Sam Rosenthal is an American musician, composer, artist, and novelist. He is the founder and leader of the band
Black Tape for a Blue Girl
Black Tape for a Blue Girl (often stylized as black tape for a blue girl) is an American dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records.
Their music takes on elements of dark wave, ethere ...
and the
Projekt Records
Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include Sam ...
record label. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his son and cat. Rosenthal was interviewed in August 2016 for an NPR piece about the DMCA. "It's a really unreasonable expectation," he says, "that I would have the time to chase (illegal downloads) all day when I should be running a business and making music."
Projekt records
Begun by Rosenthal in 1983 as a way to release his own solo electronic music,
Projekt Records
Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include Sam ...
spent its first three years as a cassette-only label with a series of titles that are now long out-of-print. While most of the cassettes were solo electronic music from Rosenthal, a few were compilations of Florida-based electronic artists.
In 1985, Projekt released its first vinyl, Tanzmusik by Rosenthal. The second vinyl release
Black Tape For a Blue Girl
Black Tape for a Blue Girl (often stylized as black tape for a blue girl) is an American dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records.
Their music takes on elements of dark wave, ethere ...
's ''
The Rope
''The Rope'' (french: La Corde) is a French thriller miniseries created by Dominique Rocher, and Éric Forestier. The story follows a group of scientists at a remote Norwegian ground station who find a mysterious rope nearby in the woods.
Plo ...
'' came in the summer of 1986.
In 1989, Projekt released its first compact disc,
Black Tape For a Blue Girl
Black Tape for a Blue Girl (often stylized as black tape for a blue girl) is an American dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records.
Their music takes on elements of dark wave, ethere ...
's ''
Ashes in the Brittle Air
''Ashes in the Brittle Air'' is the third album by the gothic darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released in 1989 by Projekt Records
Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 19 ...
''. Although the label began as a way to release his own art, Rosenthal began to see his label taking shape as a vehicle for exposing other artists whose passionate work impressed him. His first discovery was Arizona's
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
, which signed with Projekt in 1990. Soon thereafter, Rosenthal was impressed with other young bands,
Love Spirals Downwards
Love Spirals Downwards was an American, California-based band, that incorporated ethereal wave, dream pop, drum and bass and electronica.
History
Love Spirals Downwards was begun by multi-instrumentalist Ryan Lum and then-girlfriend Suzann ...
,
Soul Whirling Somewhere
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, and
Lovesliescrushing whose debut releases soon followed.
In 1993, Rosenthal began Projekt: Darkwave, a mail-order company that carried the music of Projekt as well as labels with a similar outlook, including Santa Barbara's Tess Records, Germany's Hyperium Records, and Sweden's Cold Meat Industry.
Moving to Chicago in 1996, Rosenthal's label grew in both number of releases and number of employees. Now with full-time marketing, distribution and promotion managers, Projekt became better able to meet the challenge of making people aware of the label. In 1996 Projekt celebrated their success by staging a two-day Projekt Festival at the historic Vic Theatre in Chicago, with over 1000 people in attendance.
After many years of struggling with self-distribution, in 1997, Projekt secured exclusive distribution in The US with
Ryko Distribution
Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.
History
Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record ...
. Distribution was handled through Ryko and ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance) throughout most of the 2000s and, as of 2012, is handled by
E1 Entertainment Distribution
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
.
In late 1999, Rosenthal moved to New York City, and Projekt was located in Brooklyn. In 2013, he relocated to
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
. The label had many employees over the years who assisted Rosenthal with his vision. Most notably, Shea Hovey is the current assistant who handles the press contacts as well as the mail-order. She has been with the label since 2000 and is often the face of Projekt at festivals.
Alternative Rhythms
From April 1981 to Summer 1986, Rosenthal was the editor of a fanzine, Alternative Rhythms. Originally based in South Florida, it eventually was distributed throughout Florida and into Athens and Atlanta Georgia. Circulation peaked at 14,000. The most controversial issue featured the band Gay Cowboys in Bondage on the cover. Interviews with Robert Fripp, Frank Zappa, REM and New Order were included, as well as local artists Charlie Pickett & the Eggs, the Chant, the Spanish Dogs and a short show review for Johnny Depp's band, The Kids.
About the fanzine name, Rosenthal said: "'Alternative' wasn't used at that time (1982-1986ish) for this genre of music. I came up with the name by jamming together parts of two titles from bands I was into: 'Obscure Alternatives' by Japan and 'Dangerous Rhythm' by Ultravox! Then, years later, people started using 'Alternative' for what we used to call underground or indie.
Black Tape for a Blue Girl
Started in 1986 after a move to California,
Black Tape for a Blue Girl
Black Tape for a Blue Girl (often stylized as black tape for a blue girl) is an American dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records.
Their music takes on elements of dark wave, ethere ...
serves as a vehicle for Rosenthal's musical vision. Its signature combination of gothic, ethereal, ambient and neo-classical elements has explored existential themes of loves lost and passions yet to come. In the years that followed, his music has grown into a full-fledged band, whose members revolve around Rosenthal's subtle electronic foundation. Current line-up includes Rosenthal as songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist, ex-
Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (lead vocals and piano; additional: keyboards, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums and backing vocals; addi ...
drummer
Brian Viglione
Brian Viglione (born May 16, 1979, in Greenville, New Hampshire) is an American drummer best known for his work with The Dresden Dolls and Violent Femmes. He was also a prominent member of New York City's cabaret punk orchestra The World/Inferno F ...
and vocalist Dani Herrera.
On August 12, 2016, the band releases their 11th studio album, These fleeting moments on Metropolis Records.
Novelist
In 1996, Rosenthal released his debut novel,
The First Pain to Linger
''The First Pain to Linger'' is a book with a maxi-CD by the darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released in 1996 by Projekt Records. It is also the title of a novella by Sam Rosenthal that accompanies the album. The songs are differ ...
, which sold 10,000 self-released copies. In 2011, Rosenthal began work on his second book, ''Rye'', an erotic novel that was published in November 2012. One of Rosenthal's stories appears in ''The First Time I Heard the Smiths'',
DC's Nov 17 2012
released August 2012.
References
External links
Side Line interview
Publisher`s College Move Kills Area Rock Publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Sam
1966 births
21st-century American Jews
American electronic musicians
Guitarists from New York City
Jewish American writers
Jewish American musicians
Living people
Songwriters from New York (state)