Theodore Jacob Epstein is an American drummer and founding member of the

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band

Blind Idiot God Blind Idiot God is an American instrumental rock trio formed in 1982 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, by guitarist Andy Hawkins, bassist Gabriel Katz and drummer Ted Epstein. The phrase "blind idiot god" comes from horror writer H. P. Lo ...

. He also improvised in the band Slan, which included saxophonist

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

and guitarist

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...

. He has not been credited with a musical performance since leaving Blind Idiot God in 1996.

Biography

In 1982, Ted Epstein formed

with bassist

Gabriel Katz Gabriel Paul Katz is an American bassist and founding member of the noise rock band Blind Idiot God. He performed with the band since its formation, recording three studio albums with them between 1987 and 1992. He also assisted bandmate Andy Haw ...

and guitarist

Andy Hawkins Melton Andrew Hawkins (born January 21, 1960) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. Hawkins spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the San Diego Padres, and also played for the New York Yankees and brie ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He recorded three albums with the band ''

'' in 1987, '' Undertow'' in 1988 and finally ''

Cyclotron A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Janu ...

'' in 1992. He also participated in an

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

tribute session with saxophonist

and performed live with guitarist

and Zorn in the improvisational

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

group Slan. In 1994, he appeared with other members of Blind Idiot God on the album ''

Sacrifist ''Sacrifist'' is the second album by Bill Laswell's experimental music project Praxis (band), Praxis, released in 1993 on Laswell's label Subharmonic (record label), Subharmonic. Originally, the album was intended to be a Rammellzee project, but ...

'' by

Praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion * Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...

, one of

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

's musical projects. Epstein left Blind Idiot God in 1996 and did not rejoin them for their reunion in 2001. When Ted was younger he used to babysit for Brendan Kelly, singer of Chicago punk band

The Lawrence Arms The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively. Band history Pre-history Prior to forming the Lawrence Arms, the three band members were active i ...

Musical style

Epstein's drumming style has been highly acclaimed, with Brian Olewnick of

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

saying that " isdrumming is a marvel to hear, combining an overwhelming strength with an unusual subtlety of rhythmic choices that one doesn't often hear in music as ostensibly rock-based as this." Epstein has commented that

funk music Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

played a pivotal role in his development as a musician, naming

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

, and The Meters as being particularly influential. Concerning improvisation, Epstein has said, "I find it really challenging and interesting to see what happens when I'm put in a position where I have to create on the spot. More often than not, something very unique happens that I think would be hard to get out of myself under normal circumstances. I have to achieve a certain level of adrenalin."

Discography

;Blind Idiot God *''

'' ( SST, 1987) *'' Undertow'' (

Enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...

, 1988) *''

'' (

Avant AVANT, also known as AVANT street art guerrilla collective, was the artist group active in New York City from 1980 to 1984. By 1984 AVANT had produced thousands of acrylic on paper paintings and plastered them on walls, doors, bus-stops and gallerie ...

, 1992) ;Other appearances *Slan: ''Live at the Knitting Factory, Volume 3'' (Enemy, 1990) *

: ''

'' (

Subharmonic In music, the undertone series or subharmonic series is a sequence of notes that results from inverting the intervals of the overtone series. While overtones naturally occur with the physical production of music on instruments, undertones must ...

, 1993)

References

Year of birth missing (living people) American drummers American punk rock drummers American male drummers Math rock musicians Post-hardcore musicians Noise rock musicians Blind Idiot God members Living people Musicians from St. Louis {{US-drummer-stub