High Five! from Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling's Michael J. Epstein

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, my duo with Sophia Cacciola, is a band inspired by our favorite TV series, The Prisoner. We are in the process of recording and releasing 17 songs, each based on and named after an episode of the show (five of these musical episodes appear on our debut EP, The New Number 2). Number 6, the The Prisoner's unnamed main character, has few elements of his background revealed in the show's opening credits; not much more information about Number 6's life is provided throughout the series. The Prisoner's introduction included so many compelling images, that Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling decided to take on the absurd task of filming a shot-for-shot recreation of the opening credits as a music video for our first song episode. After more than a year of planning, we have completed 9 of the 10 days of shooting necessary to finish this daunting project. A behind-the-scenes video from these shoots can be viewed on the Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola blog. While there are dozens of great shots in this sequence, here are my 5 favorite moments from the opening credits sequence of The Prisoner, coupled with a behind-the-scenes look at our recreation of each shot:

1. The Hearse Driver

2. The Office

3. Running from the Ball

4. Smoke

5. The Car

To celebrate the end of the nine to five, a Green Light Go staff member or artist will leave you with their short list of favorite things, better known as the High Five!

This week's High Five! is brought to you by: Michael J. Epstein

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Favorite Friday with Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling: Hot Tourist Spots

What's better than one Michael J. Epstein? How about he and his ultimately as fantastic wife Sophia Cacciola? The pair just finished up their summer tour for their band Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling,where they brought along an amazing photographer, Kelly Davidson for the ride. We are kind of jealous we didn't get to come along. Sometimes the pit stops on your tour/trip are just as fun as the final destination. Don't tell me you haven't stopped to see the world's largest Teapot or Ball of Yarn. Before Epstein dives directly (too late) into The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library project, the duo offered up this list for Favorite Friday!

Top Six Ridiculous Places Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling Visited on Tour

6. Air and Space Hangar, D.C.
Yes, it’s a giant room full of planes and space shuttles! We immediately got busy jumping through the building, but had a somber moment when we stopped to reflect at the Enola Gay (and then promptly sang some OMD “Enola Gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday, oh oh oh...”)



5. Niagara Falls (American side)
Niagara Falls is spectacular to see, even if nobody brings along a passport and you have to go to the American side where they hit you with sticks (or so Mike claims). We made trouble by hunting Juggalos (Insane Clown Posse fans) and got a taste of our own medicine by getting photo-bombed on a bridge!

4. Industrial Park in The Flats, Cleveland, OH
The Flats in Cleveland only has two things: a venue and an industrial area, so we played at both!

3. Terminator Jesus, Monroe, OH
Once dubbed Touchdown Jesus, this Jesus statue has long been a hobby of Michael J. Epstein’s (he stopped there on a past The Motion Sick tour) and when we heard that it had burned down to its skeletal remains, we just had to go. Which of course means we had to tape a few songs (including the debut of a skeletal version of a Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library song) and take a bunch of photos in front of it.

2. Natural Bridge, VA - Escape from Dinosaur Kingdom
Natural Bridge, Virginia might as well change their name to “Happiest Place on Earth.” It’s a place where you can pay to have your photo taken with a baby tiger (and our tourmates did just that!). It’s also a place where Dinosaurs eat Confederate soldiers (but also The Gettysburg Address - so those dinosaurs are not entirely consistent) and where bands are hatched out of eggs.

1. Natural Bridge, VA - Foamhenge!
Foamhenge is a life-size replica of Stonehenge, but it’s made out of Styrofoam and perhaps holds even more mysteries than the more famous Stonehenge about how it came into existence. We frolicked amongst the bits of foam, danced with the Merlin stature, and taped an impromptu acoustic performance on a rock!



For more photos for the entire tour click here. You won't be sorry. For tons and tons of live videos taken on the tour, visit The Motion Sick's YouTube site.
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Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling This Saturday!

Green Light Go artists like to keep themselves very, very busy. We wouldn't have it any other way.

I don't know how The Motion Sick's Michael Epstein has time for anything because he's always making up new blogs and new blog posts about various Motion Sick-related things. And sometimes about just weird things. His best side projects has been with his darling Sophia Cacciola for the band Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling. Their insanely cool "concept," album The New Number 2 came out last month and the duo playing their spy songs live this Saturday night.

The Boston Phoenix caught up with the pair who are in preparations to play in Cambridge, MA at the Middle East (Upstairs), this Saturday, May 22. They talked about the TV-show inspired album and why they record as a duo.


"Whereas other bands cram 20 friggin’ persons on stage at their shows, or rely on technology to fill out their sound, Cacciola and Epstein get a lot done with as few tools as possible. The singer doubles as drummer. The bass, jacked into a guitar amp, plays the highs and the lows, though never simultaneously," wrote Barry Thompson. “It’s weird for people,” Epstein observes. “They’re like, ‘Well, there’s no low end at this moment,’ or, ‘There’s no high end at this moment!’ It makes them uncomfortable.”

“We thought about getting a third person, but this way, it makes us more creative,” explains Cacciola. “We really want to build dynamics, quiet parts and loud parts. It’s harder to do that with two people, but it makes it more interesting.”

Epstein: “They get really upset. I don’t think it’s a personal thing. Some people are like, ‘Well, I hear a guitar part!’ ” Click Here to Read More..