Euphoric

GABRIEL DATCU - GUITARIST/MUSICIAN
As a native from Transylvania, Romania, Gabriel's first encounter with guitar artists occurred when he was given two cassette tapes. One of them featured Christopher Parkening playing works by Bach and the other Ella Fitzgerald, singing jazz as she was accompanied by guitarists Joe Pass and Barney Kessel. Since then his commitment to studying these two music styles, classical and improvisation, has been uncompromising.

After entering the Music Conservatory of Bucharest in 1999, Gabriel was approached by one of his improvisation teachers, Marius Pop, to perform at several music venues throughout the city and on several national TV stations. This opportunity has provided Gabriel to meet, study, and perform with renowned Romanian jazz musicians Sorin Romanescu, Tudy Zaharescu and Pedro Negrescu. He later recorded on guitar, on the national Radio-Television studios, (“T8“) accompanied by his music mentor, Marius Pop . Gabriel was then approached by Marin Pechea’s Big Band to perform and tour in Europe.

In 2001, Gabriel was offered the chance to study and settle in the U.S. He was awarded a musical scholarship to De Paul University, where he studied with Bob Galmieri, jazz guitar instructor, and at Northern Illinois University where he was taught by Fareed Haque. Eventually, Pat Metheny Group’s bassist - Steve Rodby, helped him advance to playing elements of improvisations. The Bloom School of Jazz also had a major impact on Gabriel’s music growth. There he learned the subtleties of improvisation with David Bloom. Gabriel moved on to perform on several Chicago’s jazz stages such as Green Mill and Jazz Showcase as part of the Bloom School’s curricula.

By attending several music workshops he had opportunity to study with Pat Metheny and John Scofield, which became two of his stylistic major influences.

JULIE LEUCK - VOCALIST
Julie obtained a music grant to attend the University of Kentucky, where she majored in Vocal Performance and Arts Administration, and studied classical voice and opera under Dr. Noemi Lugo. She continued to branch out into other areas, singing in musical theater productions, jazz ensembles and jazz combos. She earned the role of Mary Magdalene in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and also performed in “Hair”. During this time, she also sang in a Grateful Dead cover band and various rock bands.

After graduating, Julie moved to Chicago for better opportunities in music. She became involved in many different bands that performed throughout the Midwest, including; The Finest Kind (pop/rock), World Class Noise (rock/soul), The Railriders Band (southern rock), Conundrum (alternative/folk/rock), and The Finns (classic rock). With World Class Noise, she received airplay on WXRT, and was featured on Fox Chicago News and WGN News. She also performed at Milwaukee Summerfest, Taste of Chicago, Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party, Navy Pier, Arlington Park, and Hard Rock Cafe Chicago. Additionally, she has also performed at Toyota Park with Pink Freud, and at Millenium Park, Park Grill with Juniper Mays. On the opposite end of the spectrum, she has been featured on recordings of several children’s songs for Rock-It Productions.