Greta Van Fleet may have completed their ascension to big-time arena band level, but the group’s resident electric guitar titan, Jake Kiszka, has been continuing to push his creative boundaries by forming a new band on the side.
In fact, his new team-up with Ida Mae six-stringer Chris Turpin on Mirador was facilitated through Greta Van Fleet’s dizzying success: the Starcatcher world tour served as a way for the fledgling band to hone their craft by supporting Greta throughout the U.S. run.
Call it business savviness, call it unadulterated passion, call it peak showmanship, but Kiszka’s years of experience in the industry have now paid off vis-à-vis his approach to Mirador. But, looking back, there are some things he’d change about his time the GVF so far.
“There were a lot of things I wish I had done with Greta that if I could go back in time and do differently, I would,” he admits in a new Guitar World interview.
“Such as the way things were recorded,” he elaborates matter-of-factly. “I love the way that there’s an evolution to what Greta has done, and there’s a stark difference between every record we've created, which I think is quite cool and unique.”
With Mirador, Kiszka is dead-set on doing things differently. As he notes, the band members aren't a bunch of kids who grew up playing together in a garage, but “seasoned veterans of their own kind, established musicians and artists, if you will, from different parts of the world”.
“Mikey [Sorbello (drums)] and Nick [Pini (bass, keyboards)] are very serious session players and have played throughout the underground London circuit scene,” he explains. “I know Nick has done a lot with Adele. But even so, they’re kind of under the radar. And, of course, there’s Chris and his approach to guitar playing.”
He continues, “Getting all of these people together, it wasn’t going to be like, ‘Let’s figure out who we are and what we stand for.’ It was more like, ‘We’re a bunch of men who know.’ We got together and it was just like bash! The thing just happened in a spontaneous moment, and Mirador became what it was.”
And for those missing their live dose of Greta Van Fleet, Mirador have live dates scheduled all across the States in September and October.
For more from Kiszka, plus new interviews with Mark Knopfler and Tim Pierce, pick up your own copy of issue 594 of Guitar World at Magazines Direct.
