Danny Wagner: The Drummer Who Rocked with Greta Van Fleet
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Danny Wagner is an American drummer, perhaps best known for being a member of the Grammy Award-nominated rock band, Greta Van Fleet.
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Danny Wagner hails from Frankenmuth, Michigan, and was born under the Capricorn zodiac sign on 29 December 1998, which makes him 24 years old as of 2023. His mother is a talented guitarist, who taught him how to play the instrument at an early age, and Wagner also began playing drums when he was just ten years old. He hasn’t disclosed the names of his parents. Wagner has a sister named Josie Wagner.
Wagner grew up very interested in golfing, representing his high school in several annual state championships. He’s disclosed that he was a schoolmate of the Kiszka brothers in elementary, middle and high school, future members of Greta Van Fleet.
Facts and Interests
Wagner has disclosed that one of his greatest career inspirations is the American drum tech, David Atkinson. In an interview with Modern Drummer, he stated that Atkinson is ‘the reason I’m a functioning drummer on tour.’
Danny is a huge fan of old-school music. His favorite 1970s albums are 1972’s “Harvest’ by Neil Young, 1971’s “Ram” by Linda and Paul McCartney, 1970’s “Led Zeppelin III” by Led Zeppelin, and 1973’s “Abandoned Luncheonette” by John Oates and Daryl Hall. Moreover, Danny is a huge fan of John Denver, Keith Moon of The Who band, and Jimmy Hendrix.
Before he started working with the Kiszka brothers, Danny worked several odd jobs, even at McDonald’s while in high school.
Danny’s career in music has seen him travel to numerous states in the US, mostly to perform with his band. He has also toured across Europe with his band.
Danny, along with his Greta Van Fleet bandmates, are actively involved in charitable causes. They have supported organizations offering music education programs and those focused on the conservation of the environment.
Career
In 2013, Danny replaced the drummer, Kyle Hauck, who had helped the Greta Van Fleet band record the songs “Cloud Train,” “Standing On,” and “Highway Tune” before leaving the band to start his college education.
Greta Van Fleet
Greta Van Fleet was formed in 2012 in Wagner’s hometown of Frankenmuth by the Kiszka brothers (vocalist Josh, guitarist Jake, and bassis, Sam) and Kyle Hauck; the band’s music style has been compared to ‘70s’ classic rock musicians such as Led Zeppelin. The band signed with Jason Flom and Universal Studio’s record label, Lava Records, in March 2017 and shortly afterward released their first studio Extended Play (EP) “Black Smoke Rising” in April of that year. The band’s debut single (which was from the EP, “Black Smoke Rising”) topped the Billboard Mainstream and Active Rock charts for a month in September 2017. On 10 November 2017, Greta Van Fleet released another EP entitled “From the Fires” which comprised four songs from their debut EP and four new songs – “From the Flies” brought the band a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Album in 2019.
On 19 October 2018, Wagner’s band released their first full-length album entitled, “Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” which topped the US Billboard Rock Album Chart for a week. Before the band’s debut studio album was released, they released their first single track, “When the Curtain Falls,” which became the rock band’s third number-one single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. Greta Van Fleet released their next studio album “The Battle of Garden’s Gate” on 16 April 2021, and on 21 July 2023, their third album, “Starcatcher.”
Social Media Presence
Wagner is active on Instagram (@danielwagner) with over 240,000 followers. On 30 January 2019, Wagner apologized on Instagram after his fans and supporters learned that he’d previously liked racist tweets, which included Islamophobic memes. He had also liked a tweet that promoted the former US president, Donald J. Trump’s controversial campaign slogan, ‘Make America Great Again.’ Before issuing an apology, the band’s Twitter account was met with fans and supporters calling on Danny to apologize. He shortly afterwards posted his photo giving the ‘peace’ sign and captioned it, ‘Addressing the recent comments on Twitter….I had an account for somewhere around five years, and to be honest, I don’t remember every photo ‘liked’ or why I liked it…I would never support anything that’s hurtful to a person, race, or religion. We all have different opinions and don’t always agree with each other, so it’s important that we try to understand other’s perspectives and not jump to conclusions.’
As the profile of the band Greta Van Fleet started to rise, Danny deleted his Twitter account.
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Personal Life
Danny has remained mute about his current dating life. In 2019, he revealed that he was dating a lady named Mackenzie Kellie Anthony, who on Instagram describes herself as ‘an Actress – Designer – Photographer – Costumer – Adventurer – Stylist – Painter – Fashionista”. He is unmarried without children as of 2023. The youthful drummer is seemingly focused on his career with Greta Van Fleet.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Wagner is of White ethnicity and has a pair of dark brown eyes and long curly black hair. He stands 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall, and weighs approximately 170lbs (77kgs).
Net Worth
Wagner’s main source of income is his career as Greta Van Fleet’s drummer. He’s worth approximately $500,000 as of 2023, and seemingly leads a relatively luxurious life.
Danny Wagner’s Bandmates: Brief Biographies
Josh and Jake Kiszka
The American singer-songwriter, Joshua Michael Kiszka, is a native of Frankenmuth, who was born together with his identical twin, the backup vocalist and guitarist, Jacob ‘Jake’ Thomas Kiszka under the Taurus zodiac sign on 23 April 1996, which makes them 27 years old as of 2023. They are the sons of the chemist and musician Kelly and retired teacher Karen Kiszka, and were raised alongside their brother Sam and sister, Veronika. Josh and Jake were educated at Frankenmuth High School before enrolling at Delta College. The duo began their musical career recording in their family’s garage before they created the Greta Van Fleet band – they adopted the name after the band’s former drummer, Kyle, heard a relative mention the name of Gretna Van Fleet, who is also a native of Frankenmuth.
Some of Jake and Josh’s band’s hit songs include “Highway Tune,” “Watching Over,” Heat Above,” and “Meet on the Ledge” among others. Josh is openly gay. On the other hand, his brother, who plays a 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG model guitar (he has stated that he has a personal connection to the guitar) is dating a woman named Hannah Schooley. Josh’s musical career has seen him accumulate a net worth of approximately $5 million. On the other hand, Jake’s net worth is estimated at $1.5 million.
Sam Kiszka
The American bassist, songwriter, and keyboardist, Sam Kiszka – born Samuel Francis Kiszka – also hails from Frankenmuth, and was born under the Aries zodiac sign on 3 April 1999, which makes him 24 years old as of 2023. Just like his brothers, Sam attended Frankenmuth High School, where he played golf. He matriculated in June 2017, but has been a member of Greta Van Fleet since its inception in 2012. Sam is dating the musician and model, Joy Powell, whom he met at a music festival in 2017. His net worth is estimated at close to $5 million
