There’s no denying it, no use in hiding from the reality—I am a big Mike Viola fanboy. There is something about his writing, his producing and guitar playing that I just identify with. And don’t get me started on his vocals; high-grade accuracy that sound like they are on a supersonic space mission to an exploding star somewhere in the far reaches of the galaxy.
He’s a Massachusetts guy who had an early start in the music biz, even becoming known as superkid for the athletic rock and roll prowess he embodied at such an early age. His young career was so on fire he even starred in a Zips shoes commercial as a rockstar heartthrob who was on the run from his adoring fans. Of course, you can search for that video on the internet. Since then, he’s had an active and wide-ranging career: he’s voiced the main track from Tom Hanks’, That Thing You Do in the ’90s, had success with his band Candy Butchers, wrote music for films such as Get Him to the Greek and Walk Hard, and composed and produced much music along the way.
2020 may have been one of the weirdest years that most of us have experienced in our lifetime, but it’s been musically fruitful for Viola. On this episode of Radar, we talk to Viola who has a new album—Godmuffin—arriving this December, but we also discuss his production of the latest Mandy Moore album Silver Landings which was released earlier this year. We also discuss the realities of 2020 which leaked into his life, as it did for all of us, specifically the loss of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger who Viola was very close with as a friend and a musical co-conspirator. Our conversation gets pretty deep, but not serious enough to talk about The Godfather and Ozzy, too. There’s no reason not to tune in and hear how superkid is evolving into a pretty super adult.
Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Sharp Notes each Saturday evening at 6pm and TVD Radar on Sundays at 5AM on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.
