november 18, 2003.

hello. while bouncing sasha, i was looking out the window this
morning. i noticed squirrels running around wildly in the fallen
leaves in the backyard. "what are those little guys up to?" i asked
sasha. he couldn't say. the lead squirrel, with a mouthful of leaves,
ran up the tree by the street; we noticed that where two branches
forked, there was a pretty sizeable squirrel nest, 90% completed. as
leaf-carrier went into the nest, another squirrel dashed out. those
little guys were sure busy, getting their house ready for winter.
back and forth they went, carrying leaves, putting them in the right
place, crawling under the fence, chasing each other across the top of
the fence. getting it all just right. "how can they run up a tree,
with a mouth full of leaves blocking their eyes?" i asked sasha. he
couldn't say. i suspect there must be a useful metaphor in this
story, somewhere...


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT'S IN THE WORKS FOR 2002?

black tape for a blue girl looks to have a very busy schedule for
2003. trisol records in germany is discussing the release of a
double-cd retrospective; one disc will be the songs and one disc will
be the ambient side of the band. steve roach is working on a remix
album of the scavenger bride - reprocessing it into an ambient piece.
in the new year, i'm gonna start working on songs for the next album
that *might* be available in the fall. if all goes as planned, black
tape for a blue girl could be back in mexico city in 2003 for a
concert or two. we're also in preliminary discussions for a show in
germany in may. there will be a warm-up show in new york city for
each overseas show! oh, i'm worn out just thinking about it.
: )

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NASTY PEOPLE RAGGING ON AS AT AMAZON.COM

as you probably know, you can post a fan review at amazon.com.
unfortunately, mean people with too much time on their hands use this
forum to rag on artists they are jealous of. here's a recent review
of our downloadable track "Kinski:"


I Rate This A Blake, November 10, 2002
Reviewer: A customer from Sarasota, FL
This song is an example of when you don't have anything to say, you
can always title your song with some lofty artist's name in order to
affect some semblance of credibility. If you think about it, not only
is it extroardinarily ambitious, but equally pretentious. I think
that if I wanted to be recognized as an artist, especially if I was
an unknown, or not highly regarded in the art world, I would be a bit
more humble, and not go around naming my pieces after venerable
artists I really have nothing to do with, except for the fact that I
want to be as respected as they are. I can't, for the life of me,
give this piece any credit just because its title summons the spirit
of an artist who would probably cringe if he knew this song was
written with him in mind. Not only is this a lame device, but it's
downright derogatory, if not insulting to the listener, who deserves
and expects better. If you find a song somewhere by some obscure
artist that might be called "Cassavetes" and you hear nothing but
fart noises or leaves falling or even someone doing the theme from
the Andy Griffith Show, does that make it art? If it were as easy as
that, maybe we'd all be artists. And compared to this piece, maybe we
are! If this song could be rated according to artists and their scale
of artistry, I'm afraid I would not agree that it's a Kinski. I rate
it a Blake. After Robert Blake. (Don't do the crime if you can't do
the time.)

personally, I find it hilarious that some moron would spend so much
time ragging on one of my songs. as voltaire points out, somebody
must really (secretly) love you, if they take this much effort to put
you down... other members of the band aren't so zen about it,
however. they get annoyed and upset over idiots who probably didn't
even listen to the song, and just have a bone to pick because perhaps
i didn't sign their band to projekt, or their credit card bounced and
i wouldn't ship them their order for free.... so, to make the world a
better (and slightly skewed in our favor) place, I'd like to ask you
to help us out....

your mission:

post a review of the scavenger bride cd at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006418U/qid=1037651958/sr=8-1/r\
ef=sr_8_1/002-1046902-3183235?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

or the "kinski" download at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000658BZ/ref=j_disp_dwnld_2/002-\
1046902-3183235?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

and you'll be rewarded! once your review is up, email
blacktape@... with "my review at amazon.com" as your subject.
let me know which review is yours (so use your real name when you
post it) and i will send you a mini-poster that lisa and i signed as
well as some other printed things from the office. a little black
tape for a blue care package to thank you for your effort....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SCAVENGER BRIDE, MEXICO

way back in 1997, aldo altamirano [a very kind dj who hosts
ex-perimento radio on 96.1 fm / sabados 7:00 pm] brought black tape
for a blue girl to mexico city for our only concert outside of
america. It was a wonderful experience; we were really treated like
rock stars (press conference, an amazingly nice hotel on the central
square, incredible meals, two tv interviews on important network
shows and the finale: 900 people at the show!!!). i have kept in
touch with aldo over the years and when he asked if i would like the
scavenger bride to be the second release on his SAMADHI MUSIK label,
I gladly said "yes." over the years he's been a great partner and
friend to the band. so here it is, the second fruit of our work
together: the mexican edition of the scavenger bride. the first
edition is 1000 pieces in a glossy digi-pack with the full 24 page
booklet plus a mini-poster signed by lisa & me. if you live in
mexico, i encourage you to buy it in a local store (if you need
details on where to find it, contact aldo:
experimento1@...). for the rest of you, I have a few copies
for sale through the projekt site. it's very special when a music
lover takes the risk of releasing music from a band he cares about;
aldo is just such a special friend and i hope you all support his
appreciation of good music by helping to quickly sell out this first
edition!

for the rest of this week, the mexican edition will be on sale for $12.98
http://www.projekt.com/projekt/product.asp?sku=SMC00002


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAN EMAIL

Hello! My name is David and I heard about Black Tape for a Blue Girl
when I accidentally found your website (very nice by the way). I
enjoy dark, romantic tunes greatly and I would love to buy your
albums. Are they available at your average CD place? One thing I
always wanted to ask a musician... what is it like to be on stage in
front of all those people? Don't you ever get scared? It must be a
rush to be in front of all those people and for a few precious
moments you're like gods to them. Like, everyone's all about YOU. It
must feel wonderful. I would love to feel that way someday. But I
know if I performed in front of human people I would get gas and
maybe throw up. Also, will you ever play live in Columbus, Ohio? I
would live to see you perform -David Pair

hi david, thanks for your email. first, yes, our cds are available in
stores around the country. borders usually stocks them, and in
columbus you might also check the virgin megastore. of course, if you
strike out that way, you can order them directly from the projekt
website. now as far as getting gas while performing.... i never feel
particularly nervous on stage. as i'm prepared, i feel pretty
relaxed. it's fun to be in front of people, but i get wrapped up in
making sure that everything is moving along properly... so i don't
really think about it too much. there are no plans for any black tape
for a blue girl shows in columbus, or anywhere else for that matter.
like i said above, we're planning on some overseas shows and possibly
a warm-up in new york city....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
there are a lot of new pictures of sasha on his website:
http://www.projekt.com/sasha/




- Sam Rosenthal

--

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]