INTERVIEW: Frank Viele lays down his roots on new album
Photo: Frank Viele’s new album is What’s His Name? Photo courtesy of Shervin Lainez / Provided by artist’s rep with permission.
Americana/roots musician Frank Viele will have quite the backdrop for his special New York City concert Sunday, April 29. The Connecticut native will perform at the Queens Botanical Garden Arbor Fest, and this comes on the heels of his most recent release, What’s His Name?, which was released today, April 27.
Viele sings, plays guitar and writes songs — something of a Renaissance man who has toured around the United States. Now he’s looking to broaden his musical dominance to new markets, and his ticket to a longer journey is What’s His Name?, a record he has poured his heart into for quite some time.
For the past couple of years, he has opened for the likes of Lee DeWyze, Blues Traveler and Will Hoge. In recent weeks, he has been heading out alone, creating music on his own terms.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Viele. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can fans expect from What’s His Name?
This album is the next step for me as an artist. As a writer and as an artist in general, seeing most of this country with a guitar in hand the last two years, for the first time, really expanded my viewpoint and allowed me to step out of my comfort zone as well as fully convey many of the ideas I had for this record. Where I intended them to, the songs hit harder than ever before on this record and where I wanted to create tensions and convey ideas in a softer way, I was able to create that in the studio without losing the touch and delivery I’ve become accustomed to live. I brought in some great musicians to join me on the record, and I truly am confident that this is the best piece of art I’ve ever put my name on.
When did you first get into Americana / roots music?
I thinks it [has] just been a journey that got me here as a listener and as a performer. I started on old soul music as a kid followed by the classic rock and folk you discover when you collect records as a kid. Then 90’s rock and alternative grabbed me in middle school. High school came and brought Dave Matthews Band, which was a gateway into the jammier side of music like Phish, The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers. I then did my tours down south with Zach Myers in 2015, and everything just blended together for me — everything I ever loved from Ben Harper to the Eagles to Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. And when you listen closely, you can find the string that connects them all. hat string is what I think ‘Americana’ is.
Does Connecticut have a strong music scene?
Connecticut’s music scene is rich in history. It’s also very eclectic. I was blessed to meet Christine Ohlman over the last two years, and she really introduced me into the folk and soul scene that was big in the ’70s in Connecticut. Being that bridge between upper New England and New York City, Connecticut is kind of a mixed bag with a tremendous amount of heavy hitting players.
But right now I feel like Connecticut hasn’t quite gotten the credibility it deserves in a long time. With the tremendous amount of talented artists joining me on my album from Connecticut, including Fuzz from Deep Banana Blackout, Christine Ohlman, Max Cappello, and the fellas from the Funky Dawgz Brass Band, I’m hoping this album sheds some light on the talent that’s pouring out of the club scene in my home state.
How would you describe your live show? What do you hope to accomplish in front of a crowd?
When I was a teenager, I fell on some tough times, and that was also the same time I started going to Dave Matthews concerts. Things were rough, but for some reason, the world around me seemed to stop whenever I was at those shows. By the time I had graduated college, I had seen Dave Matthews 137 times. The feeling I used to get at his shows, simply getting lost in the songs and the performance … that’s the feeling I hope to give at my shows. Walking that line between emotionally grabbing an audience and also making them cut loose and enjoy their time. My perspective is that people are coming to shows to be entertained, and I want to make sure they leave excited to come to the next show.
Do you work off the same set list, or do you like to change it up?
That’s a tough question. When I’m on tour opening for another act and I have a limited time to show people what I got, I have a handful of favorites that tend to make it into every set. But my song catalog runs deep, and I currently tour with 70 original tunes. So if you catch me on one of those nights where there’s no confines, there’s nothing I like more than playing those deeper cuts, which I’ve found over time in many cases end up being fan favorites.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Frank Viele’s new album is What’s His Name? He will perform at the Queens Botanical Garden Arbor Fest Sunday, April 29. Click here for more information and tickets.
