Who Were The Book Of Love?

by A.D. Amorosi

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Published: Jul 29, 2009

Between 1984 and 1993, New York City's Book of Love created sweet, craft synth-pop across four deliciously twisted albums.

The windy "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)," the stammering "I Touch Roses," their beat-driven cover of "Tubular Bells" and the thumping "Pretty Boys, Pretty Girls" put flat-lining vocalist Susan Ottaviano and Book-mates Ted Ottaviano (no relation), Lauren Roselli and Jade Lee on the pop charts.

They were thoroughly new wave. Their girlie-OMD arrangements made them a perfect counterbalance to the baritone Depeche Mode (for whom they opened). David Byrne designed their cover art when Lee didn't. Influential DJ Ivan Ivan got them signed to Sire. Book of Love tunes appeared in John Hughes' movies (Planes, Trains & Automobiles). Then they quietly fell apart.

Now they find themselves together again with a tour planned and last week's remastered rarity-packed reissues. It's time to reminisce. Like, remember when you guys were a no wave Philly noise band called Head Cheese?

"We weren't even good enough to be no wave," says Lee, a New Jersey-born illustration major who met her future bandmates at what is now called the University of the Arts.

Fellow student Susan Ottaviano — like Ted Ottaviano and Celeste Reis — grew up in Connecticut but got immediately involved in Philly's punk scene upon hitting the town with her homeboys old and new. (Ted ghostwrote lots of Cheese songs, Reis became Cheese's keyboardist.)

"We went to every Hot Club show in 1980 to see Bloodless Pharaohs, Bush Tetras, Iggy Pop and the like," says Susan Ottaviano. Small as the art/noise/punk scene was then they easily made connections. "It really was not that intimidating," notes Lee.

One of the funniest things that this gang of four did as students was to start a poster campaign advertising themselves as a real band, despite their rather raw talent. "People became interested in this mystery act," says Susan.

Those people included bands like Stick Men and Pretty Poison, fans like WXPN DJs Lee Paris and Steve "Roid Kafka" Pross, club owners such as David Carroll and kids like me.

"They were great," says Lee of those influential taste-makers. "They didn't seem to mind that we couldn't play. They liked our ideas, probably saw us more as performance artists at first, and gave us lots of exposure."

Carroll, who remembers Head Cheese setting up luggage as part of their drum kit, booked them in July 1980. "Armed with little else but a toy piano, bass guitar and a tambourine we performed four songs," laughs Susan. "Next gig, a week later, with Sic Kidz and The Warm Jets was even more memorable." Along with screeching their blotchy single-to-be "Jungle Jam," Head Cheese did "Henna" about a girl who couldn't wait to get to the clubs on the weekend and kept coloring her hair. The song finishes with Susan Ottaviano getting an actual henna treatment onstage.

"There's no doubt some people thought we were a joke and hated us for getting attention," says Lee.

"Boy, was my hair orange," says Susan.

The onstage hair dying wouldn't last. Head Cheese moved to Manhattan in 1982, rented a rehearsal studio in the famed music building on 38th and Eight (where Madonna lived briefly). They continued to perform and rehearse for a while, but the lack of a real musical voice was apparent and they broke up in early 1983.

Soon, the Ottavianos began playing together, brought Lee back on drums and recruited Ted's pal Lauren Roselli on keyboards.

She gave the Book of Love demo tape to Ivan Ivan who got them signed in early 1984.

"We started out with simplicity because of our lack of musicianship, but realized it really was an aesthetic," says Lee of Head Cheese and Book of Love. "That's the connection."

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

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