Mike Viola is a songwriter, producer, and recording artist whose career has always lived between the mainstream and the fiercely independent. He was born in Massachusetts, established himself in New York City, and now resides in Los Angeles. He first gained recognition leading Candy Butchers, releasing several albums on Universal and Sony in the 1990s and 2000s. Since then, he has built a career that is both personal and wide-ranging, defined by survival, reinvention, and craft.

As a collaborator, Viola’s reach is unusually broad. He has produced or co-written with Panic! At The Disco, Dawes, Vulfpeck, Mandy Moore, Andrew Bird, Jenny Lewis, Matt Nathanson, and Madison Cunningham. Unlike many producers or writers who appear for one-off projects, Viola is an alumnus of multiple major label deals who thrives with a DIY ethos, building enduring partnerships and creating music that is both commercially appealing and personal. He has also created music for major films, such as That Thing You Do!, Walk Hard, Get Him To The Greek, and Judgement Day.

As an artist, Viola has released close to a dozen acclaimed solo albums, most recently Chum (2026), which found critics praising his ability to combine melodic hooks with raw energy. He has a sound that draws from influences such as the Beatles, Paul Simon, Big Star, and Black Sabbath, but always with a distinct personal sound he captures in his home studio Barebones. Critics have praised his work for its vitality and authenticity, with Rolling Stone calling him “one of the unsung heroes of modern songwriting”, a reflection of his dual legacy as both a behind-the-scenes force and a cult-beloved artist.

Viola has built a cottage industry around his music, handling artwork, vinyl production, and fan outreach directly. Where others saw self-sabotage, he found independence and connection, and decades later his catalog has no decline or peak — just consistent, vital work.

With the release of both his book Superkid (2026), his new full length LP Chum (2026), a Europe and UK solo acoustic tour in November 2026, and a February and March 2027 full band U.S. tour, Mike Viola remains a singular artist whose story and perspective are ready for radio and press audiences to rediscover.