As Greta Van Fleet’s guitarist, Jake Kiszka has to create all the electric guitar riffs that fuel the Michigan rockers’ classic rock–leaning tunes.
But of course not all of Jake’s riffs make the cut. First they have to pass muster with his brother Josh, the group’s lead vocalist.
Now some of those riffs have found a new life with Mirador, the group Jake formed last year with Ida Mae guitarist Chris Turpin. That includes “Blood and Custard,” a track on the group’s upcoming debut album.
“I think that song is a perfect example of what type of things don’t necessarily translate in the world of Greta,” Kiszka tells Guitar World in a new interview.
Kiszka says the riff was inspired by the blues chestnut “Mean Old World” as recorded by Derek and the Dominos during the sessions for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. The tune was written by blues legend T-Bone Walker, who recorded it in 1942 and again in 1956, between which time Chicago blues singer and harpist Little Walter cut a hit version in 1952.
Although the Derek & the Dominos version was not included on Layla, it appeared on the 1972 album Duane Allman: An Anthology and features Clapton and Allman playing slide on acoustic guitars in open G tuning.
“That was a riff I had for a long, long time,” Kiszka says. “It’s just been sitting on the shelf. I would say I was influenced by the Eric Clapton and Duane Allman song ‘Mean Old World,’ that kind of acoustic interpretation of a traditional blues song.”
He adds, “I wanted something with slide guitar on the record. Obviously, Chris is a great and very unique slide player, and I’m also known to play some slide, which I love doing. I put that riff to Chris and he loved it.”
It was Turpin who suggested the title “Blood and Custard,” a nickname once given to Selmer Truvoice combos of the 1950s and early 1960s that had a dark red–and-cream colorway. Kiszka calls the reference a good example of “guitar nerdism.”
Apparently the riff itself was too guitar nerdy for his GVF bandmates, particularly Josh.
“I think Josh is very critical of guitar things,” he adds, “and it wasn’t something that he was particularly interested in. I don’t think it ever made it to the final stages.”
Kiszka indicated as much about Josh’s inclinations in our 2023 interview with the guitarist for the group’s album Starcatcher. He said the rather brief album track “Runaway Blues” began life in the studio as a jam.
“We were having a slow, sort of methodical day, and I just wanted to rip out something new,” Kiszka said. “Nobody was around, so I started playing that riff.“
Producer Dave Cobb “started freaking out,” he recalled, telling Kiszka, “That song needs to be on the record!”
And it is — but at just 1:17, it’s pretty short.
“The reason why it’s so short is because Josh didn’t like it, and he wanted it to be brief.”
