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black tape for a blue girl : frequently asked questions
This page answer everything you need to know regarding the history of black tape for a blue girl in preperation for an interview with sam rosenthal.
Q: Tell me about black tape for a blue girl.
Sam Rosenthal: black tape for a blue girl is the place where I express my artistic side. Other people are involved, to help me create what I am looking for, but it comes down to the band beinga benevolent dictatorship, in that it's *my* artwork . . . my vision . . . and the others are involved to help me fulfill my ideas. The band has had many different members over the years; the current line-up is Elysabeth Grant on vocals & viola, Lisa Feuer on flute & backing vocals, Vicki Richards on violin, Julia Kent on cello and myself on electronics and faux piano. "The Scavenger Bride" also has a number of guests musicians including Bret Helm of Audra and Athan Maroulis of Spahn Ranch on vocals and Michael Laird of Unto Ashes on dulcimer, mandolin & percussion.
Q: What is the deeper significance of the band name? I have heard a lot of theories about it, but still don't know the real definition, can you help me?
Sam: I prefer to leave that question unanswered. I think that each person comes up with their own interpretation of 'black tape for a blue girl,' which is just as valid as the one I had when I thought up the name back in 1985. It's not that the name has an overwhelming significance to me that I'm hiding from you. Rather, I like leaving the meaning open to the individual. There are many interpretations for 'black tape for a blue girl' and I find them all interesting and valid. Why should I stifle your creativity by giving the meaning that came into my head?
Q: Could you briefly describe the early formation of black tape? How did you conceive of the project?
Sam: I had been working on solo electronic music for about three years before I started black tape in early 1986. Oscar Herrera (my original vocalist) appears on two tracks on the final cassette of my solo work, so I was already beginning to enter black tape territory. When I was 21, in 1986, I moved out to California to go to school. I was isolated from all the securities of home and that led me to write music that was more personal, emotional and melancholy. I felt it was right to give this music a band name.
Q: What inspired you to make music in those early days? Were you into new wave and a lot of early electronic music?
Sam: When I began recording my own music, my three favorite artists were Soft Cell, Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno. I cannot really say if those influences are apparent, however. When I moved from Florida to California I was working on the rope album, and a lot of my ambient interests appear on that LP (it was on vinyl!). Almost the entire 2nd side was ambient instrumentals. That was the beginning...
Q: What drew you into the goth scene?
Sam: I was creating my music, without any particular awareness of there being a 'goth scene.' Even though I was living in Orange County, CA, in '86/'87 I was unaware that bands like Christian Death or Kommunity FK or Human Drama were playing up in Los Angeles. So, I didn't discover the scene, until the rope and then mesmerized by the sirens started getting reviews in what you would call "goth" fanzines. I mean, I had been listening to The Cure and Dead Can Dance and The Cocteau Twins for a few years, but I wasn't aware that there was a cohesive scene into this sorta music.
Lisa: I first became interested in goth at the end of high school and the beginning of college, when - through friends and MTV - I discovered bands like The Cure and Bauhaus. I was drawn to this melancholy music. For me it was 'misery loves company' and I found solace in feeling like others felt the same way I did.
Sam: The song "we return" on the rope is about that same thing: not feeling alone through recognition of others out there into the same things.
Lisa: It was a lot easier for me to become part of the gothic community once I moved from a small town to a large college town. At that point (1985) in my small town, nobody really knew what goth was. Q: The band was started in the 80s, any changes of music styles during these 17 years, and more changes in the future?
Sam: I think that the band has evolved over the years, yet I still think it's in the same realm. For me, the changes are this. First, the band is less "ambient" -- in so far as I am mainly writing vocal songs these days; now the instrumentals involve natural instruments; they have more definition than an "ambient" song. Having real musicians in the band (violin, cello, flute) allows me to write pieces for those instruments, which I think gives the music a more natural and involving sound. The second thing is that the albums are now more cohesive in their themes or concepts. In the early days, I recorded four albums in five years, so each one was slice of the timeline. A condensed slice and thus they were more about "what I'm going through now!" Since I don't make as much art as I used to, I work more diligently to form a more defined theme, where I work to get all the bits in.
Q: You run the Projekt label, as well as do black tape for a blue girl. How do you work at balancing the business aspect with the creative aspect? (because those two elements, in most companies, seem to be constantly at odds with each other)
Sam: Well, my own music gets the short end of the stick, sadly. I am always working on the label, trying to get caught up on the backlog of email and the albums in production.... so the studio is on the back burner. I force myself out of the Projekt chair as often as I can, to take time to work on my art. I don't see a conflict from having to wear the businessman hat, however. Artists in this century are required to be their sales team as well . . . otherwise their work just doesn't get out there. At least I know that my label is 100% behind my work and doesn't want me to write a pop hit! : )
Q: What's the most exciting thing that's happened with either black tape for a blue girl over the last few years?
Sam: Mmmm? That's hard to answer, because things don't really EXCITE me in the music biz. You know, we opened for the Creatures in 1999 at Irving Plaza here in New York . . . and you would think "wow, Sam, that must've been exciting" . . . but it was a lot of running around and stressing out, and playing and then loading out the door. So it wasn't like I had time to be excited, really. For me, I think the most fun time is when I'm recording with my vocalists and musicians.... because then REAL CREATIVITY is happening. The songs get stuck in my head (in a good way) and I can really improvise things on the fly. In the beginning of the recording process it's a lot more tedious . . . and towards the end, the mixing part is pretty tedious at times. I'm happy with what comes out of the process, but there is a lot of time and waiting involved....
Q: What would you desire today from and for the band? Do you think that you have already reached the highest level, or do you think that will be come?
Sam: I don't think I really look at it in that manner, in so far as I never think "I'll never be able to do something as good as that last album again." I think that each album is its own entity, in a linear progression.... but no one album is the pinnacle, if you know what I mean? As far as what I desire today from the band? Well.... I think it's really the same thing as I desired at the beginning.... I want the band to be the manner in which I speak my artistic ideas....
Q: black tape songs describe your personal experiences in life ... so can we say that your songs are like a diary which you have left open in your bed for everybody to read and share your experiences ?
Sam: To a degree yes and to a degree no. The songs are based or influenced by personal experiences; but they are also often about characters that I have created, which combines different ideas I want to explore. So not all of the songs are about me or my personal experieces. Often, they are ideas I want to develop that spring from a brief experience or idea.
Q:You said somewhere before that the music you write is very personal and revealing, do you ever feel vulnerable knowing you have released it to the world?
Sam: No. I think it exists as its own entity, seperate from me. I don't feel paranoid that people know me too well - or something like that - as a result of reading what I write. There is so much more to a person than what is in their art. On the other hand, I have no "problem" with it being personal and exposed . . . because I believe that art SHOULD be an expose of the inner thoughts of its creator. Otherwise, it's just commercial work.
Q: Much of your music sounds classically influenced. Are most of the musicians you play with classically trained? What sort of classical music do you think has inflenced your style?
Sam: No classical music has influenced me personally, because I am not a trained musician. I can't pick out a classical artist to save my life (laughs). Vicki, however has had years and years of classical training, both in Western and in Indian Classical music as well as in Raga. Elysabeth, Lisa and Julia all have classical training; I am definitely *not* trained in any particular way.
Q: Are there spiritual principles that underlie the creation of your music? Do you follow a particular philosophy? Have a particular spiritual background that is significant to you?
Sam: People pick up on a spiritualness to my music. I don't intend it, in any sort of organized religious context. However, I do admit that I am dealing with issues that are also the same issues of religion: hope, faith, trust, betrayal. I think the work of the Extistentialist writers are the most similar to my ideas . . . but I haven't read any of them in about a decade. I think my work is a lot more sensual.
Q: Your work as a photographer, as well as Lisa Feuer work as a model in this album, is really great. Tell us a little bit about this role in your lifes, as well as your influences in the field of photography. Is it in general easy to share Lisa's body with the audience or do you set clear limits to separate the artwork from your affection to a beloved person?
Sam: I don't really think I have any "influences" as a photographer, though I certainly like Man Ray's work. I love Lisa, and love shooting photos of her . . . and love being able to share those photos through my album cover. I don't have any shyness or fear, in regards to what is 'exposed' of Lisa in the booklet. Lisa, as well, is comfortable with it. She says she is an exhibitionist anyway and that performing live (with the band or in her modern dance pieces) is all part of that side of her. Nude women have been the subject of art for eternity.
Q: Optional question: (since a lot of people don't like answering it) What is "Goth" to you?
Sam: Is this like the extra credit question, to make up for one I might have gotten wrong, above? : )
What is Goth? Whatever you wanna call Goth. It can be anything from Marilyn Manson to Dead Can Dance to black tape for a blue girl. I really don't think there is a simple answer to this guestion. Goth is what the fans of Goth like to listen to.... I leave it pretty open. Everyone can be involved.
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