Perfect Jewish Couple

By Jereme Simmons Communty Press Staff Writer ANDERSON TWP.- From Tel Aviv to Munich, people are groovin' to a hot underground sound. Is it from Prague? Could it be from London or Manchester's famed club scenes? Try Forestway Lane in Anderson Township! The 'minimalist synth', technopop duo of Shari Lauter and Kelly Hale, dubbed The Perfect Jewish Couple, was originally a creation of the '80s and Cincinnati's once bustling art and fashion scene. After years of pursuing other creative and professional outlets, demand from fans worldwide has brought the two artists back together. Shari resides in Anderson Township, where she has a comfortable studio set apart from the home she shares with her husband. Hale, a native of West Chester, now lives in Berea and works in Lexington, Kentucky. However, amid a surge in interest in their music, he has been making the trek to Lauter's Anderson studio every weekend to prepare for an upcoming release of material, scheduled for Sunday, April 29 at the Southgate House in Newport. The CD entitled "Time Capsule" will feature seven songs originally recorded in 1987. Two of the songs, The Fall and Step Back, were originally released on a 7-inch EP called "Menage a Trois" in 1985. The duo has been 'cooking' the tapes to prepare for their return to the spotlight. "I literally had to bake the original 8mm tapes for eight hours at 115 degrees to bring out the peaks and the highs," said Lauter. "The tapes flatten out over time and heating them up makes them swell back to their original peaks." Since parting ways amicably in the '80s, copies of their single The Fall have been circulating amongst fans of synthesizer driven pop and dance music in Europe and even Israel. Despite some improper usage of their material, which they were not asked permission for or compensated for, they are determined to make the most of the moment and take their art further. Lauter first became aware of the attention their music was getting when a friend forwarded her an email from a fan seeking a copy of their single in Germany. Around 2000, more inquiries started coming in. Upon further investigation Lauter and Hale found out that their singles were selling on Ebay for up to $70 a pop! "I have gotten reports from people saying that they picked up our tapes in Tokyo, France, Spain, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv," said Lauter. "We just couldn't figure out how they were getting there. It turns out people were just passing the tapes around, from one fan to another and they just got around. I found one of our songs on a compilation out of Tel Aviv." Despite the improper use of their material, Lauter and Hale appreciate the attention and hope to capitalize on it by promoting their older material as well as highlighting newer efforts. The original recordings and performances featured eclectic mixes of pre-recorded and live instrumentation. Some performances featured guest artists. Lauter plays the keyboards, violin, percussion and tackles much of the production. Hale is the primary lyricist and vocalist but has taken on more production and composing duties with the newer material. "Time Capsule" will be selling for $10 at the show or for $12 on their website www.perfectjewishcouple.com. Interested persons should also check out them out at www.myspace.com/perfectjewishcouple. jsimmons@communitypress.com 248-7139 - Community Press

By Nicole Hamilton

NEWPORT The chance to pursue other interests broke the Perfect Jewish Couple apart. And now the Internet has brought them back together.

Twenty years ago, the 1980s synthetic pop duo of Kelly Hale and Shari Lauter were known around town for pushing the limits in the Cincinnati local music scene.

Those days, fashion and music readily converged for a more conjoined scene, says Hale. Perfect Jewish Couple played regularly at now-defunct clubs including the Metro, Jockey Club, and the Plaza. And Lauter says the "Jewish Couple's" decidedly unorthodox approach to music the group which consists of Hale on lead vocals and Lauter on synthesizer and violin - made them regulars at art galleries as well.

But by the late 1980s, the Cincinnati music scene was changing, and the Perfect Jewish Couple decided to part ways to pursue new things. The break up, Lauter says, seemed final.

We were done with that chapter in our lives. It was time to move on, she thought.

Kelly, 47, moved to Key West, Fla. to work as a visual artist and stage actor, and Lauter left for Washington, D.C., before returning to Cincinnati where she now works as an entrepreneur and composer.

Then in 1999, friend and fellow artist Mark Stucker emailed Lauter when he received an email from a person in Germany, trying to locate the Perfect Jewish Couple musicians.

It seems one of the Perfect Jewish Couple songs, "The Fall" made its way across the Atlantic, probably through personal cassette and CD compilations. As Lauter and Hale considered Perfect Jewish Couple a closed chapter, some Europeans were just discovering the duo dancing to their music in eclectic clubs around Germany and France.

Lauter began connecting the dots in this musical journey and through Internet research and email correspondence, she found a fan in London who bought a Perfect Jewish Couple EP from a bin in a used record store. Another fan had received a copy of "The Fall" on a fifth-generation cassette tape. (PJC since learned "THE FALL" has been referred to as a "Minimal synth anthem."
She also discovered that one of the band's songs, "Voodoo Dance" was featured on a Flexipop compilation, and that copies of the recording could be found all over the world. Lauter says a listener from Amsterdam found the Flexi-pop in Tel Aviv.

I was amazed, says Lauter. What I learned was that copies of our music were passed around from person to person, and that our music spread organically without our knowledge.
In 2002 Lauter decided to track down Hale who was working as an actor in St. Augustine, Fla. and the two decided the time was right to reunite.

Their April 29 show at the historic Southgate House in Newport marks the re-release of their 80s songs and the release of their new record, "Time Capsule," that was digitally re-mastered in Shari's sutido on state- or-the-art digital equipment. "It was amazing to take the original recorded tracks form the mid-80s and transfer them to hard drive, then be able to manipulate the material in wqays that you and to have 12 hands to do back then. I'm glad I re-entered the tech arena after the technology had matured.". They have also signed with a German label, Anna Logue Records that will feature the Perfect Jewish Couple song "Nuclear Blues" on a seven-inch vinyl compilation which will feature other 80s minimal synth bands from around the world. (www.annaloguerecords.com.)The duo is also planning a European tour to happen summer of 2008 at exclusive venues in Germany and France.

In Germany and France there is a real minimal-synth movement happening, says Lauter, explaining why she thinks Perfect Jewish Couple is garnering interest overseas. With 30-somethings 80s music is really making a comeback.

Mark Schaffer director of Anna Logue in Germany says that many obscure groups like Perfect Jewish Couple were discovered in Germany through trading records and tapes.

And he says he has spent a lot of time tracking down members of bands including those in Perfect Jewish Couple to make a record with them after 25 years, he says.

The Internet, says Lauter, is proving to be an invaluable tool for local musicians to connect with one another, and to learn about who is listening and buying their music.

Recently, she discovered copies of the Perfect Jewish Couple EP recorded in the 80s are selling on eBay for around $60 a piece, and that through the Internet, Perfect Jewish Couple has a larger fan-base than she anticipated.

I certainly discovered them online, says Scott Leighton of Canada, who likens his quest to find bands from the 80s to a never ending Easter egg hunt.

And he says he was shocked to discover they were from Cincinnati-- not exactly a hotbed of avant-garde synth-based new-wave.

Despite the international connections, Hale says the April 29 show at the Southgate House will be more likely among longtime friends and new listeners.

If 14 of our closest friends show up great if we get 100 and there is a line out the door thats fine, too. Its about having a great evening and thats the only expectation we have. - www.dtpulse.com. Downtowner Newspaper, Cincinnati, OH

http://citybeat.com/2007-04-25/music2.shtml - City Beat, Cincinnati, OH