FRANK VIELE – “PUTTING OUT FIRES”/”THE TROUBLE WITH DESIRE”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE
New England musician Frank Viele’s authenticity and road-tested storytelling is redefining and revitalizing heartland rock.
Raised by a single mom and inspired by America’s greatest rock n’ rollers like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and Tom Petty, Viele composes songs that tug at the heartstrings. His music pulls the listener in with poignant lyrics, soulful guitar playing, and an expansive vocal range that segues between gravelly digs and high-stamina belt-outs. Viele is the rare artist who is not afraid of wearing his heart on his sleeve, blending elements of folk, blues, and rock into a unique sound that feels relevant and relatable.
Viele’s latest full-length album, The Trouble With Desire, encapsulates the heart and soul of a road warrior chasing his dreams, while reflecting on his hardships and hopes. Written and cultivated over several years between his Hamden, Connecticut, home base and the rock n’ roll mecca of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, The Trouble With Desire is the culmination of a years-long writing-and-recording journey with Jimmy Nutt (Jason Isbell, American Aquarium) and James LeBlanc (Travis Tritt, Will Hoge, Tim McGraw) of Nutthouse Studios.
The album’s lead-off single “Hearts We Left Behind,” relishes forward momentum, bidding adieu to past relationships that no longer serve a purpose. The title track, “The Trouble With Desire,” a midtempo rocker buoyed by swaggering guitars, leverages Viele’s powerful vocals and foreboding lyrics to warn listeners about dangers of (and the addiction to) more. “Lo-Fi Goodbye” dishes out gritty, distorted-guitar licks, kicking dust in the face of a romance turned sour, while “Dive Bar Poet” explores the idea of a higher purpose in one’s life journey. The single “Trying To Raise A Man” offers an emotional tribute to Viele’s mother, who worked round the clock to make sure Viele grew up the right way.
“Growing up, artists like Bruce Springsteen stood out to me not for just their music, but for their honest storytelling and grit, their openness and vulnerability about the day-to-day struggles of life,” Viele explains. “In the same way, The Trouble With Desire speaks of second chances and overcoming the odds, with songs about fighting for the underdog.”
Prior to the release of Desire, Viele racked up dozens of musical accolades over the past nine years, including multiple New England Music Awards for Independent Artist of The Year, Album of the Year, Male Performer of the Year, Songwriter of The Year, Live Act of The Year, and Song of The Year for “The Trouble With Desire.”
When Viele reflects on these experiences, he’s grateful for the encounters and opportunities that came his way after decades of honing his craft.
Frank Viele’s musical journey began in the late 1980s, when he would spend hours listening to his grandmother play piano, observing and following along. He picked up the acoustic guitar as a teen almost by accident, after his brother left it behind when relocating to the West Coast. As Viele moved through high school, he developed a deep appreciation for a wide range of genres, including rock, blues, folk, soul, and country. In his late teens, Viele developed a knack for crafting deeply personal and emotive songs that spoke to the human experience. He played anywhere and everywhere, from local open mics to the parking lots at Dave Matthews concerts, ultimately hitting up 137 Dave Matthews concerts before graduating from college.
While studying at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Viele played guitar and wrote songs for other singers. But in 2007, he was inspired by his adjunct U.S. history professor Rock Brynner (an author and one-time road manager for a young Bob Dylan) to break out on his own and start a band, aptly called Frank Viele & The Manhattan Project.
Boasting a horn section and an eclectic group of accomplished players from across New York and Connecticut, Frank Viele & The Manhattan Project gigged throughout the Northeast, eventually landing in a Glen Cove, N.Y., recording studio with producer and saxophone legend Richie Cannata (Billy Joel), who produced and played on the band’s single “Turn Around” on the album Neon Lights.
Despite these achievements, and tours supporting legendary musical acts such as Ambrosia, The Wailers, The Young Dubliners, Foreigner, Blues Traveler, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, Turkuaz, Eric Lindell, and Gavin DeGraw, The Manhattan Project didn’t last as long as everybody would’ve hoped. The band split up just weeks after their sophomore EP Acoustic Vudu was released.
This led Viele back home to Connecticut where he connected with veteran record producer Vic Steffens of Horizon Music Group, who reimagined Viele as a solo artist and recorded his 2015 breakout independent solo release, Fall Your Way. This album, which featured instrumental aces including guitarist Tim Palmieri (Lotus, Kung Fu) and drummer Adrian Tramontano (Twiddle, Kung Fu) was fueled by a special guest appearance on the single “Broken Love Song” by famed blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa. It garnered Viele two New England Music Awards that year for “Album of The Year” and “Male Performer of the Year.” Also in 2015, Viele won the Deli Magazine award for “New England’s Best Emerging Folk/Soul Act.”
These experiences also pushed Viele back into the national touring circuit, but this time as a solo act, supporting multiple artists, including Allen, Mack, Myers, Moore (featuring Zach Myers of Shinedown), Howie Day, Tony Luca, Lee DeWyze, and Pat McGee.
After living on the road and sleeping in hotel rooms for two years, 2017 brought Viele’s sophomore solo album, What’s His Name? a transitional album that ultimately bridged Viele’s horn driven, jam/soul-infused past with the Americana, Southern Rock, and folk music that Viele had begun to gravitate toward. Earnest ballads like “Pomegranate” and “If You Could Only Read My Mind” — combined with blues-rock-infused drivers like “’Til The Bourbon’s All Gone” and “It” — pushed this album onto the Americana Radio Charts and garnered Viele his first “Songwriter of The Year” Award from the New England Music Awards.
This award ultimately led to the invite to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, for his first Nutthouse Studios songwriting session with Jimmy Nutt and James LeBlanc in early 2020. Together, they wrote two songs in one day, leaving Viele feeling inspired and reinvigorated as he flew home to Connecticut. Sadly, within 24 hours of his plane landing in NYC, the world shut down due to the pandemic.
But the time away from touring and recording would prove serendipitous.
Inspired by his short trip to Muscle Shoals, Viele took the time off the road as an opportunity to truly dig into and contemplate his journey up until that point. In 2021, he put together the introspective EP Time Is A Thief, a four-song collection partially recorded in Connecticut and partially recorded in Muscle Shoals, which featured famed Billy Joel drummer Liberty Devito and Grammy-nominated cellist Dave Eggar (Coldplay, Ray Lamontagne). The EP won Viele the coveted New England Music Award for “Songwriter of The Year” for the second time, making him the only two-time winner in the committee’s 14-year history.
But this EP acted as a place holder for what was to come, the foundation for a more substantial writing and recording experience with Nutt and LeBlanc over FaceTime.
In 2023, Viele released the first four songs off The Trouble With Desire, earning critical acclaim and five-star reviews from American Songwriter, Chorus FM, and other media outlets. These four songs added jet fuel to Viele’s trajectory as he launched into 130 concerts across the United States in 2023 as a headliner and touring with rock legend John Waite, American Idol winner Lee DeWyze, and folk-rock troubadour Jeffrey Gaines.
2024 marked a banner year for Viele as he continued to release individual singles off Desire, which landed him coverage in Americana UK, No Depression, Chorus FM, and more as well as finding him checking off his 37th, 38th, 39th, and 40th state in his tour history!
But while Viele continues to evolve and grow as a writer and performer, the last 12 months have also been focused on something greater: giving back and nurturing the next generation of great artists.
In January 2024, Viele founded Bigger Beast Records, a full-service boutique independent record label and management company striving to promote music that inspires the world around it and leaves a lasting impact. In conjunction with the label, Viele also launched All Boats Rising Entertainment, a community outreach and concert promotion outlet.
Bigger Beast Records’ first major event, the 21 Songwriters Music Festival in September 2024, highlighted emerging Connecticut artists, while benefitting Musical Intervention, a 501C3 organization that uses music and songwriting to help create a safe environment for the recovery of mental health and addiction. Their 2nd major event, The First Annual Shelter From The Storm Concert in partnership with Family Promise, was on January 11th 2025. The show sold out and was the largest event in the charity’s history helping to support 23 families in need.
In 2025 and beyond, Viele plans to unleash more new material, including collaborations from some of his closest musical comrades and unexpected guests, while touring and working to give back to the communities that have supported him throughout his journey as well as the causes that he holds dear, including families in need, shelter animals, and mental health.
Viele’s album The Trouble With Desire hits all digital music platforms early in 2025, followed by live performances throughout the U.S. in the Spring.
Frank Viele
The Trouble With Desire
(Bigger Beast Records)
Release Date: February 7, 2025
Pre-Order The Trouble With Desire HERE
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