FRANK VIELE – AN IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

 

Frank Viele is a wordsmith and storyteller. AMP featured Frank’s No Worries Brewery gig a few weeks ago in the Local Scene section of this blog. We were so impressed that we set up an interview with this up and coming talent. We held a phone interview and Viele was both informative and entertaining. That’s where the storytelling part begins. He can spin quite interesting tales. There were multiple tangents to each question and each tangent a different narrative. Like I said, the man is an imaginative raconteur.

Viele has toured extensively in the past few years opening for such acts as Lee DeWyze, Zach Myers of Shinedown and the Marshall Tucker Band to name a few. His current release, 1Mic 1Guitar 10,000 Miles, is a live recording chronicling many of his performances on his recent tours. It showcases Viele‘s gritty vocals and strong songwriting. The record effectively illustrates Frank‘s masterful rapport with his audience. On a whole, Viele is a consummate showman, delivering the goods on every gig. His interpretations of the americana and blues genres distinguishes him a trendsetter and innovator. We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we had conducting it.

AMP: When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a singer/songwriter career?

Viele: Honestly, there a three things I do. I play guitar, I sing and I write songs. I’ve always considered myself as a songwriter first, a guitarist second and a vocalist third. I use to write songs for others in high school and college. In my junior year of college I realized that my songs meant more to me than anyone else that was singing them. I once read an article in Rolling Stone magazine where Sam Cooke describes that first time he heard Bob Dylan’s “Blowin in the Wind”. Cooke said that that song inspired him to write “A Change Is Gonna Come” and from then on out he didn’t care how good someone sang but whether or not they were telling the truth. When I read that I made my decision that the truth was coming out of my mouth and I had to sing.

AMP: Take AMP through your songwriting process?

Viele: I try to challenge myself as much as possible. My older stuff was very guitar first, lyric second. Nowadays it reversed with lyric first. My inspiration comes from the smallest details of my life. Most of my lyrics you can find on the floor of my car written on Dunkin Donuts wrappers. Seriously! It all starts on tour with me writing down an idea and building on that.

AMP: Who are some of your musical influences, past and present?

Viele: The list for the past is very very long. On the soul side it’s Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles for certain. On the folk side I’ve always been a huge Dylan fan. Also Tim Hardin, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and the Byrds to name a few. So you are looking at the soul and folk greats. I’m also big into the blues with B.B. King and Muddy Waters on top of my list. As regards to the present, before I graduated college I saw the Dave Matthews Band a 137 times. That was my band. I learned to play guitar in the parking lots of their concerts. So that acoustic strum thing I do is straight off Dave Matthews. I combine that with my roots in the blues to create something that’s my own. My left hand is blues like B.B. King and my right hand is Dave Matthew when it comes to a guitar. I also enjoy acts like Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton.

AMP: Your music covers many genres of music. How do you decide the direction of a new song?

Viele: That’s a good question. On my first two studio records every track was developed using a click track on an acoustic guitar and the song and band was built around it. This allowed things to move left to right and it created an very eclectic studio recording. On my new record, it will be the first time in awhile that I’m going into the studio with my rhythm section and will be deciding the groove together. I’m very excited about this cause it’s easy to fall into a particular groove the way I play my acoustic guitar and this changes things up. I also have a new partnership with Airline Guitars. I love electric guitars. I find that I go for different chords and it’s definitely opening up my palette. As to the original question, I don’t think I consciously make a decision where the song is going to go. I let the song tell me. It may sound like a cliche but it kinda lines up in that direction.

AMP: How did you feel when you received multiple accolades from The New England Music Awards?

Viele: The first one was for “Live Act of the Year”. That one felt real good cause I always believe in the art of the live show. So that one was great. It gave me a feeling of accomplishment. A couple of years later I won for “Album of the Year” and “Performer of the Year”. It felt awesome since this was my first studio album and it also brought me into a new landscape. I was able to tour for nearly 2 1/2 years. Then I kinda hit a brick wall and starting writing new songs. That’s why my most recent award for “Songwriter of the Year” meant so much to me. I felt I had completed the whole package. It was the combination of the three that inspired me to put out my live album because at this juncture I felt there was a bunch of songs I was really proud of and I wanted to showcase them naked. You feel accomplished for a hot minute but I use it more for motivation.

AMP: You’ve performed with a multitude of artists. Who stands out?

Viele: I can say I performed with a lot of big acts who are super awesome and I’ve also hit the road sharing a van with other big acts. There are two acts I’ve toured with that have brought me to a different level. You learn from who you are working with. The first act is Allen (Kris Allen),Mack (Jack Mack), Myers (Zach Myers of Shinedown) and Moore (J.R. Moore). Those guys were nothing more than incredible. They were accomplished musicians and amazing people. They taught me how to really put on a show. Then there was Lee DeWyze. DeWyze won the 7th season of American Idol. He taught me how to engage an audience with just an acoustic guitar and a vocal. I did a couple of tours with him and we shared a setup; a stool and a guitar. Lee’s ability to use only his voice to grab people was uncanny. I combined the fun of Allen, Mack, Myers and Moore with the ability of DeWyze to bring people to their knees with just an acoustic guitar to build my own path. Definitely my two favorite acts to tour with.

AMP: Your new Record, 1Mic !Guitar 10,000Miles, is an awesome live album that captures your strong vocals and performance skills. Were there any memorable night?

Viele: So I record almost all my solo acoustic shows on a little two track recorder. I went through 100 live shows and I picked the tracks I liked. Most of the tracks I picked have some kind of memory associated with it. The opening track, “You Don’t Have To Go” was recorded at The City Winery in NYC. That night I was opening for John Waite. It was day 2 of opening for Waite. The first night was at My Father Place in Roslyn N.Y..That night I got a standing ovation and I guess someone in Waite’s band must have told him. I couldn’t see it because The City Winery setup is weird but Waite was backstage catching my show. After he played he called me to his dressing room and shook my hand, offered a glass of wine and more importantly said “Frank, you have the very best voice”. He then proceeded to autograph one of his posters with the aforementioned phrase. It’s now framed and hanging above my bed. The last song on the album is “Broken Love Song” recorded at a venue right outside San Francisco opening for Lee DeWyze. It was the last show of my first ever West Coast tour. There are a lot of memories on that record.

AMP: Your voice and lyrics definitely relate to whiskey and brew. What is your poison of choice?

Viele: Templeton rye out of Iowa on the rocks. Drinking Templeton is like drinking a loaf of bread. On the road it’s either Templeton or Johnny Walker Black.

AMP wants to thank Frank for spending some time with us and being such an engaging human being.

Frank Viele will be touring extensively in the New Year. His local shows are:

March 14th, 2020 – The Cellar on Treadwell Hamden Ct.

May 17th,2020 – Cafe Nine New Haven Ct.

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