By DAVID BROWN
Executive Editor
FAREWELL TO JULIET
Grace and Dire Circumstances
(Marathon)
In the underground, there still exists people who believe music is more important than marketing, who bring integrity into the recording studio instead of dollar signs. Unfortunately, as any casual listener to modern radio can attest, talent has far less to do with airplay than promotion. That means one of the best bands you've likely not heard enough of is Farewell to Juliet.
With a melodic, progressive rock sound that defies traditional labels, FTJ's second CD, Grace and Dire Circumstances, is filled with honest, insightful, spiritual songs that resonate inside your head and become more meaningful with every listen. The five-man band's influences range from the clarity of the Choir to the acoustic-driven pop of Jars of Clay to the heavier sounds of King's X. The result is a dozen well-developed tracks that have the feeling of a single work of art.
Leading the way is Jeff Elbel ‹ who makes a living with a communications company by day, runs a record label at night, is a part-time music writer and full-time family man, and somehow manages to squeeze in time for his other passion. Besides playing electric guitar, Elbel is the primary songwriter, producer, engineer and all-around good guy for FTJ, detail-oriented to the point of designing the intriguing CD cover. But not many musicians feel the way he does about his colleagues.
"I'm very fortunate to work with people who can play rings around me," Elbel said in a telephone interview from his home in California. "When I'm playing in FTJ, I'm playing in my own favorite band."
Besides Elbel ‹ who has also played various instruments with Blackball, Every Day Life and Michael Knott, as well as in diverse side projects like Sunny Day Roses and Ping ‹ FTJ includes drummer Chad Dunn, vocalist Brant Hansen, acoustic guitarist John Bretzlaff and bassist Stacey Krejci. The players are multi-talented ‹ Bretzlaff was the band's original bassist, while Krejci moved over from keyboards ‹ which shows in their work. Although band members live in separate states, they have performed live at everything from clubs to Christian festivals, displaying a camaraderie missing from much of the so-called mainstream.
That can be heard immediately in "Holiday On Ice," which has been one of the top three most-requested progressive rock songs on mp3.com. The song is personal to Elbel, who left his college stomping grounds in Champaign, Ill., where the band formed and Grace was recorded, for a career on the West Coast. "Holiday" embodies what FTJ is about; up-tempo yet soothing, introspective with a sense of humor, with Hansen's commanding voice carried above multiple guitar tracks.
The first single, "Thermostat (For All the Fleas)," jumps off the CD with a blast of modern rock. The lyrics ‹ "Perhaps he was no friend of mine / but still I felt it when he died / the man was living out my dream / and blew it all away" ‹ tell the sad tale of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide at the height of the band's popularity, something Elbel struggled to understand.
"My first thought was, 'That ungrateful wretch,' " Elbel said of Cobain. "He had everything I ever wanted. ... Then I came to realize how sad it must have been to be him, to see only the bitter, and I gradually learned to be grateful for what I had."
That selfless attitude can be found in the band's name. "Farewell to Juliet" is a poem that illustrates the futility of a life without God.
"We adopted the name, and attached our own meaning to it," Elbel wrote in an e-mail. "Farewell to Juliet means being dedicated enough to leave behind temporal things, even if they're things that we love."
"Ever Be" brings that sentiment to the forefront. The song steadily builds to the haunting chorus ‹ "Now I can see the truth / no more walls from me to You" ‹ poetically referring to Christ's resurrection. While the members formed to be in a rock 'n' roll band, their faith is of paramount importance.
"This record is about grace," Elbel said. "Christ is the reason we are who we are. ... He's the foundation for our world view."
Still, as Elbel put it, FTJ has occasionally received more criticism than credit. The band's lyrics may be too Christian for some listeners, yet not enough for others (Jesus is only mentioned twice by name). But writing spiritual songs has added substance to general market groups like Collective Soul, Creed and Lenny Kravitz, and it doesn't seem to have hurt their record sales. It's a shame some people are so close-minded they can't see beyond constrictive and often superficial labels.
There are other highlights on Grace ‹ the lovely background vocals on "Browning's Pearl," the searing solo on "Seconds Count," the catchy "Healer" ("Render the healer / the whole of my will / trust in the healer's skill") and the worshipful closer, "Fear the Lord." It's difficult to understand why this CD isn't in a record store near you. Then again, FTJ already accomplished its main goal.
"Grace is a very fine record," said Elbel, simply being honest while setting modesty aside for a moment. "We set out to honor the name of Christ and mimic the creative aspect of God, creator of everything good."
For more information, write Farewell to Juliet c/o Marathon Records, P.O. Box 1222, El Segundo, Calif. 90245-6222; e-mail SunnyRoses@aol.com or go to www.netads.com/music/marathon/ftj.
