Michael J. Epstein

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Michael J. Epstein
Born1976 (age 47–48)
Smithtown, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNortheastern University
Occupation(s)Artist, filmmaker, writer, actor, songwriter, musician
SpouseSophia Cacciola
WebsiteMichael J. Epstein

Michael J. Epstein (born 1976), is an American filmmaker, musician, writer, and auditory scientist. Epstein has also spoken and written about the impact of local media on the arts, music service gatekeeping, effective social networking, and crowdfunding.

Early life and education[edit]

Epstein was born in Smithtown, New York. His father is author Lawrence J. Epstein. Epstein grew up in Stony Brook, New York.[1] and was raised Jewish.[2]

Epstein comes from a technical background, but shifted toward creative work, saying he, "was building electronics projects and writing adventure games on my VIC-20 in gradeschool... [and] started seeing a lot of commonality between all of this creative work and my more formal training in electrical engineering as my creative skills advanced."[3]

Epstein received a BS in electrical engineering from Binghamton University[4] and a PhD in electrical and computer engineering in 2004 from Northeastern University and joined the audiology faculty there in 2005.[5] Epstein became a tenured professor at the university,[6][7] studying psychoacoustics, loudness, auditory electrophysiology, and sound design before leaving Boston in 2016 to pursue full-time filmmaking.[8][9][10]

Career[edit]

Film[edit]

Epstein, in collaboration with his wife, Sophia Cacciola, has directed multiple feature films, including: TEN, Magnetic, Blood of the Tribades, Clickbait,[11] The Transformations of the Transformations of the Drs. Jenkins,[12] and The Once and Future Smash.[13] The pair are focused on creating sociopolitical genre films.[14][15] Their film Clickbait started playing at festivals in 2018.[16]

Epstein describes his process for creating films as thematic.[17] Discussing his first feature TEN, he noted, "We really wanted to expand typical characterization themes of using shortcuts and stereotypes to touch on the broader narrative of the film. Because the film is about the arbitrary meaninglessness of identity, we wanted to recontextualize the film itself repeatedly by shifting tone and genre."[18] Michael Gingold of Fangoria described TEN saying, "it veers off in directions you likely won't see coming, both in narrative terms and in the way it explores questions of female identity.”[19] Lauren Shiro of Curve wrote, "the movie takes on a political and sociological stance, examining stereotypes, identity, and also the subtext and themes behind story lines."[20]

Epstein has directed Artsploitation's A Taste of Phobia,[21] Troma's Grindsploitation,[22] and the 60 Seconds to Die series.[23][24]

Epstein was the winner of the 2022 Innovation in Film award at Nightmares Film Festival along with partner, Sophia Cacciola.[25] Epstein has collaborated with monochrom's Johannes Grenzfurthner,[26] Izzy Lee, Ungovernable Films,[27][28] Troma,[29] Tanya Pearson of the Women of Rock Oral History Project,[30][16] and Stephen Stull of BizarroLand Film Festival.

Music[edit]

Epstein has played in indie bands, including The Motion Sick, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, Darling Pet Munkee, and Neutral Uke Hotel.[31][32]

The Motion Sick, featuring Epstein on guitar and vocals, were featured as the band of the month in 2006 in SPIN Magazine[33] and were selected as the best unsigned band in Boston by commercial radio station WFNX during the Last Band Standing competition.[34] They also won The Boston Phoenix Best Local Band 2009.[35]

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, featuring Epstein on bass, were awarded the 6th most creative video of 2011 in TIME Magazine.[36]

The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, with Epstein on guitar and vocals, was selected as a CBS best rock band.[37] The band has focused on collaborations, including an original rock ballet at Dorchester's Strand Theatre with BalletRox,[38] Art-Exchange: a collaboration with artists to write songs based on visual works and create visual works based on songs, 37 songs to celebrate speakers at TEDxSomerville and a three-season run as the house band on the franchised Encyclopedia Show.[39] The band was part of a documentary created by Berklee College Pulse to showcase different processes for songwriting.[40][41]

Epstein also plays in Darling Pet Munkee, a band that writes garage-rock songs about items sold in comic books[42][43][44] and kindie band, Space Balloons,[45][46] focusing on children's songs about out-of-place aliens obsessed with moustaches and Kurt Vonnegut.[47]

Academia[edit]

Epstein was a professor of Audiology/Bioengineering/Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northeastern University from 2005 to 2016.[citation needed] He studied loudness and auditory physiology and has more than 40 published articles and abstracts.[48][49] He co-authored the Oxford University Press Handbook of Auditory Sciences chapter on Loudness.[50] His PLOS ONE 2016 article, "Toward a differential diagnosis of hidden hearing loss in humans"[51] was featured in The Wall Street Journal[52] and Scientific American.[53] It helped explain why many people with normal hearing struggle to hear in noisy situations.

Writing[edit]

Epstein has written short stories in the anthology "The Unnaturals" as part of Hydra Publications' Dystopian Express,[54] BIGFOOT DOES NOT EXIST!: An introduction to the fundamental principles of statistics, science, and logic,[55] and a crowdfunding guidebook for the In 30 Minutes series,[56] which was a finalist in the Foreword INDIES competition[57] and the Independent Publishers of New England Book Awards.[58]

Epstein has written articles for the starter filmmaking site, Filmmaking Fool.[59]

Art[edit]

Together with Sophia Cacciola, Epstein was awarded an art residency with monochrom at Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria in autumn 2017.[60] He created Nothen für die Tothen, an interactive music art installation for Roboexotica.[61]

Epstein also created sound collage art under the name "M-sli©k da ninjA"[62] and was involved with The Droplift project,[63][64] for which CDs with copyright-violating samples were reverse-shoplifted onto store shelves,[65][66] Dictionaraoke,[67][68][69] songs created with vocals by dictionary readings of words, and the Beethoven Reclamation Society, a piece in which many artists each recreated a segment of Beethoven's 9th Symphony using sound collaging.[70]

Personal life[edit]

Epstein is married to filmmaker and artist Sophia Cacciola.[71] He resides in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography[edit]

Year Film Director Writer Producer Actor Cinematographer
2022 The Once and Future Smash Yes Yes Yes Yes No
2021[72] The Transformations of the Transformations of the Drs. Jenkins Yes Yes Yes Yes No
2020[73] Darling Pet Monkey No No Yes No No
2019[74] Half-Cocked No No Yes No No
2018[75] Clickbait Yes Yes Yes Yes No
2017[76] Grindsploitation 2: The Lost Reels Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2017[77] Blood of the Tribades Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2015[78] Magnetic Yes Yes Yes No No
2014[79] TEN Yes Yes Yes No No
2011 Quiet Desperation No No No Yes No


Selected discography[edit]

Year Artist Album Title Songwriter Vocals Guitar Bass Production/Engineering
2020 Night Kisses Launch Over Short Film Scores, Vol. 1 Yes No No No Yes
2019 Night Kisses Clickbait Yes No No No Yes
2017 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling information...information...information! (The Complete Prisoner Recordings) No No No Yes Yes
2017 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling Whose Side Are You On? No No No Yes Yes
2016 Night Kisses Blood of the Tribades Yes No No No Yes
2016 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling In the Village No No No Yes Yes
2015 Night Kisses Magnetic Yes No No No Yes
2015 Catherine Capozzi and Axemunkee present: Bring Us Your Women Bring Us Your Women Yes Yes No No Yes
2014 The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library TEDxSomerville Speaker Songs 2012-14 Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2013 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling By Hook or By Crook No No No Yes Yes
2012 Darling Pet Munkee Glows in the Dark! Yes Yes No Yes Yes
2012 Darling Pet Munkee You Better Believe It! Yes Yes No Yes Yes
2012 The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library Faith in Free Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2012 Space Balloons Welcome to Balloononia Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2012 The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library The Art-Music Exchange Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2011 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling Questions Are a Burden to Others No No No Yes No
2011 The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library Volume One Yes Yes Yes No Yes
2010 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling The New Number 2 No No No Yes No
2008 The Motion Sick The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait... Yes Yes Yes No No
2006 The Motion Sick Her Brilliant Fifteen Yes Yes Yes No No
2002 M-sli©k da ninjA Aphorisms on Aphonia and Aphasia: Your Cure For Aphagia (A Collection of 39 Works 1994 - 2000) Yes No No No Yes
1998 Binary Test Record Binary Test Record Yes Yes Yes No No

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rice, Lewis. "Music to His Ears". Northeastern Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-07-05.
  2. ^ "Four Questions with Musician Michael J. Epstein". Jewish Boston.
  3. ^ "Michael J. Epstein [Interview]". Trainwreckdsociety.com. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Northeastern University Alumni Magazine feature". Numag.neu.edu.
  5. ^ "Northeastern University Alumni Magazine feature". Numag.neu.edu.
  6. ^ "Creepy Sounds in Modern Film". Northeastern University.
  7. ^ "Meet Michael J. Epstein of Launch Over in Hollywood". Voyage LA. 31 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Musical artist is leaving for LA; just no future in Boston area". Universalhub.com.
  9. ^ "Financial strains, limited options for artists push powerhouse creatives out of the area". Cambridgeday.com. 18 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Longtime Fixtures in the Boston Arts Scene Explain Why They're Leaving Town". Bostonmagazine.com. 17 February 2016.
  11. ^ "CLICKBAIT - Without Your Head". Withoutyourhead.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  12. ^ "GENREBLAST 2021: FIVE FILM FAVORITES". Morbidly Beautiful. 22 September 2021.
  13. ^ "EXCLUSIVE COMMENTS, FEST INFO, TRAILERS: HORROR MOCK DOC "THE ONCE AND FUTURE SMASH" AND '70S SLASHER HOMAGE "END ZONE 2"". Rue Morgue. 28 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Erotic vampire movie BLOOD OF THE TRIBADES sees release". Rue-morgue.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  15. ^ "SOPHIA CACCIOLA DISCUSSES SHOWCASING WOMEN IN FILM VIA SOCIOPOLITICAL HORROR AND SCI-FI". SyFy Wire.
  16. ^ a b "Meet Michael J. Epstein of Launch Over in Hollywood". Voyagela.com. 31 July 2018.
  17. ^ "What Is Theme? - Michael J. Epstein". YouTube - Film Courage.
  18. ^ "(re)Search my Trash". Searchmytrash.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  19. ^ "TEN in Fangoria issue 335". Blog.michaeljepstein.com.
  20. ^ Shiro, Lauren (23 April 2014). "No One Is Who They Seem. Not Even You". Curvemag.ocm. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Artsploitation Films Gets A TASTE OF PHOBIA". Screamfix.com. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  22. ^ ""Grindsploitation 2: The Lost Reels" COMING SOON! from Troma Entertainment, Inc.!". myemail.constantcontact.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Official Trailer For 60 SECONDS TO DIE Is Now Out! - Horror Society". Horrorsociety.com. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  24. ^ "Horror Anthology "60 Seconds To Die" hits DVD, December 5!". Screenanarchy.com. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  25. ^ Baldwin, Daniel (24 October 2022). "Ethereal Thrills and Nostalgic Zeal: Day Three of Nightmares Film Festival 2022". Dread Central.
  26. ^ "Vienna Round-Up! Our adventures in Austria in November". Blog.mikeandsophia.com. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  27. ^ "TWS Week of Horror Day 2: Paul M. McAlarney [Interview]". Trainwreckedsociety.com. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  28. ^ "UNGOVERNABLE FILMS - the ungovernable force". Ungovernablefilms.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  29. ^ "Michael J. Epstein [Interview]". Trainwreckedsociety.com. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  30. ^ "Volunteer Staff". Women of Rock. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  31. ^ "Putting The Uke In Neutral Milk Hotel". radioboston.legacy.wbur.org. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  32. ^ "Concert Review: Neutral Uke Hotel at Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA". Theywillrockyou.com. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  33. ^ "SPIN Magazine". Spin.com. 13 January 2006.
  34. ^ "Last Band Standing". Thenoise-boston.com. 30 May 2007.
  35. ^ "Boston Phoenix". Zedequalszee.com. 17 April 2009.
  36. ^ "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling "Episode 1: Arrival" - 6th most creative video of the 2011 in TIME". Time. 7 December 2011.
  37. ^ "CBS Boston's Best Local Rock Bands". Boston.cbsllocal.com. 7 August 2013.
  38. ^ "The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library & BalletRox Saturday night soiree – musings from boston". Bostonsurvivalguide.net. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  39. ^ Dellatto, Marisa. "The Encyclopedia Show Brings Music, Mirth and Madness to the Davis Square Theatre - Scout Somerville". scoutsomerville.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  40. ^ "Banded: Behind the Making of a Song - Berklee College of Music". Berklee.edu. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  41. ^ "Berklee Grove: "What Happens When 5 Boston Bands Bare Their Creative Souls to a Berklee Film Crew?"". Berkleegroove.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  42. ^ "Darling Pet Munkee / Boing Boing". Boing Boing. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  43. ^ "DARLING PET MUNKEE…It's A Band Based On Old Ads Found In the Back of Comics…You're Gonna Like Them". Forcesofgeek.com. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  44. ^ "DOCTERROR.COM". Docterror.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  45. ^ [1] [dead link]
  46. ^ "Somerville media monarchs float toward children's TV with 'Space Balloons' songs - Cambridge Day". Cambridgeday.com. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  47. ^ "An artistic tribute to Kurt Vonnegut Jr". Thesomervilletimes.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  48. ^ "Google Scholar Profile of Epstein". Scholar.google.com.
  49. ^ "Michael Epstein". ORCiD.
  50. ^ Plack, Christopher J, ed. (2010). "Oxford Handbook of Auditory Science: Hearing". Oxfordhandbooks.com. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199233557.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-923355-7.
  51. ^ Liberman, M. Charles; Epstein, Michael J.; Cleveland, Sandra S.; Wang, Haobing; Maison, Stéphane F. (2016). "Toward a differential diagnosis of hidden hearing loss in humans". PLOS ONE. 11 (9): e0162726. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1162726L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162726. PMC 5019483. PMID 27618300.
  52. ^ Beck, Melinda (26 September 2016). "Can't Hear in Noisy Places? It's a Real Medical Condition". Wall Street Journal.
  53. ^ "Can You Hear Me Now? Detecting Hidden Hearing Loss in Young People". Scientificamerican.com.
  54. ^ Blankenship, Robin; Hall, F. L. (5 November 2015). Dystopian Express. Hydra Publications. ISBN 9781942212300. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  55. ^ Epstein, Michael; Reiser, Elana (April 8, 2020). BIGFOOT DOES NOT EXIST!: An introduction to the fundamental principles of statistics, science, and logic.
  56. ^ "Crowdfunding book - Crowdfunding Basics In 30 Minutes". Crowdfunding Basics In 30 Minutes. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  57. ^ "Crowdfunding Basics In 30 Minutes is a finalist in the Foreword INDIES competition - In 30 Minutes Guides". In30minutes.com. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  58. ^ "Independent Publishers of New England - 2017 IPNE Book Award Winners". Ipne.org. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  59. ^ "Michael J. Epstein". Filmmaking Fool. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  60. ^ "Q21". MuseumsQuartier Wien. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  61. ^ "MQ Journal". MuseumsQuartier Wien. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  62. ^ "M-sli©k da ninjA: Aphorisms on Aphonia and Aphasia: Your Cure For Aphagia (A Collection of 39 Works 1994 – 2000)". Blog.mikeandsophia.com. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  63. ^ "Free Music Archive: Various Artists [Droplift] - The Droplift Project". freemusicarchive.org. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  64. ^ "The Droplift Project". 25 November 2005. Archived from the original on 25 November 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  65. ^ "Shopdropping aka Droplifting: Guide to Reverse Shoplifting". Weburbanist.com. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  66. ^ Hilburn, Matt (8 February 2001). "Shoplifting in Reverse". Chicagoreader.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  67. ^ . 2 June 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060602010823/http://www.dictionaraoke.org/. Archived from the original on 2006-06-02. Retrieved 10 November 2018. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  68. ^ "Dictionaraoke". Npr.org. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  69. ^ "Dictionaraoke". Wired. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  70. ^ "The Beethoven Reclamation Society presents The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125". Blog.mikeandsophia.com. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  71. ^ "Longtime fixtures in the Boston music and arts scenes explain why they are leaving town - Vanyaland". Archived from the original on 2018-11-11. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  72. ^ "GenreBlast 2021: Five Film Favorites". 22 September 2021.
  73. ^ Prinn, Daniel (2 September 2020). "Fantasia 2020 Short Films – Central Dental, Darling Pet Monkey, Eyes of Eidolon, Night Shifts and Smiley Death Face". Filmcraziest.
  74. ^ "Half-Cocked (2019) Short Film Review". Screen Fervor.
  75. ^ "Movie Review: Clickbait (2018) - horrorfuel.com". 24 July 2018.
  76. ^ "Exclusive World Premieres of Grindsploitation 2, La Isla Del Infierno & short film French Kitty - Horror Society". 2 February 2017.
  77. ^ "BLOOD OF THE TRIBADES: Film Review - THE HORROR ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE". 24 September 2016.
  78. ^ Jenson, Kristofer. "The Death of DIY? - Scout Somerville". scoutsomerville.com.
  79. ^ "TEN: An Interview with Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola - Film Thrills". 14 April 2014.

External links[edit]

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