Album Notes

Tom Janezic's bass-influenced rhythmic guitar style and Jude Kinnear's stunning vocals and visual presence are why FRED and ETHEL have rocked the Midwest for 15 years with a stage performance unrivaled for its contagious energy. The relentless rhythm, flawless harmony, quirky hot licks and off the cuff nature of the unpretentious duo creates a sound that is spontaneous and powerful. Tom and Jude's voices blend together perfectly and they have an inimitable way of conveying mood and feeling into the songs they perform. Their original music is energetic, emotional and insightful with lyrics that reveal a passion for life, love and nature. What distinguishes the duo from comparison is Tom's quirky guitar style that blends rockabilly twang and hard-rocking rhythm with the homey heritage of Americana and Jude's voice, best described as a force of nature; raw and honest, primal and a little dirty, yet possessing its own unique beauty.

FRED and ETHEL have been nominated twice for the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) Folk Artist of the Year. FRED and ETHEL have shared the stage with many musicians including The Bel Airs, Kevn Kinney, Paul Kemnitz, Todd Snider, The Radiators and Bo Diddley.

What people say about FRED and ETHEL:

"Folk meets psychedelic meets funky meets rock... original songs, great harmonies...Tom and Jude belt it out."
- RJ Mueller Cuda Cafe

"Honest Music...."
- Bill Camplin Cafe Carpe

"Take the harmony of a congenial twosome like Sonny and Cher, the darkness and peculiarity of the Airplane, a bit of Monkees folly, and you're close to knowing Fred and Ethel."
- Graham Fons Milwaukee Shepherd Express

"Best kept secret in Milwaukee."
- Shepherd Express Band Guide

"Man, you guys rock! Would you sign my hat?"
 - A Fan at Shank Hall   

"Fred and Ethel are not some quiet little harmonically inclined couple. They are an energetic and powerful acoustic rock duo that sounds like a band."
- R Outlaw

The following review is from the Milwaukee Shepherd Express May 2004:

Although titled Can You See the Future?, the album concentrates more on a past generation, where similar mystic phrases were pondered in bare feet and passed around a smoky huddle on a California beachfront. The title track does, however, hold more resonance as a concerned question, drawing upon aged lessons in peace and political activism and pleading, for us to "wake up and realize where we're heading."

Musical style has a definite link to the 1960s fusion of folk and psychedelia, incorporating the sounds of all the notorious pop vocal groups of the time. Take the harmony of a congenial twosome like Sonny and Cher, the sun-shiny instrumentation of the Mamas and the Papas or the Lovin' Spoonful, the darkness and peculiarity of the Airplane, a bit of Monkees folly, and you're close to knowing Fred and, Ethel. What distinguishes the group from comparison is their own infusion of rockabilly twang and hard-rocking rhythm with the homey heritage of Americana. Transcendent tracks are "Rifles" with its infectious chorus and sing-along accessibility (a constant for most of the group's songs) and the live-show-favorite "In Cement." -Graham Fons