Video Premiere: Frank Viele "Drop Your Gun"

Credit: Shervin Lainez

Frank Viele has been something of a regional secret throughout New England - until now. His quadruple-threat reputation as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and performer is unrivaled there, as recognized by the New England Music Awards for Album of the Year, Male Performer of the Year, and Live Act of The Year.
 
Since his first album, Fall Your Way, dropped in 2015, he’s been called to open for Will Hoge, Blues Traveler, Lee DeWyze, and The Marshall Tucker Band, among others, with outlets like No Depression praising his “vivid storytelling.” 
 
His latest outing What’s His Name? (available now) is a tour de force of passion, candor and craft mixing rugged Americana, deep blues, and gut-wrenching soul (along with the occasional conga) to create a potent new brew. “I wrote most of these songs as I was traveling from gig to gig, in parts of the country I’d never seen before. What I experienced helped feed different elements into my music. I had the honor and pleasure of touring with great songwriters like Zach Myers, who exposed me to a lot of new ideas and approaches to the art of the song. I wrote specifically with the idea of making each song more memorable.”

Today, TDC is proud to premiere the video for "Drop Your Gun," a gritty roots rocker led by Viele's gravelly vocals, fuzzy electric guitars, and a driving drumbeat that tells the hopeful story of two lovers who want to be together despite outside forces keeping them apart.

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Viele relays the story behind the song, "I made this song the opening track of the new album because I really dug how it came together in the studio.  Lyrically it's a hopeful love song with an edge that is defined by a narrative documenting the internal battle between two people that want to be together but the stress and frustrations of the outside world keep pulling them apart.  Using a lyric like "drop your gun" to drive home the darker side of those emotions also caused me to really look at the sonic nuances of the recording to make sure it was conveying the idea appropriately.  So we used a dirty fuzz guitar track on the main hook, but set it slightly behind a B3 organ track to create the feel of a darker sound but set slightly behind what is at times a softer more emotive vocal.  For the video, we filmed it at my favorite local BBQ joint in Connecticut, Bull & Swine.  The spot is just outside of the center of New Haven and has a vibe that is somewhere in between a downtown hot spot and an off the beaten path hangout.  I felt that was a perfect place for the female character in this song to be working as she's definitely a "girl next door" type that is slightly out of her element in an attempt to make a living.  Oh and getting to eat great BBQ in between the takes was certainly a perk!"

Watch, and share, the video above.
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