What an incredible year 2024 has been! Despite a few ups and downs, including a very close-call car accident, I’m grateful to be safe and alive and doing what I love to do!
This year was a milestone. New chapters, new releases, and… I turned 50!!
They say that age is just a number and I’m ready to keep going full blast; touring, recording, teaching, and spending time with family and friends.
Here are some highlights of 2024.
New year, new Viper!
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In January, after 2 years of waiting, I finally picked up my new Mark Wood 7-String “Viper” electric violin. I had this one specially painted with the smoke from the opening credits of my favorite show, “Breaking Bad,” and dubbed the instrument “Heisenberg.” Alongside my old red 7-string Viper, it is now my main axe on all Kansas, Stratospheerius, and other gigs. Thanks to all the people at Wood Violins for the incredible craftsmanship.
I love my new baby!
New year, new Label!
In April, Stratospheerius signed with 7D Media, the label owned by Trey Gunn from King Crimson and AJ Chippero. On October 11th, we released out 6th album, “Impostor!” Which has garnered wide critical acclaim and made numerous “Best of 2024” lists! You can read some reviews HERE and download/order/stream the new album HERE!
Stratospheerius “Outrage Olympics” new video & Single
In April, we filmed for two days at Alpha Wave Studios in Whippany, NJ and the Art Factory in Paterson, NJ ro make the video for our first single, “Outrage Olympics,” directed by David Levin. If you hasvent’ checked it out already, here it is! And while you’re at it, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!
With my crazy touring schedule with Kansas, Stratospheerius only got to play 4 shows this year, but they were all special shows.
Feb 9th at the Iridium in NYC with our friends Ad Astra.
June 27th at Kennet Flash in Kennett, PA with Tim Motzer
June 28th at Starlight in Southbridge, MA with Peruvian guitarist Beledo, culminating in our December 15h Album Release Party/my 50th Birthday Bash at the “Progstock Presents” Williams Center in Rutherford, NJ with our friends Simon Godfrey, Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree), The Tea Club (feat. Kansas bassist Dan McGowan, and Stratospheerius.
We played the epic closing track, “Chasing the Dragon” live for the first time, and the best gift, for me, was my daughter Arianna sitting in as a guest vocalist. Here are some photos from that night taken by Jody Gianni.
In 2024, I completed my 115th show with Kansas, and the third and final leg of the massive 50th Anniversary Tour! This was the experience of a lifetime! Highlights this year were performing in Topeka, the band’s hometown, alongside founding members Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope, playing “Dust in the Wind” on Robby Steingardt’s white Barcus Berry violin on the final show of the tour at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, performing in front of 15,000 people singing along at theFestival d’été de Québec in July.
There are many more tour dates for Kansas in 2025. You can see them all at www.kansasband.com
Education Station
In July, I had the privilege of returning for my 14th year to teach and perform at the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp Music Festival! I played my entire 30-minute Electric Violin Concerto, the performance of which will be posted next month. Also had the chance to work with Mark‘s Electrify Your Symphonyprogram at the Westbury, LI high school in November. Looking forward to more MWROC and EYS in 2025!
“When a band jumps several levels from one record to the next as Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius have done, I am reminded of all the unsung artists toiling away, pouring their hearts and souls into the music, chasing the dragon as it were. In this case, I think Impostor! is an example of watching the band grab that fire-breathing reptile by the tail. Well done, gentlemen!”
Ladies & Gentlemen,
It’s finally here!
The lead off-single from our forthcoming album is out on all streaming services and also available from the 7d Media Bandcamp!
HERE is the landing page with ALL the links to the song!
…and HERE is the video!
Two days of filming. Over a hundred hrs of editing! The official video for Stratospheerius new song, “Outrage Olympics,” is now LIVE!
Thank you to everyone who took part in making this video, and particularly to our good friend/video editing sensei David P. Levin!
Between writing and recording this song and finishing the video, it took a year! Really proud of this one and happy to share it with the universe. Can’t wait for you all to hear the full album from 7d Media out on October 11th!
New Album, “Impostor!” out on October 11th!
We’re happy to announce that the pre-order link to the new Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius album “Impostor!” is NOW available from 7d Media. The album will be released worldwide on October 11th on all platforms.
Anne Leighton is my longtime manager, publicist, and close friend who has stood by me through thick and thin. Here’s a recent interview I did for her podcast.
Joe Deninzon interview with Jeff Gaudiosi
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Gaudiosi for his show, “Misplaced Straws.” Check it out!
After 6 years of writing, recording, mixing, and mastering, the new Stratospheerius album is FINALLY done! The album will be titled “Impostor!” We are looking at October 11th as the official release date.
Yeah, I know what you’re gonna say. “Impostor” sounds a bit familiar… we did release some singles from this album in the past few years. They’ve been floating around. But the songs have been remixed and remastered, and there’s a whole other side of the album you have NOT heard that will blow your mind! Standby for pre-save and pre-order links in the coming months..
NEW RECORD DEAL!
We are honored to have just inked a deal with 7D media, the record label owned by Trey Gunn from King Crimson and AJ Chippera. After a few months of deliberating, comparing options from a few different labels, we have decided to move forward with 7D and are excited about our new collaboration!
We are eternally grateful to our dear friend Nick Katona and his label, Melodic Revolution Records, for everything he and his team have done for the band. Our back catalogue is still available on www.melodicrevolutionrecords.com and our friendship and collaboration on our back catalogue will continue.
NEW VIDEO!
Three weeks ago, we filmed the video for our upcoming single off the new album, titled “Outrage Olympics.” We had a blast filming at Alpha Wave Studios in Whippany, NJ and The Art Factory in Paterson, NJ! The song is a rant against cancel culture, and the visual motifs in the video include a LOT of creepy eyeballs, drones, surveillance cameras, us being chased around by drones (running around like the Beatles in the movie “Help!”), and some killer performance footage. The video and single will come out a month ahead of the album’s release date, and we can’t wait for you to experience it!
Big thank you to Dave Silver, Dave Milone, and the whole crew at Alpha Wave. Thanks to our director, David Levin, photographer Jody Gianni, Bella Gianni, Mike Polese, Bob Konig, and everyone who helped out.
Here are some photos from the shoot:
UPCOMING SHOWS
Stratospheerius returns to
Kennett Flash
THURSDAY, JUNE 27
Doors: 6pm / Show: 7pm
$25 all tickets | $5 BYOB
The Kennett Flash is proud to present JOE DENINZON(violinist from KANSAS) & STRATOSPHEERIUS with special guest TIM MOTZER!
Guitrist/composer Beledo was born in Montevideo Uruguay.
He began formal music and piano study at age six.
Versed in classical theory, composition and technique, adept in the traditional styles of his birthplace, drawing inspiration from vast and diverse modern musical forms, Beledo has earned his place among the most sophisticated, versatile, and gifted artists of our time!
The Kansas 50th Anniversary tour continues into December of 2024! Due to numerous sold-out shows and overwhelming demand, the band has added a third leg to the tour! You can see all the tour dates at www.kansasband.com
As of this writing, I have just played my 70th show with this legendary band. About to start a much-needed break before we start up again. During the summer, we are taking a break from the 50th Anniversary set and playing shows with the “Classics” set list, which includes songs that we have not performed on the current tour.
Here are some pics from recent concerts. What a ride it has been! I’m SO honored to work with these incredible people. From my bandmates to the management and crew, this is a very special family and I’m pinching myself every day that I get to work with them!
As most of you know, teaching is a big passion of mine. I’m honored to be returning once again to teach and perform at the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp/Music Festival! Mark is the inventor of the Flying V 7-string fretted violins I play, a groundbreaking performer and educator, and a good friend. This will be the camp’s 15th Anniversary and my 14th year working there. Every July, a bunch of us electric string nerds get together in Olathe, KS, rock out and share our wisdom! I have gotten to know some amazing kids who grow up attending this camp and are now enjoying successful careers in music! Among them, Mia Asano, Razz Vio, Lydia Gentry, Kat Lines, and many others. It’s great to hang and play with my colleagues and friends, Matt Bell, Tracy Silverman, Chuck Bontrager,Greg Byers, Patrice Jackson, and more…!
This year, I’m gonna be teaching Rock String Arranging, Soloing, and how to Play & Sing at the Same time. I also may be performing my entire electric violin concerto with Ableton wizard/producer Cole Sipe!
If you’re a string player, guitarist, bassist, keyboard player, or singer, sign up at www.mwroc.com
Frame by Frame & BEAT
There is quite a bit of King Crimson in my life. Having just signed a deal with Trey Gunn’s label, 7D. Stratospheerius performed a cover of “Frame by Frame” on our live blu-ray, ‘Behind the Curtain: Live at ProgStock.” Plus, the studio version of that cover will be featured on our new album. With Adrien Belew touring with BEAT, performing 80’s Crimson this fall, I thought it apropos to share our version fo this classic song. Here’s the video from the live album. You can order the full live box set HERE:
In case you don’t know, I started a Patreon page a few years back. I haven’t been promoting it aggressively enough, but I wanted to share it with you once again. At the base tier of $5 per month, you get “Gig Diaries.” Monthly stories I share from my quarter century as a freelance musician in New York. Stories you wouldn’t believe that someday I plan to turn into a book. Other perks include monthly downloads of unreleased bootleg material, zoom concerts and lessons, free signed swag, free show tickets and MORE!
Check it out and please consider becoming a member.
Kansas violinist Joe Deninzon & his band Stratospheerius return to the IRIDIUM!
Stratospheerius is thrilled to be making our return to the legendary
Iridium jazz club in NYC on Feb 9th.
As you know, my touring commitments with Kansas limit the amount of shows Stratospheerius is able to do, so when we DO play, it’s a very special event.
Last May, we celebrated the release of our new double live album/DVD, “Behind the Curtain: Live at ProgStock.”
I’ll never forget that night. It was the day before I flew out to Pittsburgh to play my first ever show with Kansas!
We packed the Iridium, and are grateful to all the fans and friends who came out to mark the occasion. Let’s see if we can pack it even more the second time around!!
This time, we will be joined by our good friends, Ad Astra. This is one of our favorite instrumental fusion bands in New York, led by the brilliant guitarist, Joe Nardulli. Our bands have been each others’ cheerleaders over the years and we’ve played many shows with these guys. It’s a perfect fit!
We’ll be playing some of the old favorites, as well as brand new music from our upcoming studio album.
The band will be:
Joe Deninzon-electric violin/lead vocals
Jason Gianni-drums/vocals
Michelangelo Quirinale-guitar/vocals
Doug Odell-bass/vocals
Bill Hubauer-keyboards/vocals
The venue puts a tremendous amount of emphasis on advance sales, so please get them BEFORE the show, while they’re still available. For a limited time, if you use code FAF50, you’ll get 50 percent off!
Best Rock Performance: “One Foot in the Next World (Live at ProgStock)”
Best Jazz Performance: “Spain (Live at ProgStock) featuring Alex Skolnick and Rachel Flowers
Best Rock Album: “Behind the Curtain (Live at ProgStock)
“Deninzon attacks his electric violin and vocal cords with enviable fierceness. “One Foot in the Next World” finishes this flaming set by finding Joe in a Hendrix mode-.. with his nose operating the fingerboard—and there’s a symbolic bridging of the past and future which mere mortals can rarely achieve.”
Dmitry Epstein -DMME.net
“Every song has enough hooks to crochet a blanket big enough to cover a football stadium. Interesting chord sequences and mood changes pile one atop the other in waves of pleasant surprise. These guys rock hard enough to rip your face off! The performance is so alive, I can almost feel the discomfort of the old theatre seat on my bum. Wow!”
-John Giordano www.theprogressiveaspect.net
“The band, is outstanding — drummer Jason Gianni, guitarist Michelangelo Quirinale, and bassist Paul Ranieri are all strong players, and are collectively a very tight and well-rehearsed unit. And with the way Deninzon swoops, chops, and coaxes all manner of noises out of his violin, he certainly lives up to the ‘Jimi Hendrix of violin’ label he’s gotten from the press.”
-Howard Whitman, Goldmine Magazine
“This is an absolutely glorious set from a group who consistently deliver. It is perhaps no surprise at all that Kansas chose Joe as violinist on their 50th Anniversary Tour. That is amazing news for him, but let us hope it is not too long until we get more music from these guys, as this collection is just stunning.”
-Kev Rowland Progarchives.com
“Behind the Curtain (Live at ProgStock)” is Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ long-awaited (and incredible) live box set of 2 CDs and 2 DVD/Blu-rays. Three years in the making, the album is made up of live performances at the ultimate Northeast progressive rock festival, ProgStock in 2019 and 2021.
The album includes Joe’s live collaboration with blind multi-instrumental prodigy Rachel Flowers (flute and piano) and guitarist Alex Skolnick (Testament, Trans Siberian Orchestra) on Chick Corea’s “Spain.”
A treasure in the prog rock community, Joe’s been dubbed “the Jimi Hendrix of Electric Violin.” Joe is the leader in alternative violin techniques, multi-talent and teacher and side guy for bands including Renaissance, the Who, Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Springsteen. He’s the author of the Mel Bay’s “Plugging In.”
Joe is the new violinist and rhythm guitarist for Kansas, and the songwriter/vocalist/electric violinist/leader of Stratospheerius. Their most previous album, “Guilty of Innocence” reached #4 on the Jamband/Relix charts in North America, and broke the European Top 200 Indy releases at 72. The group, which has 5 albums out, are signed to Melodic Revolution Records.
Joe and his bandmembers (Jason Gianni-drums (The Ultimate Queen Celebration, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rock of Ages, Neal Morse Band), Michelangelo Quirinale-guitar (Thrilldriver), and Paul Ranieri-bass (Mark Wood, Riot Act), have streamed over 3 million times on Spotify and other streaming services.
Media Contact: Anne Leighton, 718-881-8183, LeightonMedia@aol.com, Anne@AnneLeighton.com
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