If you don’t know who Greta Van Fleet is by now in 2023… You can catch up on literally all of our GVF articles HERE - find out who they are, where they’re from, etc. Also you can check out our review of The Battle At Garden’s Gate, Strange Horizons Nashville review, and our Dreams In Gold Peoria review. Enough about us, now it’s time to gush over one of our favorite drummers ever.
#1 Respect And Loyalty To The Band: Daniel Wagner has been bangin’ in Greta Van Fleet since he was fifteen in 2014. Danny is the second drummer GVF has had since 2012. Although he is the heartbeat of the fleet, he wasn’t always. GVF had a different drummer named Kyle until he decided to pursue other ventures. At a gig in the early days, Kyle couldn’t make it to one of the shows and who did they call? Even though Daniel was at a golf tournament a couple of hours away (CHIP BUNKER vibes!!!) he of course showed up to save the day. At that show, after five hours of playing, he was officially welcomed into the band. Being the only non-Kiszka in the band, Daniel’s held his head high and has held everything together for many years. We must tip our hats to him.
#2 The Heartbeat Of The Fleet: Although he originally began as a guitar player when he discovered his mother’s (Lori) guitar when he was seven, Daniel is known as The Heartbeat Of The Fleet. He originally took lessons but then discovered he disliked the idea of practicing on a schedule. So initially, he taught himself. Drums were the first instrument he successfully taught himself to play. He also plays the piano, mandolin, bass and ukelele.
#3 His Love And Passion For Music: “It’s the universal language.” Daniel has explained that with Greta Van Fleet, there is no standard writing process. They try to keep things organically, one comes up with an idea and gets the ball rolling. He states, “Greta Van Fleet started out as a live band, we played live for a long time before we first went into a studio.”
#4 HIS STAGE MAKEUP: We already love Daniel as a person and musician. We also love his hair (drop your routine sir!!!). But his stage makeup? It’s next level. From his dark eyeshadow to his drastic eyeliner, to his rhinestones. We’re here for it all.
#5 His Fashion Sense: Since 2018, we’ve been paying attention and it’s clear that Greta Van Fleet has amazing fashion sense. And Danny has one of the best. We all know yellow is his color, but he's never afraid to show off what he's got.
#6 His Friendship With Sammy: Sammy and Danny have been best friends for more than half of their lives. Every member of Greta Van Fleet is chaotic in their own way. However, Sam Kiszka and Daniel Wagner always take it to the next level. As stated in an interview, Danny admits, "I always thought Sam would be the reason I'm going to hell... And I still do." But wherever there's rules to be broken, we can trust in our hearts Danny and Sammy will be around doing the Lord's work.
#7 His Taste In Music: Daniel's mentioned a ton of influences in the past - John Bonham, Ringo Starr, Alex Van Halen, Mitch Mitchell, etc. But he's also shared who he loves listening to - First Aid Kit, Marcus King, Langehorn Slim, Fleet Foxes, Mac Saturn and so many more artists.
#8 CHIP BUNKER!!!: Since the Masterclass Series first debuted on Greta Van Fleet's YouTube channel in 2021, the boys have fully embraced their characters and have allowed fans to embrace them as well. However, Daniel of course took it a step further and created an Instagram account for Chip Bunker. Chip comes off as a cocky, asshole golf player with dozens of championships under his belt. But we're smarter than him. We know Daniel's not actually like that.
#9 His Actual Passion For Golf: Let's face it... We're pretty sure if Daniel wasn't in GVF or GVF never took off (we're so glad they did) he would have ended up an all-star golfer. And while we're 110% sure he loves being a musician, loves his GVF brothers and is loyal to the fans, we know in our hearts golf is a true passion for Daniel and we can't wait to see where his journey takes him.
#10 His Ability To Stay Humble: Daniel was named number one drummer by Music Radar in 2021 and has been listed countless times as one of the greatest rock drummers of today. Daniel's played in multiple countries, dream venues, arenas, countless festivals is part of a band that won a Grammy in 2019. As he scours through his musical journey remaining humble in interviews, taking shots at shows with fans, writing big GVF hits such as "Broken Bells" and even having time to pop into his sister Josie's Tik Toks every so often, we trust in our hearts Daniel remains a kind and humble soul.
DANIEL WAGNER
GRETA VAN FLEET
Comments