Hope you folks are ready for the great outdoors, BBQ’s, beach bumming, and most importantly….LIVE MUSIC, which must be supported and celebrated.
Just got off The first ever Sonic Voyages Mini-Tour. Stratospheerius joined forces with two incredible bands, Circuline and Shadow Eden to create a traveling progressive rock festival. Check out this review of our first show on 5/22 at Sully’s in Hartford, CT: http://progsheet1.hypermart.net/concertreviews5.html
It’s always busy busy busy in the DeninZoo. Many major events, concerts, residencies planned for this summer.
Always trying to soak up the sun, but so much to do, so little time…
Here’s what’s going down:
Stratospheerius New Single, ‘TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.”
Have you ever been ripped off, scammed, deceived, stepped out, put out, put down, ignored, held back, short changed, short shifted, diluted, looted? This song is a fantasy of vindication, revenge, bringing your nemesis to their knees! The lyrics are angry and empowering. No apologies. No compromise. Dig in!
Featuring Joe Deninzon-lead vocals/electric violin
Lucianna Padmore-drums
Aurelien Budynek-guitar
Jamie Bishop-bass
Recorded by Rave Tesar
Mixed by Alex Salzman
Mastered by Rave Tesar
Music and Lyrics by Joe Deninzon
Produced by Joe Deninzon
Saturday, June 20th 7:00 P.M.
Stratospheerius returns to Starks, Maine for Harry’s Hoedown @ Harry Brown’s Farm! https://www.facebook.com/events/1389471904703357/
For tickets, visit http://harryshill.net
This is a very special place we’ve been fortunate to come back to for 7 years now as regular performers. Come, campout, and celebrate!
Stratospheerius is usually:
Joe Deninzon-lead vocals/electric violin/mandolin
Aurelien Budynek-guitar
Lucianna Padmore-drums
Jamie Bishop-bass
Joining us on this tour will be
Paul Ranieri-bass
Michelangelo Quirenale-guitar
We are proud to announce that for the first time this year, Sweet Plantain will be performing at the Grand Canyon Music Festival. We are also honored to be invited to participate in the NACAP program (Native American Composers Apprentice Project). This is an outreach program involving residencies at high schools throughout Navajo and Hopi reservations. We will be teaching the students how to compose and notate their own string quartets, culminating with a concert of their music at the Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
The program was pioneered by the renowned string band Ethel (link), and won the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities.
On a personal note, I will be returning for the 15th year (!!) to the Grand Canyon to perform with world-renowned harmonica virtuoso Robert Bonfiglio, and also teach at the 8th annual Grand Canyon School of Rock, a program I co-founded which involves putting a band together from scratch with local high school kids and two performances taking place at the end of the week. Here’s the schedule:
Thursday, September 3rd. 7 PM
Robert Bonfiglio Group with Steve Benson-guitar and Joe Deninzon-violin/mandolin
Shrine of the Ages, South Rim
Friday, September 4th: School of Rock performance, 5 PM
Shrine of the Ages, South Rim
Saturday, September 5th: Sweet Plantain performance, 7 PM
Shrine of the Ages, South Rim
Sunday, September 6th, Sweet Plantain/NACAp Performance, 7 PM
Shrine of the Ages, South Rim
Tuesday, September 8th: Sweet Plantain/NACAP performance at the HEARD museum in Phoenix, AZ. www.heard.org
Joe Deninzon returns to Nighttown/Cleveland
I am beyond excited to return to my hometown of Cleveland after a long hiatus, to play a jazz gig with some incredible local musicians. Here’s the info:
I am honored that world-renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine will be performing the world premier of my solo violin piece, “The Electric Lake of Soul” At the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan on Monday, June 20th.
Rachel is my good friend, and I can honestly say, is not of this earth. She’s doing a full one-hr all request Paganini Caprice concert for the Interlochen students, and including my piece as an encore! The kids can request any Caprice they want to hear. Trust me, this ain’t Freebird.
Now the chops necessary to play Paganinni Caprices are about as intense as violin-playing gets, let alone to be able to play any of the 24 at the drop of a hat requires an insane amount of practicing and dedication to one’s craft. I am beyond excited to hear this piece played live, and humbled to be alongside the immortal Paganinni in the program.
On another note…
JOE DENINZON CONCERTO FOR 7-STRING ELECTRIC VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA WORLD PREMIER SEPTEMBER 19TH!
It’s official. I will be premiering my electric violin concerto with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, September 19th!
One year ago, Douglas Droste, the Musical Director of the Muncie Symphony, commissioned me to write and premier an Electric Violin Concertoe with his orchestra.
It’s a 4-movement piece running approx 25 minutes. The concept is a intense dream sequence, and the music is loosely based around the cycles of sleep. The first movement is called “Falling Dream,” the second is “Delta Waves,” the third is “Rapid Eye Movement,” and the fourth is “Waking Dream.”
I hope those of you within driving range of Muncie, Indiana will be able to come to the concert, and I hope those not in that area will get to hear the piece in the future.
It’s time to prog out with your frog out! you can hear me as a guest on two new excellent prog rock releases:
I had the pleasure of appearing as a guest electric violin soloist on the song “Silence Revealed,” on the debut album by the awesome new prog band, Circuline.
This past Memorial Day Weekend, we played our first Sonic Voyages Festival mini-tour with Stratospheerius , Circuline (link), and Shadow Eden (link). The tour was a huge success and we had a blast sharing the stage with these incredible musicians.
I am also featured on the new release by the Detroit-based band, Fractured Dimension, titled Galaxy Mechanics. Appropriately enough, they got me, a Russian violinist, for a song called “Bolshevikian Mythological Creature.”
This summer, I will be once again returning to teach at the incredible Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp.
This is the ONLY CAMP IN THE WORLD centered around electric strings, but is also open to vocalists, guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bassists. I am honored and humbled to be among world-renowned faculty including Daniel Bernard Romaine, Doctor David Wallace, Mazz Swift, and the trailblazing Mark Wood!
This year, the camp will also feature the rock cellists, Emil and Dariel from America’s Got Talent!
Happy Spring! Some great shows and events coming up.
Stratospheerius just tracked two new songs in the studio. One is called “Parallel Reality,” which is my composition, and the other, “Affluenza,” is our drummer Lucy’s first writing contribution to the band! Hope to have ’em ready by the summer, but our long-term plan is to be perpetually writing and recording and coming out with new music, and we will be releasing a new single every three months or so, so stay tuned…
Sweet Plantain had an incredible concert on Feb 28th at Subculture in NYC, our hometown. The place was packed and we dedicated the concert to our dear friend and founder, cellist David Gotay, who is dying of cancer. Our thanks to everyone for the outpouring of love and beautiful energy you gave us!
Here’s what’s next…
Upcoming Stratospheerius shows
Saturday, March 21st, 8 P.M.
We are honored to open for the Levin Brothers band, featuring Tony Levin , legendary bassist/stick player for King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, John Lennon!
NEW STRATOSPHEERIUS SINGLE, “GUILTY OF INNOCENCE,” AVAILABLE NOW
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The new single by Stratospheerius, “Guilty of Innocence,” is now officially available for streaming and downloads. Going for a retro new wave Police/Talking Heads sort of vibe on this one, with mad electric fiddle spray painted all over the track.
Inspired by a recent stint in jury duty. A commentary on how we are all just trying to save ourselves and refuse to take responsibility for our actions, and look the other way when injustice is being committed.
The cover features the debut artwork of my 6-year old son, Max Deninzon.
I am honored to appear on the new CD by the progressive band Tiles. This CD also features Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, legendary jazz guitarist Mike Stern, and drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater).
This class explores the concept of “Three- dimentional playing” in the context of a rock arrangement and how all three dimensions inform the musical choices one makes. Using recordings of well-known rock and pop songs, we simulate a scenario where you are asked to join that band and given a blank canvas on which to add your part. This class follows the thought process behind being more than just a player, but a “sonic architect.
REGISTER NOW FOR THE 6TH ANNUAL MARK WOOD ROCK ORCHESTRA CAMP!
This summer, I will be once again returning to teach at the incredible Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp.
This is the ONLY CAMP IN THE WORLD centered around electric strings, but is also open to vocalists, guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bassists. I am honored and humbled to be among world-renowned faculty including Tracy Silverman, Daniel Bernard Romaine, Doctor David Wallace, and the trailblazing Mark Wood!
This year, the camp will also feature the rock cellists, Emil and Dariel from America’s Got Talent!
2014 was a roller coaster ride for me, there were some great moments and some very sad moments. There were some incredible highs and lows. Frankly, good riddance. Bring on 2015!
The world has gone insane, with cops in the US killing innocent minorities, the advancing terror of ISIS, Ebola, Russia consolidating power, continuing conflicts in Israel and rising worldwide anti-semitism. The deaths of some incredible artists like Robin Williams, Philip Seymore Hoffman, and Joe Cocker, to name a few.
I lost 5 relatives this year, including my uncle and grandmother, who I was extremely close to.
On the upside, I gained a beautiful nephew and niece. Life truly is a revolving door.
On the musical side of things, my band Sweet Plantain suffered a professional near-catastrophe of epic proportions, but clawed out way out and ended up having a very successful tour of Sweden which we will remember for the rest of our lives.
Stratospheerius recorded four new songs which we are releasing as singles, and continuing to write and tour. We will be going into the studio next month to record more stuff!
Finally, I’m happy to announce that I will be premiering my Electric Violin Concerto in September with the Muncie Symphony Orchestrain Indiana, conducted by the great Douglas Droste. Stay tuned for updates. This is a lifelong dream of mine and I am psyched to have the opportunity to realize it!
Wishing everyone peace and good health in the New Year!
JOE DENINZON EDUCATIONAL RESIDENCY/PERFORMANCE WITH SYCAMORE HS ROCK ORCHESTRA. CINCINNATTI, OH
Joe Deninzon will be doing a two-day teaching residency with Sycamore High School Rock Rock Orchestra, directed by David Smarelli. This will culminate in a performance on Friday, February 13th.
The new Stratospheerius single, “Behind the Curtain,” is available for streaming and downloading. You can stream it at Reverbnation and download it for a buck on CDBABY and BANDCAMP, and of course, iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere that mp3’s are in orbit. The track was written by me, and features myself on electric “Viper” violin and vocals, Lucianna Padmore on drums, @Aurelien Budynek on guitar, and @JamieBishop on bass, as well as our secret 5th member benny Koonyevsky on percussion. Engineered and mastered by the incomparable Rave Tesar, mixed by the incredulous Alex Salzman. produced by Stratospheerius.
This is the ONLY CAMP IN THE WORLD centered around electric strings, but is also open to vocalists, guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bassists. I am honored and humbled to be among world-renowned faculty including Rachel Barton Pine, Tracy Silverman, Daniel Bernard Romaine, Doctor David Wallace, and the trailblazing Mark Wood!
This year, the camp will also feature the rock cellists, Emil and Dariel from America’s Got Talent!
Welcome to DECEMBER! As of this writing, I have officially just turned 40. Holy shit!!! How did this happen?! I guess it hasn’t fully hit me the enormity of my entry point into old farthood. That being said, if my 40’s are even half as fun as my 30’s were, I’ll be happy and grateful. As they say, you’re as old as you feel… so I must be 17!
When I first moved to New York, one of my first gigs was teaching string improvisation at the New School Continuing Studies Department. This was back around the year 2000. Violinist, Mazz Swift (@MazzMuse) was in my first class. We hung out and became fast friends. Since then, Mazz and I have played hundreds of gigs together, in Metro Strings and other groups, and have collaborated on a few projects. I have seen her become a world-class player, singer/songwriter, and ass-kicker! She also co-wrote the song “Missing Link” on the last Stratospheerius CD. Her new project, “MazzMuse”, was produced by Vernon Reid, legendary guitarist from Living Colour. This is a culmination of 3 years of work, funded by a successful $17,000 Kickstarter campaign. I am honored to have Mazz as a friend and colleague and Stratospheerius is honored to open for her at her CD Release Party on December 19th. Here’s the info. Join us!
As my gift to you for the holidays, ALL Joe Deninzon/Stratospheerius music will be on sale for a mere $5 on CDBABY. Joe Deninzon/Joe Deninzon Trio, and Stratospheerius CD’s make great stocking stuffers…and if you download all of em, there’s no stuffing involved!
After months of teasing all of you, I am happy to announce that the new Stratospheerius single, “Behind the Curtain,” is officially available for streaming and downloading. You can stream it at Reverbnation and download it for a buck on CDBABY and BANDCAMP, and of course, iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere that mp3’s are in orbit. The track was written by me, and features myself on electric “Viper” violin and vocals, Lucianna Padmore (@Lpadmore5) on drums, Aurelien Budynek (@abguitar) on guitar, and JamieBishop on bass, as well as our secret 5th member benny Koonyevsky on percussion. Engineered and mastered by the incomparable Rave Tesar, mixed by the incredulous Alex Salzman. produced by Stratospheerius.
Next summer, I will be once again returning to teach at the incredible Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp.
This is the ONLY CAMP IN THE WORLD centered around electric strings, but is also open to vocalists, guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bassists. I am honored and humbled to be among world-renowned faculty including Rachel Barton Pine, Tracy Silverman, Daniel Bernard Romaine, Doctor David Wallace, and the trailblazing Mark Wood!
This year, the camp will also feature the rock cellists, Emil and Dariel from America’s Got Talent!
I am writing to you on a plane coming back to NYC from Stockholm. Having been on an unforgettable, immensely successful tour of Sweden with my brothers in Sweet Plantain . You can read the tour summary below. It has been a long month of travel and I’m looking forward to getting back and seeing my family again. November has Sweet Plantain traveling once again for a one-week residency at Quad Cities, IL and a concert in Iowa. My jazz trio returns to the stage in NJ after a long hiatus, and there is a big announcement from STRATOSPHEERIUS….
After months of teasing all of you, I am happy to announce that the new Stratospheerius single, “Behind the Curtain,” is officially available for streaming and downloading. You can stream it at Reverbnation and download it for a buck on CDBABY and BANDCAMP, and of course, iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere that mp3’s are in orbit. The track was written by me, and features myself on electric “Viper” violin and vocals, Lucianna Padmore on drums, @Aurelien Budynek on guitar, and @JamieBishop on bass, as well as our secret 5th member benny Koonyevsky on percussion. Engineered and mastered by the incomparable Rave Tesar, mixed by the incredulous Alex Salzman. produced by Stratospheerius.
Sweet Plantain is looking forward to our residency at Quad Cities. A week of school performances and clinics, culminating in a concert on Nov 8 in Bettendorf, IA. Here’s the info:
After a month traveling all over Sweden, this tour has finally come to an end. An experience that started with a professional catastrophe we wouldn’t wish on our worst enemies ended as one of the greatest experiences of our lives! We clawed our way out of a seemingly hopeless situation. We have travelled throughout this incredible country. Places we hadn’t heard of and couldn’t pronounce, with names like Udevalla, Sveg, Båstad, Helsingborg, Linköping, Tingsryd, Västerås, Ljusdal, Östersund, Hudiksvall, Vänersborg, Goteborg, Växjö, Sandviken, and Nyköping.
21 concerts! Rave reviews across the board and the presenter said it was one of the most successful tours he has organized in his career! We have met some beautiful and generous people who showered us with gifts, food, and uplifting energy that inspired us to no end. We witnessed how well this country is run both interns of economics, efficiency, and respect for people’s health, the environment, and quality of life. We have formed new friendships that we will always cherish. There are many people to thank, but here are those who were most instrumental in making this tour possible:
On September 25th, we were standing at the gate at JFK about to board the plane to Stockholm and our cellist was nowhere to be seen! We could not reach him or his family, and it turns out he fell ill and was not physically able to make it on tour, but we did not know this at the time. This is a person we had rehearsed with for months preparing for this tour. We all frantically got on our phones and called every cellist we knew. By the grace of God, Leo Grinhauz was available to clear his schedule for a month and hop a plane the next morning. I emailed him all our music right before I had to turn off my phone for takeoff. He arrived 3 hrs before our first concert, never having played with us before! Mind you, this is mostly original music that is very difficult to play and is rooted in jazz and Latin rhythms and improvisation. Leo worked his ass off and singlehandedly saved our tour! Also, I might add, he was a blast to hang with, which anyone can tell you is of utmost importance on a tour.
Our thanks to Guido Frackers for hooking up a flight for Leo and his cello on ridiculously short notice at an amazing rate.
We want to thank our driver, technician, spiritual advisor, and drinking buddy Stefan Hansson. A lousy driver but a true genius in audio engineering!(:) In the words of Joe Pesci, “He’s a good kid, that kid. “
And finally, we want to thank Mats Brostrom and the International Chamber Music Alliance of Sweden. Mats saw us perform at APAP in NYC many years ago. He had the vision to bring Sweet Plantain to Sweden and organized this whole tour for us, convincing local presenters in each city who are used to more traditional chamber groups to take a chance on a band that mixes hip hop, Latin music, and Jazz with classical music. Thank you, Mats!
As we head home and look towards the future, we feel immense gratitude and overwhelming emotions. The stars aligned for this tour at the 59th minute of the 11th hour and we are extremely blessed. Sweden, you will always have a place in our hearts. We raise our glasses to you and say “Skål” and a heartfelt “Tak tak!”
