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Alan and Miriam, giving biblical verses a new tune.

Miriam Brosseau and Alan Jay Sufrin were making music together long before they started the “Biblegum pop” duo Stereo Sinai, born in celebration of another birth—their rabbi’s son, Gideon. Alan and Miriam teamed up to write a lullaby, taking original Hebrew verses from the book of Judges and mixing them with a synthesized pop arrangement. The single, "Gideon's Song” gave life to the band.

So whether you like the Good Book, have an affinity for Intelligentsia or make a killer soup, Miriam and Alan are Jews you should know!

1.  What did you want to be when you grew up?
Miriam: I went through a couple of the usual phases--architect, marine biologist, Olympic roller-skater. But, ultimately, it was either rabbi or rock star that won out.
Alan: I wanted to be a rabbi first, then a folksinger. Miriam and I are a lot alike.

2.  What do you love about what you do today?
Miriam: I love the whole creative process of songwriting. It’s really magical to see a song through from a few scribbles on a napkin to that first performance. And now, working with biblical texts adds a whole new dimension. It’s exciting.
Alan: Not everyone gets to combine their passions like we do. For me, there’s nothing better than mixing my love of creating pop music with my love of Judaism and environmentalism. And as it turns out, I’m really enjoying the business aspect of things, which I didn’t expect at first. It’s so important in indie pop music to communicate and collaborate as much as possible.

3.  What are you reading?
Miriam: “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” by Michael Pollan. Easily one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time. It really makes you think about the way you approach food.
Alan: Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Collected Stories.” I’m such a Jew nerd.

4.  What's your favorite place to eat in Chicago?
Miriam: Nothing beats Intelligentsia coffee—best in the city by far.
Alan:  That’s easy. Miriam makes some killer soups right at home. …I’m not a shut-in, really.

5.  If money and logistical reality played no part, what would you invent?
Miriam: I’d invent a consequence machine. Every government would be required to have one. They would have to enter a description of what they were about to do, and the machine would list the real-life consequences of that action.  
Alan: Probably some sort of telepathy thing. Finding out how other people think has always been fascinating to me.

6.  Would you rather have the ability to fly or the ability to be invisible?
Miriam: Definitely fly. That’d be a pretty cool stage effect.
Alan: I’d rather be able to fly because, well let’s face it, as a musician, invisibility is exactly the thing I’m trying to avoid.

7.  If I scrolled through your iPod, what guilty pleasure song would I find?
Miriam: “King of Wishful Thinking” by Go West. It’s the first song on the “Pretty Woman” soundtrack and it was the song I tried out with for American Idol. (Shhh…)
Alan: That’s a hard one, because I think you would probably consider almost all the songs on my iPod to be guilty pleasures. I’m an unabashed bubblegum pop fan. But, “Genie in a Bottle.”

8.  What's your favorite Jewish thing to do in Chicago—in other words, how do you Jew?
Miriam: There’s a cool local organization called Kfar that puts on these great art-y, culture-y, Jewish-y events. It’s fun to see other Jewish artists at work and it’s always a totally chill, open environment.
Alan: I’m a part of PACT (Public Action for Change Today). It’s a great social action group that works with Chicago alder-people and state representatives for various causes, such as raising environmental awareness and combating homelessness in Chicago communities. There are a number of caucuses made up of community organizers from different groups of Chicagoans, and I’m one of the Jews in the Jewish Caucus. Oh, and I love singing pop songs from the Torah, of course!  Was that too corny?