Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling
talks about their new EP - "The New Number 2"

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling is a duo consisting of Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. Self-described as, "loud, arty, minimalist rock working in the realm of proto-punk/new wave/no wave bands", DNFMOMD has an authentic energy and sound that is rarely seen around town that often.

They will be celebrating the release of their debut EP, The New Number 2 Saturday the 3rd at Church. Get more info HERE. The EP is stuffed with creative angst. I recommend this EP if you are sick of all the same old crap. It also is inspired by a sci-fi series, The Prisoner. Can't get more awesome than that. They had the time to answer a few Q's about where the unique inspiration came from.

Deli: The new EP, The New Number 2 is based on/inspired by an old sci-fi show, The Prisoner. Can you tell as more about what inspired your take on the project? Why is The Prisoner so important to Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling?

Sophia Cacciola: Once I saw The Prisoner, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I first saw it right at a time when my writing was getting a little less introspective and more about exploring a murky, cinematic world centered around a moralistic, dark, strong-willed yet desperate character. Patrick McGoohan's Number 6 fit this mold perfectly. The themes of the show: Big Brother, societal distrust of individuality, totalitarianism, the meaning of escaping, the construct of imprisonment, and identifying who actually dictates fate, are all topics that feel ever-urgent and worthy of thinking and writing about. So from there it just became obvious that this was what I wanted to do with the band. The rest, the visual imagery (black coats with white piping, etc.) as well as the name of the band, all just fell right into place. 

Deli: How do you write music based on a television series?

SC: I guess this does seem odd, given that they are such different mediums. I think it works in this case because The Prisoner is so intellectual and philosophical and the themes, rich backdrops, and characters are so easy to fit into loud, angst-ridden rock songs!

Michael J. Epstein: I actually almost always find inspiration in film, television, and literature in terms of songwriting.  To me, there isn't really a difference in the process of writing a song, making a movie, or writing a book.  It's all a matter of using the tools of the art to convey concepts and dispense empathies that are interesting to people.  Sure, it takes less time to write something concise like a song than it does to make a movie or write a book, but the underlying process, at least in my view, is really the same.

Deli: Are the songs named after and do they represent the episodes themselves?

SC: Yes, the songs are all named after and inspired by the episodes of the show. The intent is to write and record 17 songs, each one based on each of the episodes of the show. My method is to re-watch an episode, think about the themes, events, and conversations in that episode, digest it, and then write whatever strikes me. This process gives me a lot of space to explore the show's impact on me, but at the same time allows my personality and psyche into the material. It's important to us that someone who has never seen the show can appreciate the songs, so they'll never be really gimmicky.  For example, they never directly describe narrative elements of the show.  You couldn't gather a summary of the plot of an episode from one of our songs.

Deli: You end the EP with a cover of the dark and eerie "First We Take Manhattan". How is Leonard Cohen related in The Prisoner theme?

SC: I see "First We Take Manhattan" as a reaction the the end of the Cold War and I certainly think that the Cold War has a lot of influence on The Prisoner. And lyrically, it just fit so seamlessly with the rest of the album.

MJE: We worked really hard to find a song to cover that felt like it fit with what we are trying to do.  We could cover "The Prisoner" by Iron Maiden or something that shared our inspiration, but instead, we chose to seek out something that matched the tone and thematic threads instead.


Deli: Michael has a very fine mustache that has been getting a lot of attention since it was involved with 'stache by 'stache west at SXSW. It now has it's own FB and Twitter page. Would you consider the mustache a band member? A mascot? How has it changed the dynamic of the band (if it has)? It definitely ads some humor to the album cover. Do you think people take mustaches seriously nowadays or is it kitsch?


SC: You could say that The Mustache is the 3rd member! It certainly uses as much hair product as any other member!

Michael's Mustache: A dapper gent such as I should be recognized for my extremely important contribution, not only to this band, but to all of modern music.  Without me, there would be no music.  Without me, there would be pestilence. 


--Interview by Meghan Chiampa