Rising Stars: Meet Mario Verlangieri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mario Verlangieri.

Hi Mario, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I definitely come from an artistic family. I had grandparents on both sides that were musicians, my dad is a photographer, and my mom is an armature flautist. Started playing music at a young age but actually lost interest early on. I took piano lessons when I was six and played saxophone in an elementary school band when I was 8, but it wasn’t until I picked up the guitar at age 14 that I discovered my passion for music. As an anxious high-school kid, I really got into rock & roll, punk, and heavy metal. I immediately started writing my own songs and playing in bands with my friends. By coincidence, I met Norma Tanega (known for her hit song “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog” and “You’re Dead” – which is used as the title theme for the show What We Do in the Shadows). I started taking music lessons from her in her Claremont studio. She started mentoring me and eventually asked me to be a part of her new band, Baboonz. I learned so much from her, not only about music and performing but about the business side of things and how to survive as an artist.

After high school, I ended up at California State University, San Bernardino as a music major. A big moment for me was during orientation when we were getting a tour of the music building. When they showed us into the Electronic Music Studio, I was blown away – Between the mixing console, the recording equipment, and the analog synths, I knew that I wanted to learn how all this gear worked and how to create music with it! I was still very passionate about guitar though, so I double majored in guitar performance and music technology.

My first experience working with film was actually in one of my music technology classes. We had an assignment to re-score a short trailer, and I just fell in love with the ability to create an orchestral mockup in the computer and watch as the footage came alive with my music. Through a friend, I met some student filmmakers and started working on their short films, either writing music or doing sound design.

After undergrad, I got an internship at a recording studio in Riverside – World Class Audio. The engineer Shawn Sullivan mentored me and really gave me what I consider “a masters degree in recording” haha. I learned so much from working in a real studio with all the clients and bands that came through. I was always playing in bands, writing music, and producing artists out of my home studio, but audio engineering soon became my “day job”. I worked in live sound and audio-visual instillation for about six years before I made the decision to go back to school and pursue film scoring full-time.

I got accepted to the USC Screen Scoring Program in 2020 – right in the middle of the pandemic – and was just thrilled! I had been looking at the program for a few years and I almost couldn’t believe that I got in! It’s an insane 1-year Master’s Degree program, our class ended up having to do it in 8 months due to the pandemic. All I did for those 8 months was pretty much write music and try to get in a few hours of sleep each night haha! Even though it was an extremely challenging program, I learned so much and had so many great experiences recording with the top LA session musicians and getting to meet some of my film-scoring heroes like Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, and Thomas Newman.

After grad school, I started freelancing as a composer and guitarist. It’s been scary being “out on my own”, but I have been very fortunate to have a good amount of work come in this last year. Even though I’m early into my career as a composer, I am really loving it and can’t wait to see what the future holds for me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely NOT been a smooth road! For anyone who has ever played in a band or been part of an underground music scene you know exactly what it’s like- playing to empty rooms, working your ass off to promote your music and shows, fighting to get a promoter to pay you more than just gas money- being a musician is tough! And the scoring world isn’t any easier. We spent so much time and effort studying music and honing our composition and technical chops, but the reality is that writing and producing music is just the tip of the iceberg. To build a career in music, you have to constantly work on promoting yourself, making new connections & relationships, maintaining the relationships you have, and learn how to manage your finances. It’s way easier to get a day job, so you have to be a little crazy to commit to a career in music!

I was terrified when I quit my full-time job (with health and benefits) to go back to school and then go all-in on my music career. It has been a big adjustment going from having a steady paycheck every two weeks to now not knowing when the next project is coming in or where the money for my bills is going to come from. But, I love that I am in total control of my work life- from my daily schedule to my rates, to what projects I want to be a part of. It takes a lot of discipline to be your own boss AND your own employee, but it is extremely rewarding getting to do what you love every day on your own terms (for the most part, haha).

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a film composer and audio engineer. I specialize in writing music for film, TV, and video games. Being a guitarist and having roots in rock, punk, and ska definitely sets me apart from most other film composers. Recently, I have done some additional writing for the composer Randall Crissman on Blaze and the Monster Machines (a kids shown on Nick Jr.) as well as Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. The reason I got hooked up with Randall was because he was looking for someone who could write and produce not only orchestral film music but also rock guitar. I fit the bill perfectly, so I got the call. So I guess my nice as a composer is being able to do both the “typical film music” thing but also bring my experience from years playing in bands. Even though “band music” is sometimes considered less complicated or simpler than full-blown orchestra music, it takes a very specific skill set to do it right.

As an audio engineer, I’ve worked in pretty much every genre of music, but these days I’m focusing more on recording and mixing film music. Working with bands and artists is great when I find one whose music I really believe in and enjoy, but this last year I found that I just tend to enjoy working with composers more. Being a film composer myself helps me be a better mixer specifically for composers. I have great empathy for everything they have to deal with on their end, so I make it my top priority to make their life easier- because that’s why they hire me!

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I consider myself a recovering perfectionist. I used to take forever to compose or mix or whatever. Months would go by and I would still be constantly tweaking. But when I started working in film and TV, I had to learn how to work on a deadline. It was tough at first, but I soon learned that done is better than perfect. Always. I think this has really made me a better composer because I had to learn how to be decisive. Instead of spending forever contemplating if a decision was “the right decision,” when you have to work fast, you make A decision and then roll with it. It doesn’t matter what decision you made if no one hears your cue because it wasn’t turned in on time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marioverlangieri.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mario_verlangieri/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mario.verlangieri
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5552874/

Image Credits
Christian Amonson