On Friday, Nov. 7, Mike Viola performed a show at The Hybrid to an intimate audience. With just an acoustic guitar and his own voice, Viola managed to represent his vast career with a dynamic fervor rarely seen in such a stripped-down setting.
While certainly not a household name, Viola has managed to touch nearly every corner of the music industry since getting his start as a teen wonder in the 80s. He’s been consistently releasing his own music since his 1999 album “Falling Into Place,” but he’s popularly known as a fixture of movie soundtracks and producer/collaborator of bands like Panic! At The Disco, Vulfpeck and Dawes.
“I’ve played arenas with Panic and I’ve played theaters with Andrew Bird and Dawes,” Viola said. “The sweet spot is the 200-300 cap rock ‘n’ roll shitholes. By the end of the gig, you have locked eyes with everybody in that venue and you’re making a real connection, whereas playing in arenas you feel like Cirque du Soleil.”
The Hybrid is far from a “rock ‘n’ roll shithole,” and is actually an art gallery by day, but Viola still made a connection with the audience. Sparking recurring jokes with audience members, having brief conversations and sharing stories and even taking song recommendations, he did not shy away from the crowd.
One audience member requested Viola perform “Scientist Alexis” from his 2022 album “Paul McCarthy.” Though he claimed to have not practiced the song, he managed to perform an exciting acoustic version of it. Afterward, he said “that kind of woke up the kraken; that song is in my body.”
Since he is not known for one song in particular, it’s not unusual for audience members to want to hear tracks ranging from Viola’s entire career. This isn’t always the case for other musicians who came up at the same time as him, Viola said.
“I had like three friends that had songs on the charts when I was in my 20s,” Viola said. “Now they’re still touring and they may play bigger rooms than I do, but everyone’s coming to hear that old song. I think artistically and creatively I’ve sort of dodged that curse. I didn’t have a hit at all, and nobody comes to my shows to hear the same song. Everyone’s got their own favorite song, which is pretty great.”
While those present at his show at The Hybrid seemed most interested in hearing his solo work, the average listener is likely more familiar with his contributions to soundtracks for films such as “That Thing You Do!” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”
Though Viola has an extensive solo career, writing tracks for a soundtrack can be a pretty different experience for him.
“When I’m writing for a character in a movie, it’s a little easier because the character’s pretty defined, and if it’s not defined, you can call the director,” Viola said. “I just wrote songs for a movie that’s coming out next year. Will Ferrell is in it and it’s really funny. I texted the director and I was like ‘What’s up with this guy’s mother? Give me a little story about his mom.’ He texted me back and he just makes it up as he goes along.”
While there are certainly some advantages, writing a track that fits a movie perfectly can be a difficult ordeal.
“It’s challenging because you could write a really good song, except that it’s not right for the movie and you just have to accept that. When you’re writing songs for a movie there’s a lot of songs that get left over. For this movie, there are five songs that are mine and I probably wrote 30 songs.”
With Viola’s role in this unannounced project being complete and the last leg of his tour coming to an end shortly, he is already gearing up for his next release. In fact, he made a recording at his home studio of a new song called “South Shore Girl” the day before he made his way to Oregon.
The presently unreleased track, which he performed at The Hybrid, is a touching song with references to the life and eventual tragic passing of his first wife. It is an emotional song with a fitting guitar arrangement.
Viola’s last two albums, “Paul McCarthy” and “Rock of Boston,” were recorded with Panic! At the Disco frontman Brendon Urie on drums, producer Jake Sinclair on bass and Viola on every other instrument. The collaboration came after Viola co-wrote most of the songs on Panic’s “Viva Las Vengeance” album and joined the band on lead guitar for the subsequent tour.
While working on the album and tour, he began writing the songs that now make up his latest albums. Viola has not yet decided if his next album will feature Urie and Sinclair, as he’s been toying with the possibility of making a solo acoustic album.
“A couple of people that I really respect suggested that I make a really stripped-down record like those first couple Elliott Smith records,” Viola said. “I’ve been listening to those and they’re just so great; I love them.”
After performing acoustically for nearly an hour and a half, Viola left the stage with cheers from the audience and proceeded to man his own merchandise booth and meet and greet with fans. It was his first time stopping in Eugene, but hopefully it won’t be his last.
