JAKE KISZKA GASPS: “Wow, that’s pretty incredible!” Speaking to us via Zoom from São Paulo, Brazil, the Greta Van Fleet axman has just been informed that he has been named the toppermost of the poppermost in GW’s “hottest guitarist in the world right now” poll — and by a wide margin. He takes a moment to let the news sink in, then says, “I’m honored and humbled. If anything, it offers me peace of mind knowing that what I’m doing is respected and appreciated by fellow guitarists.”
It’s now been five years since Greta Van Fleet burst out of their hometown of Frankenmuth, Michigan, amid a wave of press that anointed the young quartet “the next big thing” (and even a few hyperbolic headlines touted them as “rock’s saviors”), so they’re not newbies anymore. With two hit albums, a Grammy and thousands of shows under his belt, Kiszka reflects on how his world has changed.
