10 Things You Didn’t Know about Josh Kiszka
Josh Kiszka is an American musician. Generally speaking, he is known for being the lead singer of Greta Van Fleet. However, it is interesting to note that Kiszka has an interest in film-making, which might explain how he winded up contributing to the soundtrack of Aquaman.
1. Comes from Frankenmuth, MI
Kiszka comes from the city of Frankenmuth, which is surrounded by the township of Frankenmuth. The name comes from a couple of words. One would be Franken meaning the inhabitants of the German region of Franconia.
The other would be Mut meaning “courage.” As such, one could say that Frankenmuth translates to “Courage of the Franconians.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original European settlers in the region came from Franconia, thus explaining the name.
2. Older of Identical Twins
It is interesting to note that Kiszka is the older of identical twins. In short, twins can be either monozygotic or dizygotic. The first means that the twins are identical because they developed from a single zygote that split into two embryos.
Meanwhile, the second means that the twins developed from separate eggs fertilized by separate sperm cells, meaning that they are pretty much the same as normal siblings save for the fact that they are born at around the same time. Regardless, Josh and Jake Kiszka are a pair of identical twins, with Josh being the older of the two by just five minutes’ time.
3. Has Two More Siblings
Besides Jake, Josh Kiszka has three other siblings as well. Generally speaking, interested individuals will be most familiar with Sam Kiszka, who would be the twins’ younger brother. This is because he is in the band Greta Van Fleet as well, being the bass player to Josh’s singer and Jake’s guitarist.
4. Lots of Exposure to the Arts from a Young Age
Kiszka has stated that he and his siblings were exposed to the arts from a young age. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this meant various kinds of music such as blues and rock. However, this also meant film and literature.
On top of this, it is worth mentioning that the Kiszka siblings were encouraged to get hands-on with music. Apparently, it was common for their friends and family members to meet up with their musical instruments whenever they headed out on a ski trip to Yankee Springs in the state of Michigan.
5. Has Done Some Acting
Education-wise, Kiszka went into the arts. To be exact, he studied film, theatre, and even painting. As such, interested individuals might be able to guess that Kiszka has done some acting. In particular, he managed to secure the lead role in a production of Willy Wonka put on by the Frankenmuth Community Players in 2013.
Regardless, Kiszka believes that his acting experience has benefited him in his singing career, not least because it has made him feel more at ease on the stage. Something that has been known to trip up even experienced veterans in the arts.
6. Interested in Filmmaking
Having said that, Kiszka considers film-making to be his truest passion, so much so that he has said that he would be pursuing a career as a film-maker if it wasn’t for the fact that he is singing in a band.
So far, he has been known to write, direct, shoot, and edit short videos. However, it will be interesting to see whether something more will come of Kiszka’s passion for film-making in the times to come.
7. Primary Lyricist
In any case, Kiszka has another notable role in Greta Van Fleet besides being the lead singer, which would be the primary lyricist. He enjoys telling stories through his writing, so this is something that has shown up in his videos as well as his lyrics.
8. Inspired by Henry David Thoreau
Inspiration-wise, Kiszka has mentioned Henry David Thoreau. For those who are unfamiliar, said individual was an American thinker of the 19th century. Thoreau was a prominent member of the transcendentalists, who advocated self-reliance because people were inherently good but could become corrupted by society as well as social institutions.
Said movement valued intuition over empiricism, which will make more sense when interested individuals realize that it was very much a reaction against the more common trends of its time.
Regardless, Thoreau had a huge output of books, essays, articles, and other writings, which have gone on to inspire a wide range of individuals in a wide range of fields. On top of this, it should be mentioned that he was a lifelong abolitionist.
Moreover, Thoreau was notable for being one of the abolitionist thinkers who didn’t shy away from John Brown after the latter’s raid on Harpers Ferry but instead offered an uncompromising defense of the latter’s actions. Something that did quite a bit to change the abolitionists’ general perspective on the role of John Brown in their movement.
9. Inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Besides Thoreau, Kiszka has also mentioned having been inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Said individual was also an American thinker of the 19th century. He was born before Thoreau and lived after Thoreau.
However, he was also a member of the transcendentalists. In fact, Emerson was one of the New England intellectuals who founded the Transcendental Club, who didn’t invent transcendentalism but did turn it into a much more coherent movement than it had been before that point.
As such, Emerson was a mentor as well as a friend to Thoreau. Even now, he remains one of the best-known names in American romanticism, thus making him a source of inspiration for many people.
10. Considers Himself to Be Making Progressive Rock
Kiszka has mentioned that Greta Van Fleet makes progressive rock rather than classic rock. After all, the band consists of contemporary artists, meaning that classic rock is a serious misnomer when it tends to consist of music from the mid 1960s to the 1980s.
Having said that, progressive rock is a broad genre that encompasses a very wide range of artists who have produced a very wide range of music, not least because it can trace its roots to the mid 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom.
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