MNE
Status: Unsigned
Hometown: Williamsburg, VA
Members:
Morgan Epstein Vocals and Piano
Sounds Like: 10,000 Maniacs, Fiona Apple, Jazzy Joni Mitchell
At only 16 it would be easy to dismiss MNE as just another would be teen popster. But listening to
her music and talking with her about her battle with deep vein thrombosis we got a deeper look
into the true artist and rising star within Morgan Epstein.
IQ: You had just started working in the studio when you were diagnosed with deep vein
thrombosis which led to a few months out of school. How did your music help you through your
illness?
MNE: Music was my way of releasing all of my pain and sadness that my illness caused. It was my
way of freeing my self from things that I could not change. My illness no longer had chains on me
and I saw the light at the end of the long tunnel. My music comes straight from my heart and my
emotions and being able to complete that song was my way of closing one book and starting my
new one.
IQ: What's the story behind your first single Make No Mistake??
MNE: The story came from a passing love in my life. He was someone who influenced my music
greatly and writing that song was my way of expressing myself and letting him know that I
realized he didn’t feel how I did. It enabled me to come to grips with reality and accept that life
doesn’t promise you everything.
IQ: The lyrics in that song have a timeless quality. Who are your major musical and lyrical
influences?
MNE: Pat Benetar, Dresden Dolls, Natalie Merchant, Heart, Alicia Keys and Ray Charles.
Lyrically I'd say Josh Groban, Ben Folds, Panic Channel. I have a very diverse ear for music, I
love listening to everything and appreciating it for what it is.
IQ: I've heard quite a buzz about your other songs too. Can you tell us a little more about them?
MNE: Just Swim is about a couple that I know. The girl was always there for her guy and the guy
kept on diving head first into the ground. And the girl was there every time to pick him back up
and fix him. Finally the girl doesn’t know if she can take it anymore, and realizes she can’t save
him.
IQ: It's quite good. Almost a Fiona Apple vibe to it.
MNE: Another song we recently finished, Dear Memory, is about having everything and having it
all taken away from you. Allowing a person to have that much control over you and once there
gone stripping you of everything you have, leaving the person empty and bitter. Begging the
person that you have loved for so long to just let you move on.
IQ: What's the greatest achievement so far with your music?
MNE: Finishing my song for Children's Hospital in hopes of raising money and awareness for
Factor Five Leiden, a gene deficiency.
IQ: And the worst?
MNE: I performed at the Kimbal Theatre, and the person before me left the piano in organ setting.
I was told the piano would be ready for me, I came on stage and began and it didn’t come out
exactly as I planned. Luckily only other piano players knew.
IQ: The few songs we've gotten to hear explore vastly different types of music from classical to pop
to edgy alternative. When did you begin playing piano?
MNE: I began playing piano at the age of 9
IQ: And the singing came later?
MNE: I began singing only recently. In the beginning I always played piano and would write all of
the parts on the piano, and then my producer (Mike Federali) encouraged me to sing my own
songs and take the parts I was writing on the piano and just sing them instead.
IQ: How do you go about writing a song?
MNE: Its quite quick, I have a thought in my head and I hear the whole song, then I sits at the
piano and it just all pours out of me. Then I leave and come back later and polish it.
IQ: And where are your songs available for purchase?
MNE: Snocap via my myspace page www.myspace.com/mnemusic
IQ: Tell us one thing people might not know about you.
MNE: To be honest, I’m an open book. What you see is what you get, I don’t believe in trying to
alter your appearance for the sake of others.
IQ: Tell us one thing you want people to know about your music.
MNE: People should know that my music is real. My music was my savior; it saved me from my
anxieties and sadness. I love my music; it's my passion and my first love. Where others have failed
me my music has never left my side.
Status: Unsigned
Hometown: Williamsburg, VA
Members:
Morgan Epstein Vocals and Piano
Sounds Like: 10,000 Maniacs, Fiona Apple, Jazzy Joni Mitchell
At only 16 it would be easy to dismiss MNE as just another would be teen popster. But listening to
her music and talking with her about her battle with deep vein thrombosis we got a deeper look
into the true artist and rising star within Morgan Epstein.
IQ: You had just started working in the studio when you were diagnosed with deep vein
thrombosis which led to a few months out of school. How did your music help you through your
illness?
MNE: Music was my way of releasing all of my pain and sadness that my illness caused. It was my
way of freeing my self from things that I could not change. My illness no longer had chains on me
and I saw the light at the end of the long tunnel. My music comes straight from my heart and my
emotions and being able to complete that song was my way of closing one book and starting my
new one.
IQ: What's the story behind your first single Make No Mistake??
MNE: The story came from a passing love in my life. He was someone who influenced my music
greatly and writing that song was my way of expressing myself and letting him know that I
realized he didn’t feel how I did. It enabled me to come to grips with reality and accept that life
doesn’t promise you everything.
IQ: The lyrics in that song have a timeless quality. Who are your major musical and lyrical
influences?
MNE: Pat Benetar, Dresden Dolls, Natalie Merchant, Heart, Alicia Keys and Ray Charles.
Lyrically I'd say Josh Groban, Ben Folds, Panic Channel. I have a very diverse ear for music, I
love listening to everything and appreciating it for what it is.
IQ: I've heard quite a buzz about your other songs too. Can you tell us a little more about them?
MNE: Just Swim is about a couple that I know. The girl was always there for her guy and the guy
kept on diving head first into the ground. And the girl was there every time to pick him back up
and fix him. Finally the girl doesn’t know if she can take it anymore, and realizes she can’t save
him.
IQ: It's quite good. Almost a Fiona Apple vibe to it.
MNE: Another song we recently finished, Dear Memory, is about having everything and having it
all taken away from you. Allowing a person to have that much control over you and once there
gone stripping you of everything you have, leaving the person empty and bitter. Begging the
person that you have loved for so long to just let you move on.
IQ: What's the greatest achievement so far with your music?
MNE: Finishing my song for Children's Hospital in hopes of raising money and awareness for
Factor Five Leiden, a gene deficiency.
IQ: And the worst?
MNE: I performed at the Kimbal Theatre, and the person before me left the piano in organ setting.
I was told the piano would be ready for me, I came on stage and began and it didn’t come out
exactly as I planned. Luckily only other piano players knew.
IQ: The few songs we've gotten to hear explore vastly different types of music from classical to pop
to edgy alternative. When did you begin playing piano?
MNE: I began playing piano at the age of 9
IQ: And the singing came later?
MNE: I began singing only recently. In the beginning I always played piano and would write all of
the parts on the piano, and then my producer (Mike Federali) encouraged me to sing my own
songs and take the parts I was writing on the piano and just sing them instead.
IQ: How do you go about writing a song?
MNE: Its quite quick, I have a thought in my head and I hear the whole song, then I sits at the
piano and it just all pours out of me. Then I leave and come back later and polish it.
IQ: And where are your songs available for purchase?
MNE: Snocap via my myspace page www.myspace.com/mnemusic
IQ: Tell us one thing people might not know about you.
MNE: To be honest, I’m an open book. What you see is what you get, I don’t believe in trying to
alter your appearance for the sake of others.
IQ: Tell us one thing you want people to know about your music.
MNE: People should know that my music is real. My music was my savior; it saved me from my
anxieties and sadness. I love my music; it's my passion and my first love. Where others have failed
me my music has never left my side.