Seattlest Interview: Mateo Messina, Film and Symphony Composer
Mateo Messina, a Seattle native, has been composing television and film scores and penning symphonies for 10 years. His most recent score is for the upcoming, buzz-magnet comedy Juno. His latest symphony will be heard tonight at Benaroya Hall's (sold out) Symphony Legacy concert. (That's him above, at last year's show.)
Messina's Symphony--a benefit for Seattle Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center--features the combined musical talents of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest Girlchoir ... accompanied by dancers and a didgeridoo performer...and Heart sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson...and underappreciated, resurrected grunge act Alice in Chains.
This was all news to Seattlest. Our uncultured ass had never even heard of Messina. So we seized an opportunity to chat with him.
You composed the score for Juno, a comedy that appears to be about an awkward girl with an awkward pregnancy. How do you score awkwardness?
The process really came down to instrumentation. It was about trying to find Juno's [the main character] voice. She kind of has an indie rock vibe to her. But straight alt rock or indie rock didn't feel like the right call. The director and I talked about it, and I wanted to go with an acoustic guitar feel, something that jangled and was really loose, like Juno. I work with a few different session guitarists, and one of them, Billy Katz, came over with all of his guitars. He has this one called "Stella" that he found at a garage sale. It's kind of tinny, not perfectly in tune, but has all kinds of character. And the instant I said "Play this one a little bit," it was like that's Juno. That's her identity. So almost every cue has this guitar in it.
What’s the typical scoring process? Are you brought in before a film shoots, or do you start with an initial cut?
Most of the time you're brought in at rough cut or locked picture. I'm very fortunate because on the last three projects, I've been brought in before shooting started. That's given me a chance to think about it ahead of time. It's a nice luxury to grow with the director as they go through the process. One thing I'm absolutely adamant about--and it's worked for me on all the pictures I've worked on--is that I help the director tell their story.
What’s the bigger challenge--going solo to write a symphony, or collaborating with a director to score a film?
It's more of a challenge to collaborate for score, but I enjoy it more. In working with all sorts of directors and producers, ad agencies, executives, everyone's going "Hey, can you make it sound a little more like this?" So you write and you rewrite and rewrite. But each year I also write a symphony--I just write what I feel. But being a composer is kind of solitary, and I'm a social person. I really enjoy the collaboration and the telling of a story. I think everything we do comes back to telling a story.
You’re from Seattle but live in LA--what’s Hollywood’s take on your hometown? Starbucks, rain, bad place to shoot a movie?
You know what's funny? Much more so, Seattleites have a completely stereotypical take on Hollywood. Before I loved to LA, everyone said, "Why are you moving there?" But I think it's the people, more than the place, wherever you are. I really enjoy it here. It's a real eclectic city. And a lot of the best musicians in the world are here.
Over the past five years or so, I've had different friends from LA come up for the concert. Afterward, everyone always says how much they love Seattle. And we're here in November, man. I have such a love for Seattle that last year I wrote a symphony for it called Symphony Seattle.
Symphony Legacy marks your tenth symphony written for the annual Children's Hospital benefit. What makes these performances special for you?
I can't believe I'm on my 10th now. I had no idea what I was doing when I started. I didn't really know how to write for the orchestra at all. I drummed in a rock band and I'd played piano since I was three, but I always played by ear. I just said, "I think I'd like to play there [Benaroya] someday." I'd been introduced to MIDI--how instruments and computers communicate--when I was about 22. I'd play a piano song in. Then I'd play along with a piano song with the flute. Then I played with some strings. I got really excited about it, so a couple of years later I completely BSd my way into the symphony hall.
I never imagined it would come down to sold-out concerts and having all these musical guests. I don't ever write a typical symphony. My goal is always to do something that enchants. Last year I had a Starbucks barista make a cup of coffee on stage with the orchestra. I had the Pike Place fishmongers throwing fish in time with the music. Two years ago, I had the entire UW drumline going down one of the aisles, and a Brazilian drumline in another aisle. It's been incredible.
The question "What do you leave behind?" inspired your work for this year's performance. What's the significance there?
I do these concerts to raise money for Children's. This year is their 100th anniversary, and it's such a great legacy that Anna Clise left behind. I based the concept on that. What I'm talking about really isn't what you leave behind after you pass away, but what you leave behind on a daily basis. The small moments. You have a conversation with a convenience store clerk. You take the time to pay someone a compliment. A hug for a family member. The impressions you leave upon people when you leave a room. That was my inspiration.
How will Alice in Chains factor into the show? Something from Jar of Flies or Sap comes to mind.
I can't give away exactly what they're doing, but you will hear Alice in Chains songs. I wanted to take some of their songs and write for the full orchestra. They'll be preludes that really hint at their songs, and then they'll come in and play with the orchestra. You can think of their acoustic stuff, but there are a couple that are gonna be very intense. Full electric, drums, everything. We're doing something really fun at the end of the show.
How did your relationships with AIC and Ann and Nancy Wilson form? Are you a fan of their work or vice versa?
They came through a long-time friend and backer of my music, Susan Silver. She's amazing, a wonderful woman. She's taught me a lot about the business of music, how to be a strong human being. She had a management company then, but she said, "Just find someone that believes in you and your music." That always stuck with me. Alice in Chains is her band, and she's really close with Ann and Nancy. She connected us. I wanted to take their songs and give them a majestic feel.
So you were in a Seattle rock band about the time grunge came about. Did you do the whole long hair and flannel thing?
I don't know if I ever did the flannel--I liked sweatshirts. [laughs] But I did have the long hair. At Western, I had hair down to my shoulders. In South America, I was so hot that I had someone cut off my hair. They used a knife, then found some scissors and cleaned it up a bit. I'm sure it was a ridiculous haircut but I wasn't there to impress anybody.
You've studied and made music all over the globe. Is there any one place you favor most in that pursuit?
Every trip was special in its own way. When I was in New Zealand, I studied with Maori natives and learned how to do their warrior dance. I learned how to play things like the jade gong. When I was in South America I trekked through the Andes for three weeks and found a pena band. Imagine the size of a Capitol Hill one-bedroom, packed with 100 people, and eight or ten guys in a band. [laughs] I'd just stop at these Ketchuan Indian homes and I would smile and they would smile. We'd play music together. We'd play soccer. I think of all my trips, hanging out in South America for a winter was the best.
What are you working on next?
I'm going to Africa next week. Juno is premiering the day I get back. And the next film is called Bumper. It's with this Irish director, Enda McCallion. I am so psyched to be on this movie. We're in this production office in Hollywood, and he's got Maori warrior tattoos all over him. We're talking about music, and he says, [Irish accent] "I fucking love this. I fucking love that." It's a psychological thriller; the premise is pretty out there. And next year's symphony--I haven't really planned it out, but I know some of the people who might be participating.
Will it be something [grunge-loving-Seattlesters] might be into?
Definitely.
