Press Kit — Wrong Turns & Whiskey

Bio

"AI is the instrument, not the artist. Electric guitars, synthesizers, MIDI — every generation gets a new tool and the same argument about whether it counts. This is mine." — Steven “Frankie” Frank

Short bio (for listings & intros): Wrong Turns & Whiskey is an AI-powered Gothic Americana / Blues Rock project from songwriter Steven “Frankie” Frank — one real musician, three fictional bandmates, and songs forty years in the making.

Long bio: Gothic Americana at the root, with the weight of whiskey-drenched Texas Blues rising out of the Mississippi Delta and the patience to let a song take its time. Frankie writes every lyric and produces every track himself; Grady, Dex, and Crank — the rest of “the band” — are fictional personas, voiced and pictured with AI, built to carry these songs the way they were always meant to sound. (See About This Project below for how that works.)

The name comes from a two-sentence line born out of the songs themselves: "Wrong turns and whiskey, man. That's the whole story." It stuck before anyone had a chance to vote on it. Debut releases The Man I Wore (July 2026) and Watchman’s Wage (July 2026) are the first two singles from the upcoming EP The Long Way Around, Part One. A third, standalone single, Twenty-Two Paces (Ernest’s Song), released August 7, 2026.

About This Project

Steven “Frankie” Frank is real. The bass, the songs, the studio, the forty-year-long way around it took to get here — that's him. Grady, Dex, and Crank are not. They're fictional personas — voices and photos included — built with AI to give these songs the full-band sound they were always written for.

The songs aren't generated on a whim. Frankie writes every lyric, directs every arrangement, and produces every track, using AI (Suno's vocal and instrumental modeling, among other tools) the way a solo artist has always used session musicians: to put in the room what one person alone can’t play. Every part is written, directed, revised, and mixed like any other recording.

Can Wrong Turns & Whiskey be booked for a live show? Not currently. This is a studio project, not a touring act — there's no live lineup to hire for a wedding, brewery, or festival stage.

Are Grady, Dex, and Crank real people? No. They're fictional characters, and their photos are AI-generated. Steven is a real person, and his photos are of him.

The Band

Grady Beaumont Cole

Lead Vocals · Rhythm Guitar

Fictional persona · AI-generated

York, SC. Came up on country radio and a burned CD that rewired him overnight. Picked up a second-hand Epiphone at a Rock Hill pawn shop and never looked back.

Dexter “Dex” Pruitt

Lead Guitar

Fictional persona · AI-generated

Tega Cay, SC. SRV disciple and tone purist. His battered Strat is named Margaret. He won’t say why.

Steven “Frankie” Frank

Bass

Real · that’s actually him

Quiet at load-in, enormous in the room. Writes the songs. The band carries them.

Corey “Crank” Fink

Drums

Fictional persona · AI-generated

Gaffney, SC. Auto tech by day, controlled aggression behind the kit. Never missed a soundcheck.

Music

The Long Way Around, Pt. 1: The Man I Wore Releasing Sept 18

Full EP, 6 tracks · September 18, 2026 — includes the already-released “The Man I Wore” and “Watchman’s Wage”

Weathered Not Wasted Releasing Oct 2

Lead single, Part Two · October 2, 2026

Sundial at Night Releasing Oct 16

Second single, Part Two · October 16, 2026

The Long Way Around, Pt. 2: Weathered Not Wasted Releasing Nov 6

Full EP, 6 tracks · November 6, 2026 — includes the pre-release singles “Weathered Not Wasted” and “Sundial at Night”

Twenty-Two Paces (Ernest’s Song) Out Now

Standalone single · Released August 7, 2026

Listen Now

Watchman’s Wage Out Now

Second single, Part One · Released July 24, 2026

Listen Now

The Man I Wore Out Now

Lead single, Part One · Released July 10, 2026

Listen Now

Full track-by-track streaming and store links: see the Listen section on the main site.

Press Photos

High-resolution photos, free to use for press and blog coverage with credit to Wrong Turns & Whiskey. Right-click / long-press an image to save, or use the direct links below.

A note on these photos: Steven “Frankie” Frank is a real person, and his photos are of him. Grady, Dex, and Crank are fictional personas — their photos are AI-generated, not photos of real people.