STRATEGIC ARTIST ADVOCACY SINCE 1997
Loving the latest edition of the Ranking The Beatles podcast, in which Mike Viola talks about a Beatles cut that kinda creeped me out as a kid. I dunno, like… My mother should know 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵, exactly? Anyway, Mike handles chatting about this tune quite deftly, you should listen!
Spoiler: Mike is not the walrus. His album Godmuffin, though, was released last year via Grand Phony.
Sodajerker calls Mike Viola “one of our all-time favourite guests,” which is damned impressive considering that they’ve spoken to luminaries including Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Paul Williams, Graham Gouldman, Alicia Keys, Edie Brickell, Paul Simon, Beck, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Paul McCartney, Billy Ocean, Kate Tempest, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Lynne, and, well, basically every beloved living songwriter from the past six or so decades.
The duo’s podcast has just posted its second interview with the Godmuffin creator, during which he “explains how he makes time for creativity, how the past informs his present, and how he is coping with the loss of his friend Adam Schlesinger.” They’ve also curated a career-spanning Spotify Playlist with much of Viola’s best work.
Mike Viola’s new video, for Godmuffin closing track “That Seems Impossible Now,” was pieced together from Super 8 footage from the artist’s childhood. “All the repetition of us as kids disappearing really pulled me in and spoke to the subject of my song ‘That Seems Impossible Now’ in such a poignant, unplanned way,” he told Rock N Roll Globe, which premiered the video today on their site. “So, I decided to make it into a video… to try and paint a picture of specific feeling of loss without tragedy.”
On the Godmuffin ballad “We May Never Be This Young Again,” The Big Takeover writes, “Mike Viola’s lightly wistful, aching vocals float over the slow sway of a gentle drum beat, ticking cymbals pace, and softly strummed guitar lines.”
The song soundtracks the third installment of Viola’s monster movie trilogy, which isn’t a monster movie at all but instead a sci-fi Twilight Zone inspired story featuring an aura that visualizes the malaise that ordinary domestic distress brings. It's a beautiful and stirring way to represent the song’s Fifties-esque sonic overtones. Directed with grace by Silvia Grav.
Powerpopaholic contends that “years of producing others and his own experimentation have left their mark” on Mike Viola, who is known for myriad accomplishments including his band the Candy Butchers, his production work for artists including Mandy Moore and Panic! At The Disco, and his vocals on the late Adam Schlesinger’s iconic theme song for That Thing You Do!
The site recently recommended Viola’s Godmuffin (out now on Grand Phony), a wholly self-recorded LP on which he applies his “top-notch” songwriting to introspective songs that explore tragedy, loss, and “the stress and isolation of the time.”
“So, there you are, filming your latest music video, made up as a vampire floating around Mandy Moore’s swimming pool in Los Angeles."
The Patriot-Ledger - which has been serving Massachusetts’ South Shore since 1837 and was once Mike Viola’s local paper - recently spoke with Viola about how far he’s come since he was “a Stoughton teenager cutting his musical teeth playing innumerable gigs at the old Scotch and Sounds Lounge at Westgate Lanes in Brockton." Link in bio.
Mike's new album Godmuffin is out now from Grandphony.
Broadway World has highlighted “Ordinary Girl,” the newest video from Mike Viola. “The video, shot like a short film,” the site writes, “bears witness to the main character as she harnesses her transgressive creative gifts in a manifestation of self-reflection, exploration, and an otherworldly growth of inner strength that will break your heart just to see what it's made of.” The song is from Godmuffin, out now.
Get creeped out with Mike Viola’s video for “Ordinary Girl,” featured recently by Buzzbands, which was directed by The Bennett Sisters and which stars Vanessa Barros Andrade. The song appears on the just-released new album Godmuffin (Good Morning Monkey / Grand Phony).
Of his song “We May Never Be This Young Again,” Mike Viola tells MAGNET, “the overriding idea is that time is a construct. The past is right here, and it’s available to me. It’s not nostalgia—it’s the sights and sounds and tactile elements of my formative years. You can look through everything, and it’s a mess, but you can access that stuff. I think that comes with age.”
The site has the lyric video for the track, which Viola compiled using footage from his days in The Candy Butchers.
Don't be sad that there will be no more singles from the new Mike Viola album Godmuffin after this Friday, be happy that you can hear the last one right now at Brooklyn Vegan! "We May Never Be This Young Again" is "a gorgeous, old-fashioned slow-dance number." Album arrives Dec. 11th via Grand Phony. You can also check out Mike's latest monster movie-themed video for "Ordinary Girl" here: https://bit.ly/MV-OG.
The second video in Mike Viola's trilogy of monster / horror movie-themed clips is out today! See "Ordinary Girl" now over at Under the Radar. Directed by The Bennett Sisters, starring Vanessa Barros Andrade, and photographed by Silvia Grav, the video, "follows a suburban teen horror fan as she awakens to the horror and wonder of a mysterious new power." The new Viola album Godmuffin is out Dec. 11th via Grand Phony.
As lyric videos go, the new one for Mike Viola's "Ordinary Girl" is about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Mike chases his younger daughter around with his monster thumb while she learns to roller skate on the sidewalks of Los Angeles.
Goofy grins for all viewers incoming! Watch it at Stereo Embers Magazine now. Mike will be appearing on an upcoming episode of the Stereo Embers podcast and his new album Godmuffin is out via Grand Phony on Dec. 11th. The official video for "Ordinary Girl," which continues in the monster movie mode of "Drug Rug," is coming your way on Monday!
Quote: "While Springsteen’s songbook is filled with tracks told from the perspective of a guy who wants to get out of town, 'Ordinary Girl' might very well be the first song written from the point of view of a parent wishing the same for his children."
Mike Viola is today's guest on the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz! Listen over at V13 or wherever you listen to podcasts. Personally, I listen to them in the kitchen.
Tune in to WFMU for a live set from Mike Viola! To be followed by conversation with "Thing With A Hook" host Pseu Braun about all sorts of things, including Mike's upcoming new album Godmuffin (Dec. 11, Grand Phony), of course. Make this vampire smile (or, ya know, it could be problematic.)
Mike Viola covers so many topics that I am interested in during this interview with Broadway World! Use your powers of literacy to understand the words and how they form sentences and convey thoughts!