We’re profiled in the Dig!

Photo by Kelly Davidson! (That’s me on the right in the red glasses.) Check out Kelly’s website (I’m a big fan of the Rock Parents collection!) and follow her on Tumblr!

Here’s an excerpt from the article that explains the origin of our band name:

For a while, all Michael J. Epstein knew was that his life was one deserving commemoration.

It struck him one day as he wandered the halls of the Ronald Reagan memorial building in Washington, D.C., Epstein, a staunch conservative and lifelong admirer of the Gipper (okay, not really) paused for a drink from the Ronald Reagan memorial water fountain. He threw a tissue into the Ronald Reagan memorial wastebasket. He washed his hands using the Ronald Reagan memorial soap dispenser. Suddenly, it was all so clear.

“I thought, ‘Someday I will have a project that I will call the Michael J. Epstein Memorial Something,” he says.

Last year, Epstein decided that he would be denied his memorial no longer, despite the notable handicap of not being dead yet.

I had the absolute pleasure of running the prom-fabulous photobooth at the Winter Rock Formal on 2/18 at Church. Special thanks to Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola for bringing and setting up the trellis and lighting! From romantic to silly to crazy, everyone wanted a turn or ten under the lighted, balloon-flanked trellis. These are a few of my favorite shots from the night. The full set will be up on Flickr soon; the in-progress album is here.

Sophia Cacciola of Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling and The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library sits in with Gene Dante and the Future Starlets at the Winter Rock Formal at Church (Boston, MA).

Gene Dante performs with his band Gene Dante and the Future Starlets at the Winter Rock Formal at Church (Boston, MA).

Glenn di Benedetto performs with his band Parlour Bells at the Winter Rock Formal at Church (Boston, MA).

Sophie Innerfield performs with her band Highly Personal Trash at the Winter Rock Formal at Church (Boston, MA).

Looking for an excuse to break out the old prom dress? Come to the Winter Rock Formal tonight at Church (no, not that kind of church)! Doors are at 8. $8, 21+. Sorry kids, this prom will be (legally) alcohol-soaked. I’ll be manning the photo-booth, so be sure to say hello and get your prom-fabulous photo taken!

The entertainment:

• Gene Dante & the Future Starlets 
• Parlour Bells
• Highly Personal Trash
• Cocktail Lounge Dance Party with DJ Dave Duncan of WFNX

Not convinced? Check out the Phoenix’s write-up, which predicts a “tacky nostalgia fest straight out of teen comedies and after-school specials.”

What are you doing tonight? Will I see you at the formal?

Bradley’s Almanac includes the Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library debut album, Volume One, on the “annual list of scheduled (and rumored) 2011 albums and such that I’m looking forward to - or, in the case of the just-ended January, albums I’m possibly already enjoying.”

WFNX Boston Accents 1/30/11

…

JOCIE ADAMS - “Mother’s Word,” from the album Bed of Notions. Playing with The Low Anthem 3/4 @ Old South Church. www.myspace.com/jocelynadamsmusic

MICHAEL J EPSTEIN MEMORIAL LIBRARY - “Holy Ghost,” from the forthcoming debut album. CD release 2/26 @ Middle East downstairs. www.michaeljepstein.com

BUFFALO TOM - “I’m Allowed,” from the album Big Red Letter Day. New album Skins due out 3/8. www.buffalotom.com

by Jonathan Perry, The Boston Globe

Mustachioed man-about-town Michael Epstein’s latest, mostly female nine-piece baroque-pop band, the Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, is set to release its debut LP with a Feb. 26 show at the Middle East Downstairs. Epstein, who has previously led the Motion Sick and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, says the impetus for launching the group was wanting “a fresh take on making music in Boston. I encouraged people who had never been in bands before, and with only a couple of exceptions, avoided including people that I knew in any previous capacity.’’