aligning
in the shape of GVF, how many musicians
barely out of high school get asked to play
Elton John’s coveted Oscar party? Early
last year, while in the midst of recording
their new LP, the guys were told they
might want to be up by 10 a.m. the next
day for an important phone call. Explains
Danny, “We were up at 9:30-10 in the
morning and sure enough, I got a call on
my phone from the U.K. It was Elton! First,
48 illinoisentertainer.com october 2018
he had a bunch of compliments, which was
crazy. We were shaking on the phone. But
then he invited us to play his Oscar party.
He said, ‘I still play music and if you’d like
I’d love to play a song with you guys or
even two.’ And at that point, we weren’t
even retaining information because we
were just so excited. It all happened so
quickly, and it was one of the most life-
changing experiences. He learned one of
our songs during soundcheck, and he did
one of our songs. We played ‘Saturday
Night’s Alright For Fighting,’ and he
played one of ours, ‘You’re The One’ off
the new album!"
Elaborating further, Danny says, “When
[Elton} walked in the room, and we were
on the stage rehearsing…It was very
stressful until he came up on the stage, that
presence that he has, and he gave us all
hugs and was like, ‘How you doing, boys?’
He said, ‘It could be great or not, and I like
both! It’s going to go one way or another.
This is the one time out of the year that
you’re not working. You’re supposed to be
having fun. I don’t want you to worry
about if you screw up!’ And it all sort of
melted away at that point. It
became
very comfortable and became a very gen-
uine experience with a legend. Very
romantic, really.”
A romantic start to a young band’s
career. And it’s only the beginning.
Apppearing December 12, 14 and 15 at
Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.