Let's get this straight: The Perfect Fourth ain't perfect.

They're human. They have flaws.

They get in the wrong check-out line at the supermarket occasionally. They stop in the right-turn-only lane, blocking traffic while waiting for the light to change. They sweat for Pete's sake. Everybody does.

Perfect? Not hardly.

But fans can expect a perfectly good time Saturday night, when the Perfect Fourth entertains in Christgau Hall at Austin High School.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students in advance or $6 at the door Saturday night.

Do not try Ticketmaster. They can be purchased at Bissen TV and Appliance, from the performers' parents or the performers themselves.

The music begins 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Who is Perfect Fourth? Four graduating seniors at Austin High School. Four stellar musicians. Four young men you'd like to take a road trip with. In other words, four really weird guys.

That's how Eric Morlan describes the group.

"We have a good sound and we're just four really weird guys, who like to sing," he said.

Morlan, 18, is the son of Karen and Burt Morlan. He plays the cello in the AHS Chamber Orchestra. He also plays rock and blues music.

Ray Bissen, 18, is the son of Dan and Margo Bissen. The young man also plays the piano, guitar and trumpet.

Ben Petersen and Nate Moser, both 18, also have a varied background in music. They have performed together for a Christian rock band, Psalm 150.

Peterson's mother, Page, and father, Tom, as well as a sister, Melissa, never inhibited his musical interests. Whether it is the bass guitar or piano or performing vocals, Peterson embraces music at every turn.

Moser, the son of Patty and Chuck, also has eclectic musical tastes. For instance, he plays the drums, does jazz vocals and has performed with Psalm 150.

The group debuted 2 years ago at the annual AHS variety show. It was Moser's idea.

"I always had a dream of being in a quartet and getting three other guys who were awesome at singing," he said.

Their first gig for pay was a private birthday party for a child.

In their brief history, the group has entertained before small audiences and large, such as those who follow the Northwestern Singers' concerts.

They positively wowed the Paramount Theatre's full-house last September at a special benefit concern for the historic building's restoration. The group has also provided special music for the 2002 Miss Austin pageant.

Saturday night's concert is not a farewell concert, but it is a farewell to high school concert. The group will perform again as their schedules allow.

Again Morlan provides the definitive line. "It's our opening farewell tour," he said.

What audiences will hear is a Capella music. Remember the Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

Their repertoire also includes barbershop quartet music, gospel and doowop.

The group's name, Perfect Fourth, comes from a classmate, Nick Adams, who suggested an expression meaning the "interval between pitches." Sort of a Zen moment in vocal music.

"We've got four guys who are nearly perfect," said Bissen, ignoring humility for the moment.

In the beginning, the group's repertoire was 2 songs. "We did only those 2 songs for a long time," said Moser.

Today, the group's song book is fat.

Comedy is a part of the group' schtick on stage. "We have to have fun," Peterson said. "I always say you have to have fun with what you're doing."

Saturday night's concert will also feature solos by the group's members, plus some assistance on one song with Brian Johnson, AHS choir director.

Peterson unabashedly describes Perfect Fourth's members as "four of the best musicians in school."

Sadly, the group's Moser will not perform a special vocal skill he holds: yodeling. "I haven't done that in years," he said amidst the laughter.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at

lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com