Music Scene: Stoughton’s Mike Viola is still doing that thing he does – The Patriot Ledger

By Jay N. Miller| For The Patriot Ledger

So, there you are, filming your latest music video, made up as a vampire floating around Mandy Moores swimming pool in Los Angeles.Its a long way from a Stoughton teenager cutting his musical teeth playing innumerable gigs at the old Scotch and Sounds lounge at Westgate Lanes in Brockton.

But thats just where Mike Violas musical journey began, a head-spinning trip that has made him one of the worlds most in-demand producers, as well as songwriter, and rocker in his own right. Hes worked with a long list of pop music royalty, from Moore to Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Jenny Lewis, Ryan Adamsand Lexington native Matt Nathanson. Hes been all over several movie soundtracks, including most prominently That Thing You Do, and also wrote many of the songs for the country music comedy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.Then theres his current day job, as A&R (Artists and Repertoire) man for Universal Music and Verve, where hes able to scout out new talent, and help guide established acts for the labels.

Violas latest album Godmuffin, was just released on December 11 on the Good Morning Monkey/Grand Phony imprint, another infectiously melodic slice of the guitar-pop that has made him such a popular performer, despite musical trends having changed over the three decades since he was starting out.The music world has even changed radically since Viola was leading his band, The Candy Butchers, in and around Boston and New York City in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The new album might be more contemplative than any of his previous 14 albums (if we counted correctly, and not including at least nine EPs over the years). The gorgeous melodies and pure pop sound are intact, of course, but many songs find Viola assessing life and what is really important in it. The ironic wit of All You Can Eat is kind of a midlife summing up, a self-examination, even amid his typically light-hearted wordplay.Superkid 2: Trying to Do the Thing is another sterling look at what makes life worth living, with a chorus where the singer is trying to do the thing I was born to do..

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There are upbeat numbers like Drug Rug, the surreal trip of that vampire through celebrity L.A., and the incredibly catchy Ordinary Girl, which is a kind of anthem telling young women not to be afraid to be themselves and be happy with it. But the albums most notable song is Creeper, which was inspired by the April death (from COVID-19) of Violas buddy and cohort Adam Schlesinger, 52. Schlesinger was best known for his band Fountains of Wayne, but became an acclaimed songwriter for movies and TV he wrote the theme song for "That Thing You Do, " which Viola sang on the film's soundtrack. "Creeper" alludes to that loss, but is also a kind of re-dedication to the craft of songwriting, a reminder to not waste a moment.

I was actually in New Yorkwith Mandy Moore and the Dawesto play 'The Tonight Show'when the pandemic hit, Viola recalled from Los Angeles, where hes lived for the last decade. The virus numbers were so accelerated then that all the shows staff went homebefore we taped the show. We were the first act to play 'The Tonight Show' without an audience, which was absolutely surreal. Then it was a case of getting the heck out of thereand we were all lucky to be able to get flights back home. But we had been busy right up until it hit.

Schlesingers death caught almost everyone he knew by surprise, and shocked Viola, he said.

I had been on a small e-mail chain with peopleand we knew he was sickbut even when we heard he was on a respiratorwe thought for sure hed beat it, said Viola. When he died it threw us all for a loop. It shut me down for a while. Our friendship was not about going to ballgames or hanging out; it was all music-making. He was obsessed with it, like I am. I finally decided to take advantage of the quarantine to make music, and I spent a lot of time in my home studio alone. My family knew that I needed that time to myself. Adam was with me in spiritand I think I made a lot of choices production-wise, as he would have. When it was time to put the bass line on Ordinary Girl, I knew just how hed do itand that was my guide.

I didnt think about Creeper being about Adam when I wrote it, Viola added. But you know, last Valentines Day we played a show together in L.A.and we both asked Why have we waited so long to do this? We planned to play together a lot morebut unfortunately that was the only time we did live music on stage. Im sure that idea of having missed our chance to do more of that is in the song.

How about "Drug Rug,"where lazing in Moores pool makes him the envy of half of Americas males?

My first idea for that video was having my brother in Stoughton shoot video of his pool partyand it was hilarious, Viola noted. That inspired me to do one of my own, pool-hopping in L.A. and I dont even have a pool myself. But who wants to see a middle-aged guy jumping in a pool? But what if I dress up as a vampire? I got two young filmmakers who did a great joband did that with Mandys pooland then two other musicians I work withand nobody was out on the streetsso it felt like the end of the world.

"Ordinary Girl"had its genesis in the Viola home.

Ive got two daughtersand that song is about growing up in this crazy time, noted Viola. I was sitting with Madison Cunningham, this 22-year old singer/songwriter the first act I signedand just realized how inspired I was by the strength of young girls like herand my kids. Of course, all kids get to that point where they have to break away, but their future is within themand you have to encourage them.

The more serious tone of Godmuffin as a whole is admittedly a departure from Violas breezy pop.

Ive always felt that I had a hard time approaching topics, things that were hard to wrap my head around, said Viola. I find I just love rock, classic rock, and I grew up on Boston stations like WBCN, and WAAF. The sound of those records was of young people exploring, from the Beatles to the Kinks to punk rock. I love the sound of records done fast and on a budgetin those years. People didnt think of rock n roll as a 50-year career remember, Ringo Starr said he figured hed open a chain of women's hair salons after the Beatles ended? So now Im in my 50s, and I have kids, and my Clark Kent job, but I still want to fly out and rock.

We dont make the decision to get into rock n roll, Viola concluded. At the age of 13, it hit me on the shoulderand its still there. Theres no business plan; its just to keep making music and keep going. You can say Im bitten and cursed with rock n rolland Ive been lucky to have an audience, but I cant wait for shows to open up againso we can all do it together.

One final Viola anecdote is about his teen years and the Scotch and Sounds, which is what the club/meet market attached to the bowling alley in Brockton was called in the 1980s.

Thats where I had some of my first gigs, said Viola. I was underageso my mother would come with usand the booker dealt with her. He always paid us in cash, paper bags of money. I played there probably 25 times between 1983-84. So then in 1985, Im practicing at home and theres a knock on my windowand when I answer it a guy hands me a summons. Apparently Scotch and Sounds got auditedand the IRS was after me for unpaid taxes.My mother got it straightened outand we paid it all. But I had some of my best gigs ever there, opening for people like Jon Butcher Axisand FarrenHeitand those are still warm memories to this day.

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Music Scene: Stoughton's Mike Viola is still doing that thing he does - The Patriot Ledger

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero