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Mike Viola + Niki Leeman
Listen to Mike Viola
Spotify - YouTube - Apple
Listen to Niki Leeman
Spotify - YouTube - Apple
Mike Viola is a producer, musician, songwriter and singer. Decades into his career his music continues to resonate with and inspire new generations of musicians and music lovers. Starting in 2019 Viola hit a prolific streak and released fan favorite records The American Egypt, Godmuffin, and Paul McCarthy, all recorded in his Los Angeles studio Barebones. His recent albums have garnered a whole new fan base and sold out shows around the US. His latest album, “Rock Of Boston”, was released on September 20th 2024 on Good Morning Monkey/Grand Phony in the US, Lojinx in Europe and SONY Japan and an international tour followed.
Rock Of Boston was recorded over the winter of 2023 on ½” tape at Barebones, Viola’s home studio in Los Angeles. Once again joined by his friends Jake Sinclair on bass and Brendon Urie on drums. Viola says, “I’m always writing songs, or pieces of songs, or riffs. My writing process changes every song, so I never get trapped in a method. I let the song lead me. While I was on a world tour playing guitar for Panic at The Disco, I wrote the bulk of this record on the bus between soundcheck and showtime. On the days off, I’d find a recording studio wherever we were and I’d book studio time to sneak away to lay down a few ideas. When the tour finished, Jake and Brendon came home to LA and we never stopped playing music together. We just switched from touring with Panic! to recording Rock Of Boston pretty seamlessly without a break. Maybe that’s why the riffs seem bigger on this record, we had spent all those months in hockey arenas around the world playing big music.”
Viola is currently working on the follow up to Rock Of Boston to be released in the Winter/Spring of 2026 with a tour to follow. Never slowing down.
Niki Leeman, newly arrived to Eugene, a favorite at the Kerrville Folk Festival, has performed at Unity Church, Tsunami Books, and The Hybrid Gallery, and is a treasured new act introduced by long time local Eugene Dj, and musical entrepreneur Mike Meyer, of Turning Tides Music, who has called Niki "one of the best songwriters he has ever heard. He has long had a reputation for thought provoking lyrical poetry and metaphor – his songs will capture you, heart and soul, and remain with you long after your first listen."
Mike Connor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote: "Diamond Mines" is a lesson in open tunings and rootsy allegory, with each verse more poignant than the one before. "Riverbanks" is more of a bittersweet love song to God with a broke-down edge: "Come on, God, confess / You're crippled, fragile and helpless / Tell them you don't have a clue / We're on our own and so are you".
Jim Kloss, founder of the legendary Whole Wheat Radio had this to say: "If I had only 5 CD's to take with me, out of the thousands of independent music CD's we've aired, this would be one of them. The lyrics, the arrangements, the performances … everything about this CD makes one stop, listen and revel in discovering such a superb artist."
Niki counts some of the finest musicians and songwriters in the United States amongst his friends, many of whom have lent their talents to his recordings, including Keith Greeninger, Ellis Paul, Caroline Aiken, Louise Taylor, Gina Forsyth, and Biff Rose, to name a few. You can find his live shows on YouTube and his music on Spotify and Bandcamp.
Friday, November 7th
Doors 7:30, Show 8:00
Tickets: $20
Listen to Mike Viola
Spotify - YouTube - Apple
Listen to Niki Leeman
Spotify - YouTube - Apple
Mike Viola is a producer, musician, songwriter and singer. Decades into his career his music continues to resonate with and inspire new generations of musicians and music lovers. Starting in 2019 Viola hit a prolific streak and released fan favorite records The American Egypt, Godmuffin, and Paul McCarthy, all recorded in his Los Angeles studio Barebones. His recent albums have garnered a whole new fan base and sold out shows around the US. His latest album, “Rock Of Boston”, was released on September 20th 2024 on Good Morning Monkey/Grand Phony in the US, Lojinx in Europe and SONY Japan and an international tour followed.
Rock Of Boston was recorded over the winter of 2023 on ½” tape at Barebones, Viola’s home studio in Los Angeles. Once again joined by his friends Jake Sinclair on bass and Brendon Urie on drums. Viola says, “I’m always writing songs, or pieces of songs, or riffs. My writing process changes every song, so I never get trapped in a method. I let the song lead me. While I was on a world tour playing guitar for Panic at The Disco, I wrote the bulk of this record on the bus between soundcheck and showtime. On the days off, I’d find a recording studio wherever we were and I’d book studio time to sneak away to lay down a few ideas. When the tour finished, Jake and Brendon came home to LA and we never stopped playing music together. We just switched from touring with Panic! to recording Rock Of Boston pretty seamlessly without a break. Maybe that’s why the riffs seem bigger on this record, we had spent all those months in hockey arenas around the world playing big music.”
Viola is currently working on the follow up to Rock Of Boston to be released in the Winter/Spring of 2026 with a tour to follow. Never slowing down.
Niki Leeman, newly arrived to Eugene, a favorite at the Kerrville Folk Festival, has performed at Unity Church, Tsunami Books, and The Hybrid Gallery, and is a treasured new act introduced by long time local Eugene Dj, and musical entrepreneur Mike Meyer, of Turning Tides Music, who has called Niki "one of the best songwriters he has ever heard. He has long had a reputation for thought provoking lyrical poetry and metaphor – his songs will capture you, heart and soul, and remain with you long after your first listen."
Mike Connor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote: "Diamond Mines" is a lesson in open tunings and rootsy allegory, with each verse more poignant than the one before. "Riverbanks" is more of a bittersweet love song to God with a broke-down edge: "Come on, God, confess / You're crippled, fragile and helpless / Tell them you don't have a clue / We're on our own and so are you".
Jim Kloss, founder of the legendary Whole Wheat Radio had this to say: "If I had only 5 CD's to take with me, out of the thousands of independent music CD's we've aired, this would be one of them. The lyrics, the arrangements, the performances … everything about this CD makes one stop, listen and revel in discovering such a superb artist."
Niki counts some of the finest musicians and songwriters in the United States amongst his friends, many of whom have lent their talents to his recordings, including Keith Greeninger, Ellis Paul, Caroline Aiken, Louise Taylor, Gina Forsyth, and Biff Rose, to name a few. You can find his live shows on YouTube and his music on Spotify and Bandcamp.
Friday, November 7th
Doors 7:30, Show 8:00
Tickets: $20