Greta Van Fleet Guitarist Jake Kiszka Recalls The Time His Guitar Journey First Started

Greta Van Fleet guitarist Jake Kiszka is recently featured on a special video to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of ’61 Les Paul SG on Gibson’s official YouTube channel. The musician looked back on the time when he first started playing the guitar as well as the special place this model holds in his career.

Greta Van Fleet was formed as kind of a family band as it included twin brothers Josh and Jake Kiszka, their younger brother Sam, and Kyle Hauck in Frankenmuth, Michigan, in 2012. The band recorded three songs including ‘Cloud Train,’ ‘Highway Tune,’ and ‘Standing On’ with Hauck on drums. However, he was forced to leave the band in October 2013 and was replaced as drummer by the brothers’ good friend Danny Wagner the same year.

During multiple interviews, band members stressed the importance of being a family as well as the household they grew up in. A couple of years ago, Jake Kiszka opened up about their family during an interview with Forbes. According to the guitarist, their entire family was with them on the road as well as their great team and management all of which are genuine and humble people.

In the interview, Kiszka said:

“Family is a big part of it. We have had the opportunity to have not only our brothers but a lot of our family on the road to conspire with, but also being surrounded by a great team and great management and a great label and just great truthful and humble people. It is very much a subject of the environment that persuades you one way or another to be irrational or grounded and we have been fortunate in that sense and very much family helps with that.”

During a recent interview, Jake Kiszka appeared as a guest on Gibson’s official YouTube channel to talk about the importance of ’61 Les Paul SG in his career. Apparently, the model marks the beginning of his music journey which started when he was only three years old.

In the household where he was raised, Jake had the opportunity to explore the mysticism surrounding the guitar which was the first reason he was drawn to the instrument. In the following years, his father bought him his first electric guitar which was an SG with P90s for Christmas as a surprise. Since then, the Greta Van Fleet guitarist has been playing it on shows and recordings as it feels perfect for him.

Jake Kiszka’s statement follows:

“I started playing guitar around 3, unconventionally, but that was sort of the household we were raised in. I think what drew me to the instrument from a young age was purely the mysticism that surrounded it. There are just so many secrets to be unlocked. So it was that curiosity.

My first electric guitar was an SG with P90s. My father and I went to a guitar center, and I ended up playing this SG the whole time we were there. I went home, and then Christmas came around and that showed up. That was the first time I ever played it and I’ve never gone back on it since.”

He continued:

“What drew me to the SG at that moment was, I think it was more a sort of a feeling, something that was premeditated. I don’t know why, but this is my instrument. The ’61, this particular model, has defined me as a player and I think I’ve defined it in return.

It’s such a dynamic instrument, this particular guitar. It’s really something to consider about reissuing something like this. This guitar probably will be with me forever, yeah. It’s like a relationship, I just love it for the sight, love it for the sound.”

You can watch Jake Kiszka’s video below.