Mitch Viegut began his professional music career in 1973, picking up his first guitar—a Fender Stratocaster—at the age of 12. By his mid-teens, he was performing steadily with the band StilRock before heading off to the University of Wisconsin (UW-Madison and UW–Eau Claire). There, he met fellow musician John Fisher, and together they formed Heros, a popular Midwest cover band that balanced nightclub performances with college life.

In 1977, Viegut reunited with high school friends Dave Saindon and Dave Roll, along with Grammy nominee Peter Phippen, to form Airkraft. By 1981, he founded Ark Records and built Premiere Recording Studios in Wausau, Wisconsin, producing and recording more than 100 albums and demos for Midwest groups, including Otis and The Alligators, Howard “Guitar” Luedtke, Tuck Pence, and Crash Alley. Ark Re ...