Farewell To Juliet Farewell To Juliet 
![[ftj.jpg]](Images/ftj.jpg)
A Very Candid Moment with FTJ
"Hey, look at me over here, you guys! I'm playing the guitar. Pretty cool, huh?"
John Bretzlaff is widely known to be the most attention-starved individual on planet earth.
has garnered much attention for his
commanding, world class vocal quality. Brant was formerly News Director at Champaign, Illinois' "New Life Radio" WBGL. He is currently a morning radio
personality in Florida. Brant is married to Carolyn; the couple are raising kids Justice and Julia.
John Bretzlaff
was the band's original
bassist, holding down the low end while still working in captivating counter-melodies. John has since switched roles, playing acoustic guitar on all twelve tracks from the Grace and Dire Circumstances album.
John and his wife, Kim, have an acoustic duo project called, of all things, John & Kim. The pair counts Ani DiFranco as a chief musical influence, but have been known to whip crowds into a frenzy with their cover of Summer Lovin', from the Grease soundtrack. John & Kim's new EP, Songs from the Orange Couch, is now available from Marathon Records. Kim sang backup on Browning's Pearl, from the FTJ's Grace and Dire Circumstances album.
The couple live in Northern Illinois with one cat and one daughter, Roxy.
Click here
to see a photo of Brant and John in concert at Foellinger Auditorium in Champaign, Illinois.
Guitarist and resident producer
Jeff Elbel
has developed
a reputation among guitar aficionados for his unconventional rhythm style built around sweeping power chords, atmospheric solos, and lush sound.
Jeff is a regular contributor to The Big Takeover, The Chicago Sun-Times, and Paste magazines. He can be heard playing guitar and euphonium on Blackball's HopeCD for Metro One Records. Jeff also played bass on the entirety of Mike Knott LSU album for Platinum/Flying Tart, entitled Dogfish Jones. Click HERE to view a fairly complete table of Jeff's performance/production credits.
Jeff and his wife Melinda live in Northern Illinois with their two daughters. Jeff has "gone soft," writing about fatherhood on songs for Jeff Elbel + Ping albums such as "Radio Flyer" and "Engine of Destruction."
Hansen and Elbel have found kindred spirits among "thinking music" fans for their insightful, artful lyrics. Click here to sample the lyrics for the Grace and Dire Circumstances album.
Click
here
to see a photo of John, Jeff, and Echoes of Laughter-era guitarist Carl Oberg performing at the Cornerstone Festival.
Stacey Krejci of internationally renowned progressive rock act, Animator
played keyboards on all but one of the tracks found on FTJ's debut compact disc,
Echoes of Laughter. Krejci, also a very talented bassist, filled in
for John Bretzlaff at a couple of live shows in support of that release. Krejci recently
graduated to full-member status, playing bass on all twelve tracks from the Grace
and Dire Circumstances album, while Bretzlaff attended to the acoustic guitar
duties.
Chad Dunn of Sons & Daughters joined Farewell to Juliet during
the Grace... sessions on drums and percussion. Chad plays
on all the new tracks, and is performed live with the band. Chad is a highly respected Brazilian-styled percussionist,
and performs regularly at academic and cultural expositions. He has also been on the short list to audition for the Blue Man Group.
Click here to read about the talented folk who have worked with Farewell to Juliet on 