Greta Van Fleet drummer Danny Wagner discussed Led Zeppelin and Van Halen (Greta Van Halen?) comparisons in a new Drum Magazine interview. While his bandmates the Kiszka brothers have gotten annoyed by the comparisons in recent interviews, Wagner seems happy with the comparisons, and even admitted that John Bonham is his biggest drum influence along with The Beatles’ legendary drummer Ringo Starr.
Anthem Of The Peaceful Army is chock-full of feisty, rifftastic rockers, and Wagner powers each of the album’s 11 tracks with a thunderous right foot that calls to mind the hammer-of-the-gods-like stomp of Bonham mixed with the swinging, splashy hi-hat sound of Starr. “You can really hear me channel both guys on ‘The Cold Wind,’” he points out, “but I’m also thinking Alex Van Halen. He has such a strong right foot, but his hi-hat playing is just as fierce. It can throw my balance off a bit when I concentrate on both of those elements, so I have to be careful.”
He peppers the spunky, funk-laced “When The Curtain Falls” with nimble ghost notes on his snare, but mentions that he later overdubbed a shaker “to give it that added zing. Some guys can get that particular sound all by themselves. It’s something I’m working on. I want anything I do to sound organic.”
