Cevin Soling

Cevin Soling is an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, musician, music producer, artist, and co-founder of The Satanic Temple.

Soling writes articles and books in addition to producing documentaries, animations, short films, and feature films that engage in social critique. He is president of Spectacle Films and Xemu Records.

Soling produced and directed the well-received documentary The War on Kids, which argues that American schools are failing to educate and that perceptions of the dangers posed by and to children have become distorted. The New York Times described the film as "a shocking chronicle of institutional dysfunction." It was honored as the best educational documentary of its year at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival, and received accolades from Variety and The Huffington Post, among others. He appeared as a guest on The Colbert Report to discuss the film.

Soling's other notable works include the following documentaries and animated shorts: A Hole in the Head, Urine: Good Health, Boris the Dog, The Bill Johnson Show, Great Moments in Rock, and Captain Stickman vs The Color Black.

Biography Cevin Soling was born in New York Hospital in New York City, and grew up in Scarsdale, New York.

He attended the University of Michigan, as well as Union College, and ended up majoring in English.

The War on Kids (2009) In spring 2009, Cevin's documentary The War on Kids won "best educational documentary" for the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. While the movie had a week-long run at New York City's Quad Cinema, Cevin was invited to appear on the Colbert Report in which Cevin explained how schools have been transformed into what are "effectively prisons". The film also screened at universities such as Harvard, and has been reviewed in The New York Times, Variety, and The Huffington Post. The documentary was also featured on The Dr. Nancy Show on MSNBC and Soling was a guest on radio shows such as The Lionel Show on Air America, The Joe Reynolds Show on WOR, and the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC.

Ikland (2011) Ikland is a 2011 documentary about a journey into northern Uganda and visit with the notorious Ik people. It was produced by Soling, and directed by Soling and David Hilbert. The Ik were famously described as sadistic monsters by anthropologist Colin Turnbull in his 1972 ethnographic book The Mountain People. Ikland examines Turnball's description within the context of the Iks' lives and circumstances, and reveals the Ik in a more human way. The documentary was the Winner of the "Indie Spec Best Content in a Documentary" award at the 2011 Boston International Film Festival, and was positively reviewed by Discover Magazine and Lonely Planet.

Mr. Cevin and the Cargo Cult (2016) Mr. Cevin and the Cargo Cult is a 2016 documentary in which Soling sets out to fulfil the tribal prophecy of the cargo cult of John Frum, on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. It was produced by Soling, and directed by Soling and David Guinan.

Spectacle films Soling runs the New York City-based Spectacle Films, Inc.

Music career In 1994, Cevin worked with Robert Church to produce Church's Smile Zone album.

The Neanderthal Spongecake (1998–2001) In 1998, his band The Neanderthal Spongecake released their debut album, The Side Effects of Napalm. Soling and keyboardist Bill Brandau produced the album along with backing from Buffalo, New York-based band Scary Chicken.

The songs "This Thing" and the acoustic cover of "Metal Health" with Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin Dubrow both received extensive airplay on college and commercial radio in the United States. The song "Tastes Like Chicken" has been played on the Dr. Demento show, and the song "Buffalo" was featured in the closing credits of the A&E series Confessions of a Matchmaker.

In addition to tours, the band had a large following in their hometown of New York City, while the Village Voice listed the group as one of the top five bands performing in 1999's CMJ music conference.

The band broke up in 2001 with the departure of then bassist Mark Tomase and drummer Martin Trum. Additional songs credited to The Neanderthal Spongecake after 2001 are solo recordings by Soling.

When Pigs Fly (2002) In 2002, Cevin served as executive producer of the album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear, which is a collection of popular songs recorded by artists unlikely to record them. After his earlier success convincing Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot to record a mellow version of the song "Metal Health" with him, he got the idea for the project and began recruiting musicians to participate. Some of the songs on the album include a version of "Unforgettable" by Ani DiFranco and Jackie Chan, which he co-produced with DiFranco, Blondie's "Call Me" by Alex Chilton and his band The Box Tops, and a cover of "Shock the Monkey" by Don Ho which Cevin also produced.

The Love Kills Theory (2007–present) Cevin is lead singer and songwriter of the band The Love Kills Theory. Their album Happy Suicide, Jim! was released in January 2007. It charted on CMJ's top 200 and was played in rotation on over 70 commercial radio stations.

Print media His poetry earned him the title "Pharaoh of Fluff" at the 2009 Fluff Celebration in Somerville, Massachusetts. He has also written a series of ten illustrated books under the heading of The Rumpleville Chronicles. The first three titles, The Jolly Elf, The Disciples of Trotsky, and The Bomb that Followed Me Home were released in the winter of 2008 through Monk Media.