wednesday, july 3, 2002 | hello….. the projektlist is my way to communicate with all of you about the going-ons at projekt; and it’s also been my way to get on a soapbox and talk about issues in the music business & the world which i think are worth stirring up discussion on. this week, however, there’s no projektlist, there’s just a personal message.

i’ve been in touch with many of you for years and years and we’ve shared a lot of music. today, i thought i’d share some private things. lisa had our baby boy this weekend!!! we’re back at home now and doing very well, thank you….. we had planned on a natural childbirth without drugs and medical intervention (if possible) and that’s what we got! lisa’s water broke at 7:57pm saturday nite, we were at the hospital around 9:05 and he was born with three pushes at 9:32. it couldn’t have been more natural, except if he had been born at home — which almost happened!

in interacting with some fans, i notice that you place musicians on a slightly elevated plane. while that compliment is kind, believe me, we’re normal people like each of you. we work every day (and weekends) to bring home enough money to put food on our table and keep ourselves healthy; you’re the people that make it possible! like most projekt artists, we have a 9-5 job. for lisa and i, that job is getting you the music you want to hear! your orders through our website serves as our primary source of income! (store sales end up “costing” as much or more than they earn!). the fact that i don’t have to work in a corporate job is very nice. the fact that i have to be my own boss and make sure that EVERYDAY there are sales coming in is pretty scary! we work at home, which will be very convenient for raising a kid, but a bit of a daunting reality when i know that if projekt doesn’t succeed, we’re moving to cardboard boxes under the overpass! : )

in preparing for my son’s arrival, i’ve been trying to step back a bit…. keeping aware that his life marks an important change in priorities. this doesn’t separate me from projekt, but rather helps me keep focused on the important stuff. yeah, i’ve pissed off a few djs in the last months, when i told them “no, you can’t have five free cds, you can only have one!” and also artists, when i question the logic of releasing their cd…. but i have to be realistic. i have to make sure we earn enough “profit” to pay the rent each month, as well as keep supplied with cloth diapers and soy milk (for lisa)….

you know, you (whomever is reading this) are the reason we release cds at projekt. people in the industry would like me to believe otherwise. black tape for a blue girl (my band) creates music first to satisfy my artistic need, and then to satisfy our fans! we don’t do this because we want to pay thousands of dollars to co-op the album at a record store, because our desire is to buy expensive ads in national magazines, or ’cause we really want to send 600 promos to try to get publicity, only to see them turn up on ebay for 1¢….. that’s all capitalist crap that makes being a record label owner suck!

we make music for ourselves and for you…. this is the perspective and priority i want to remind myself about. everyone wants something, but i need to focus on WHY i do this. Basically, i’m an artist. i make art. like all artists of the last 100 years, i also have to be a businessman. i have to be my own agent, i have to sell something every day to keep eating and living in the poverty i am used to. so that’s where i’m gonna get sappy and cheesy. if you wanna do something nice for my son, lisa, projekt and me… please purchase a couple of black tape for a blue girl cds from the projekt site this week. it’s not that we’re desperate — you have been very good to us these last few years — but a little extra never hurts when you have a new baby in the house….

with lots of love from the three of us…. Sam Rosenthal & Lisa Feuer & baby boy too (though he’s too sleepy to say anything)