other 10 Neurotics interviews Black #50 Germany | December 2009 This is the full September 29 interview in English. Puchase the issue (in German) here. Q: Listening to10 Neurotics I was quite surprised about the music I found on it. The last time I dealt with BLACK TAPE... it was still more ethereal and romantic music. What happened in between and what motivated you to take this new musical road? Sam: I think that art is about exploration, about trying new things, about taking new roads. I have been releasing music with Black Tape For A Blue Girl for 23 year, and I am happy with the ethereal music I created in the past, but everyone grows and changes. It is healthy to do new things, I believe. Now, in so far as what happened in the five years between Halo Star and 10 Neurotics. I will be honest. I got divorced and I spent a lot of time thinking. Looking at things that have been part of my life, or part of myself, for many years. And checking if this was still relevant to who I am today. As it was an opportunity to begin anew in my life, it also felt natural to begin anew in the music. Q: The music style spans from Rock songs to Chansons like we know them from GITANE DEMONE, NICK CAVE or the DRESDEN DOLLS. Do you see common influences from older artists of this genre or feel you more moved by contemporary music of that style? Sam: I must say that I really don't really listen to the bands you mention, or the older artists such as Marlene Dietrich. Aside from Marc Almond (ex-Soft Cell), I really don't have much experience with it. In the last year, I listened to a lot of Rome and Spiritual Front - which isn't exactly the same style as what I created on 10 Neurotics. For me, as a non-trained musician, I really do best at creating the music I imagine, rather than trying to recreate other styles.   Q: The songs on your new album sound like a kind of a diary. How much personal experiences are hidden in the lyrics? Sam: I think there is a lot of personal experiences in the lyrics. Parts of these people are me, and parts people I have met. As I said, I felt this was a good point in my life to begin anew. To shed old thoughts, and get back on track with being honest and living my life authentically. The lyrics are from personal exerience and observation. Q: The song "The Perfect Pervert" has a sort of extreme sexual concept, two people discussing pain and BDSM. Is this where we find you? Sam: I see the two characters in that song as "the lovers" on the album. Because they are discussing something they want to share with each other in their intimate private life. They consent to explore this territory of their passion; that's what a lot of these stories are about. A search for passion, desire, connection,without judgement or restrictions on my part, as the writer. There is this assumption that people in the BDSM world are sadists and masochists. And while that can be true, it is also true that they are people like you and me who are exploring a side of themselves. The two in "The Perfect Pervert" are looking for purity. Q: Is the title10 Neurotics more an ironic title or do you think the songs show "true" neurotic sides of people or maybe even yourself? Sam: I liked the title because it seemed "catchy" to me, rather than ironic or mocking. I feel there is a line that runs from erotic to neurotic, and most of us can locate our interests somewhere on the line. It depends on if you are having fun in your erotic life, or if you are hooked into neurotic patterns that are limiting your life. Also, when you think about it, most of us have neurotic patterns that influence our lives and are influenced by unconscious desires. In a sense, we are all one (or more) of the Neurotics. Q: How do you perform your new songs? Was it necessary to expand the live band for this purpose? In how far do you integrate older material in the set list and are those songs then presented in a different kind, maybe matching more the current sound? Sam: The songs we are performing are all from 10 Neurotics and Halo Star, with the exception of "Remnants of a Deeper Purity," the 'oldie' in our set. I am working with the material that fits the current direction of the band. There were certain songs that we performed for a decade that I was glad to retire from the set. Having a new album, with very 'performable' songs, is a perfect opportunity to change things out. The band is a 3-piece, Athan Maroulis on vocals, Nicki Jaine on guitar and vocals, and myself on guitar, keyboard, backing track and backing vocals. You asked if I expanded the band, but actually it's a much smaller band this tour. Partially for financial reasons and partially because it is a lot more fun with less people and less stress. Athan & Nicki are two people I enjoy being crammed into a vehicle with. They do not make me crazy, yet (laugh). Q: How was the album received until now? I can imagine it also bears the potential of winning fans from other genres than you did in the past. Sam: I have been getting amazingly positive response to this album. I didn't really know what to expect from fans. Certainly some of them are concerned and disturbed by the change of direction; but over-whelmingly, it is really positive. I do hope that fans from other genres will discover this album. It's not that the music is more "commercial," but that it is more song-oriented. I feel like on this album, I have discovered the songs that used to be hidden within my soundscapes. Q: I read you had problems finding a pressing plant for the album due to the naked person on the album cover. For us in Europe this is hard to understand, has it always been as strict as this or has it become worth since the conservative forces seem to have become stronger in the United States? Sam: Although we just ended 8 years of Bush, don't forget that we had 12 years of Bush/Reagan. So it's hard to say if today is more conservative than 1993, when This lush garden within came out. That was a previous Blacktape album that had nudity on the cover. Back then, I had no problem from my pressing plant. I guess what I am saying is that I feel like today is more polarized into conservative/liberal, but the conflict has been here for years. Q: The songs on10 Neurotics often have a strong relation to sexual topics (correct me if I am wrong in this opinion!), is the presentation of personal interests or maybe also some contribution opposing the puritanism one has to face in your homeland? Sam: There's only one song I have written that has an obvious political reference (In "Knock Three Times" off 2004's Halo Star is the line "the world grew dark, insane men rule, our stomaches kept on grumblin'"). I generally leave political things to my real life, rather than make it part of the art. The desire to approach sexual topics directly had much more to do with my personal interests. Part of that is maturing, and being comfortable talking about these things. For years, I kept it out of the music ("All my Lovers" from 2002 is a notable exception). On the first 6 albums, I was lonely and confused, and the music was an expression of that situation. On the next three albums, I was in love and happy.... so I wrote mostly fictional songs - I didn't have the agility to write the same sort of anxious personal songs, when I was doing good). After getting divorced, I took time to work through who I was, and shed some of my fears and inhibitions. So for me, it was time to write an album filled with reality. I did go out and search for new experiences; sort of like research, but with much better rewards than just clinical observation (laugh). Q: How has Projekt come through the serious crisis while lots of smaller labels had a hard struggle to deal with decreasing sales etc. and competing with all that download thing? What are you experiences with offering free downloads? Can you find a compromise between going along with the internet distribution of music and selling "real" albums and getting paid for it? Sam: Projekt has been my full-time job since 1992, and fortunately it also keeps Shea employed. As a business, we are doing ok. In 2009, the economic downturn has been a much bigger problem than the illegal downloads. Personally - I love the object. That's why I made such a lovely booklet / package for 10 Neurotics. Because I still love the physical object. I want to create something that you cannot get in any other way than owning it and holding it in your hands. Legal downloads keep growing as a percentage of Projekt's total income, so I have no complaints. It is all "record sales" in the end, and the point is to have the music heard, and be able to pay the artists for their work. Q: After being in the active music business for more than twenty years how you evaluate your career? Was it hard to keep on doing music over all these years?  Sam: The thing is that making music is suppose to be "fun," right? I make music because it is something I enjoy, and I get the chance to express myself. But then there is the issue of art as a commodity, and I need to sell it. And I am suppose to think about satisfying other people? Well, I don't think about that, when I am making art. I think about making art. I don't let the "oh, what will the fans say if I make this sort of album?" prevent me from creating what I feel inspired to create. Because I believe the fans will support me in my choices.  In so far as how I evaluate my career, I am proud of the art I have created. I think I was honest to who I was at each point in time, and it is still music that I can listen to. I feel like I have become a better musician and producer in the last few years, so 10 Neurotics achieves the goals I had. I think writing these lyrics was more of a challenge than past albums, because I wanted them to be perfect, so I worked hard to make them absolutely right. Q: Have there been moments in which you thought about giving up or taking a conventional job instead? What could have Sam Rosenthal become in a "normal" life also in regards to a profession? ;o) Sam: Yeah, if I had a regular job (like as a graphic designer or working for a major label) I would have more money, because my paycheck would be mine. But I wouldn't be me in the way I know me. Being an artist and running a record label is what I have been doing for about 85% of my adult life! Q: What will the future of BLACK TAPE... be? Have you plans for new songs or are there any projects planned in the near future you might want to mention? Sam: I just finished creating a video for the song "The Pleasure in the Pain." It is up at youtube. It was fanastic to make it, and I am excited to start on the next video. I also want to find time In December to work on some new songs. I definitely don't want to wait another five years between albums. I am glad that I have reconnected with Trisol records for 10 Neurotics and the music that comes next. It is good to have a label in Europe on the team, and enthusiastic about my art. I hope Blacktape gets to Europe for some festivals and shows in 2010. Now is the time. See you very soon. San