Interviews > Under The Volcano, Jan. 1999

Most of the time, when the "gothic" label is used to describe a band's sound or style, the first images that come to mind are black hair dye and fangs. There are rare exceptions to this stereotype, however, black tape for a blue girl is not midnight movie fodder, nor an excuse to sacrifice your neighbor's cat. Fronted by visionary Sam Rosenthal, owner of ethereal darkwave label Projekt records, blacktape... is both elegant and mature in its netherworldliness. Lush orchestral arrangements showcase intertwining vocals that relate tales of passion and longing. Recently Sam took time out of his hectic schedule to answer questions regarding the band's latest release, As one aflame laid bare by desire. by Groovy n' rich

Under The Volcano: With the current trend of all different types of genres -- from Marilyn Manson to Madonna -- incorporating elements many label as "gothic," do you see this trend as the smartening of pop music, or the dumbing down of "Goth." Sam Rosenthal:I never really thought about it in those extremes, I guess, because they aren't **REALLY** incorporating the musical elements from Goth, they are just sorta stealing the look. They aren't making Gothic Music for the masses, they are basically making the same music they did previously, but giving it a new look. I wonder if they think that Goth is 'hip' and it is something they can use to sell their music to goth fans, or if they think their already established fans -- especially in Madonna's case -- will think she created the look: the dyed black hair and the lacey goth dress; and then Madonna gets bonus points for being an originator. If it brings new fans to the real Gothic bands, then great! I don't know if that's what's happening, or if they are just co-opting a look for their own ends. Under The Volcano: There has been a lot of attention on the darker music arena as of late; have events like the resurrection of Bauhaus translated to attention for Black Tape, or Projekt? What signs do you see.......or maybe not see? Sam:There definitely is an increased awareness in Ethereal and Gothic music this year. Was Bauhaus the cause of that, or were they just poised to take advantage of the situation? I think it's the later. They were ready to reform and the winds were blowing in this direction. That little distinction aside, there is definitely more awareness of dark music these days and that does translate to more attention for black tape for a blue girl. "As one aflame laid bare by desire" will be out in January and I have never had so much interest in setting up interviews and the album itself. It's great! Everybody in the underground has been working for years and years on their art, so it's great that it is coming a bit above ground. Under The Volcano: Black Tape For A Blue Girl -- and the releases on your label in general -- certainly evoke romantic, albeit dark, imagery. Do you consider yourself romantic? Do you see yourself as "dark"? Sam: (laughter) I am the dark one! Personally, I don't think of myself as dark. I enjoy life too much! I will accept the 'romantic' tag. A lot of romance is hope, failure, and trying again. Those subjects are covered in my work; and it is often looked at with a directness that doesn't paint a rosy picture. I always feel that there is hope in my albums, though some people just see the sadness and despair. I find it really hard to write a love song, without it coming out sappy. Their is a love song on the new album, it is very simple and straightforward, which is perhaps the only way to do it? Under The Volcano: A reoccurring theme in much of Black Tape's repertoire is desire never to be consummated. Is unrequited love or desire more perfect to you than a mutual attraction? Why? Sam: Definitely not for me! I've gone through that enough times in the past, to know that falling in love and having your desire and affection returned is MUCH superior to desire unfullfilled. It is true that a lot of my lyrics have gone down that path, as has many of our experiences. As far as it being 'more perfect' -- I don't think I am glamorizing it and saying it is a preference. I think the characters are lamenting that as a problem rather than as an achievement. Under The Volcano: What do you desire that you cannot obtain? Sam: It would probably be the normal things that most people desire, regarding setting themselves onto a stable course. In relationships, I have found something very wonderful and lasting with Lisa . . . so that's something that I desired and now have been fulfilled in. Under The Volcano: And yet you say in one of your new songs "And maybe it's better to desire than to achieve"? Sam: Yes, well, I can write from different perspectives. That is one of the characters on the album talking. I see it as a play and you can put words into your characters mouth that don't reflect on you personally; but still are valid points to be making. Under The Volcano: In Mick Mercer's "Hex Files," Mick states the band grew out of "the harsh slap of loneliness." Did Mick come up with that quote himself, or lift it from a press sheet? Sam: I think that is a paraphrase of something that was written on a press sheet. Under The Volcano: How much is loneliness truly a motivation for you to express yourself artistically? Sam: Loneliness was once a motivating factor, at least in part on the first four albums. They dealt more with the desire unfulfilled that you mentioned. The actual quote dealt with when I moved out to California in '86. I went to college and left all my comfortable environments behind in Florida. And in that isolation, I had to deal with my SELF. Which is easy to ignore, when you are in the company of friends. So I was alone, and had time to think about what was gnawing away at me. That helped open me up to writing personal lyrics . . . before that, my music had been instrumental. This loneliness was when the concept of creating under a band name began. Under The Volcano: So, has that changed? Sam: The characters on "As one aflame..." are often alone; but it seems like a different sort of loneliness, than in the beginning. Because then I was usually thinking about one specific person, who I desired but couldn't have. Now, the characters are alone after seemingly having gone through situations and are trying to come to terms with themselves, unfullfilled expectation of themself rather than unsatisfied desire. Well, that's one aspect of the album. There are also pieces, such as the title track, which deal with desire for someone that is partially real and partially imaginary. Not really wanting 'that person over there' -- but rather wanting what is personified by the ideal the character embellishes into that person. Does that make sense? Under The Volcano: Is your art a revelation of your inner world, or a reaching out to like-minded souls? Sam: I do it to express my artist vision, so it is a revelation of my ideas. I don't know if it is purely inner soul, as I think a lot of my work is over-thinking certain experiences, so in that sense it is more cereberal; but certainly one aspect of my inner soul. I create to express and then like-minded people receive my communication and can relate to it. But that is, in effect, after-the-fact. > Under The Volcano: What writers or poets have had a profound effect on your artistic outlook or lyrics? Sam: The new album has been influenced by Marcel Duchamp, who is a visual artist who did most of his work in the 1920s and 30s. Many of the ideas within "As one aflame..." are infused with Duchampian concepts. Where do I begin? Most of his later work deals with desire; the idea that there could be a way to visually portray the mechanism of desire. Within his work are many ideas about this erotic desire, which I reconstructed into my songs. The idea that erotic desire could be a motivator for you; that it could sorta kick-start your motor, and lead to revelations. Under The Volcano: So what is the corralation between that and "Given" on the new album? In that song Julianna sings something about 'Love as a machine'... Sam: The line is "I used to think of Love as a machine; myself as a motor, erotic energy," That song paraphrases and directly appropriates lines from Duchamp, which he wrote as a sort of guide or companion to one of his landmark pieces, "The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even." The piece deals with the Bride as a mechanism that is set into motion and then creates the desiring of her undefined Bachelors. A sort of diagram for the workings of desire. Well, in the song, the character is saying that she would like to FEEL love, to be ravished by love, to leave behind this conceptual understanding of love and be immersed in it. The idea is one that I have toyed with in the past, as I have often written lyrics that dwell on this idea of 'Love', but never just goes ahead and does it. So I approprated certain lines from Duchamp that could almost be surrealistic cues into that idea. Under The Volcano: Black Tape For A Blue Girl's music alludes to an other-worldliness; are you drawn to otherworldly -- or spiritual things? If so, of what nature? Sam: I don't really think so. I think that I deal with the same subjects, the same questions, that are the deeper problems of most people, and in the same way of religion. Yet I see them as more philosophical concerns. People have said my work is existential in that way. It is basically dealing with the issues of the individual. Questions of self and understanding. I don't think of it in a spiritual sense. I think I'm probably too pragmatic in my every day life. So when I reflect upon what I have created, I just don't see it as 'spritual'. Under The Volcano: Do you have any outside interests that might contrast with the image people have of the "public" Sam Rosenthal? For instance, do you enjoy NASCAR racing? Sam: Well, I think the word is out that my 'hobby' is Planet of the Apes (laughs). I collect ape related stuff. I've mentioned this on the Projekt email list and people have sent me some great finds. I am actually toying with writing a novel that picks up where the original movie left off. I have already written two chapters. Under The Volcano: What challenges lay ahead for you as Black Tape For A Blue Girl begins to tour more frequently? Sam: Getting a stable line-up, I suppose. It has been interesting for the fans, that everytime we go out the line-up is different. Much like the recorded band, it is always changing; but it would be nice to stay the same, so we could grow in that regards. Under The Volcano: You're also part of a project named Thanatos. What artistic distinctions do you make between the two bands? Sam: I got kicked out of Thanatos (laughs). Thanatos is Pat's band and I was his trusty sidekick on the first two albums. He wrote the basis for the songs - sometimes using my lyrics - mostly using his own. I was the engineer and the other half of the band. For the third album, he started working with William Tucker and I just wasn't needed anymore. I was the third wheel, so I got amputated. Which is fine, as it's his band anyway. It was something that was fun to do, but it wasn't 'my band'. Under The Volcano: What label, if any, would you consider Projekt to be most closely modeled after? Sam: None. Projekt is this monster I created. Every now and then I notice it has sprouted a new head and I have to get out my axe and lob it off. > Under The Volcano: How'd you get your distribution deal with ADA? As a staunchly independent, was there any trepidation being involved with a larger commercial entity? Sam: No, none at all. I had gone the underground route for 14 years and you know what? It doesn't work! We put out music because we want our fans to hear it and also to make new fans -- but capitalism HAS to be part of the artistic equation in this end of the century; you can't expect a patron to take care of you. It's much nicer to be PAID for your albums by a larger entity, then to wear your proud badge of independence, but never get a check for the albums they sell. Under The Volcano: Doesn't this mean you are 'selling out'? Sam: It's a silly argument, when people complain about us having distribution -- and people DO complain! It's like complaining when your friend who is a painter has a gallery showing. Most people encourage that sort of growth, when it's a friend. Yet they want to rip on us, for doing basically the same thing. We would like people to be able to FIND our cds. Where's the harm in that? Under The Volcano: Projekt has grown from a tiny bedroom cassette label with one color inserts to a full-time gig that includes touring bands, national press, and elaborate CD packaging. If there was one key to the growth of your band or label, what would it be? Sam: Perserverance. That growth you mention covers a 15 year period! I stuck with it, first because it was fun and now because I believe in the music. I won't lie and say it is all fun! It is rewarding though. To be able to see things happen that never would have happened even five years ago. I think people think that when they record their first demo, the clouds should open and some god should shine down with his love and every label will bark at their door. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. You gotta keep plodding and working on new songs. Few people at the age of 16 or 20 are ready to be signed, or even play for others. You gotta keep working at it. Under The Volcano: Anything in closing? Sam: Thanks for listening to black tape and supporting what I do! I appreciate that.