www.joedeninzon.com
www.stratospheerius.com
Dear friends,
It’s been a long quarantine. I hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy. I can’t tell you how much I miss performing for you all in person. The last public concert I have done was with Stratospheerius on Saturday, March 14th at our favorite haunt, Olive’s in Nyack, NY. It was the closing of a beautiful tour with our friends in Dark Beauty and Potter’s Daughter. As the pandemic was rising, every night we would take a vote about whether or not to keep going. In the end, the vibe between all the bands was so beautiful and even though people were scared and the shows were sparsely attended, those who did show up were deeply appreciative and showed us a lot of love. Though it seems like a long time ago, we are grateful that we all had that last hurrah before the quarantine.
In the meantime, being the constant workaholic that I am, here’s what I’ve been up to:
I was honored to give a bunch of livestream performances. The first two were in April for the Uncancelled Musicd Festival, organized by my dear friends Ann Rinaldi and Tom Palmieri from the Progstock Festival. In May, I performed live for an online radio show from the Uk called Beat Route Radio alongside many other wonderful prog artists. Thank you to Bob Prigmnore for including me. Last month, I had the privilege of taking part in an ongoing lunchtime livestream concert series for NY-area medical workers called “Music for the Soul.” I was nominated to perform by the NY Philharmonic, and the performance was hosted by AF of M Local 802 (the New York Musicians Union) and NY-Area Hospitals. It was an honor to be a part of a series that had also featured artists like Tony Bennet and Questlove.
Stratospheerius was “Band of the Week” twice on WRAT in my home state of NJ! Than you to Tom Hanley for interviewing me and featuring our music.
Stratospheerius released our new single, a cover of King Crimson’s “Frame by Frame.” Featuring the usual suspects, yours truly on electric violin and vocals, Paul Ranieri on bass, Jason Gianni on drums, Michelangelo Quirinale on guitar, with special guest Val Vigoda on background vocals. Engineered by Rave Tesar (Renaissance) and mixed and mastered b y Rich Mouser (Spock’s Beard, Flying Colors, Sons of Apollo).
We also have another new song mixed and mastered with special guest vocalist Randy Mcstine. Hoping to have the next single released in September.
We are putting the finishing touches on our new video for the song Impostor, again teaming up with former MTV producer David P. Levin for this one. Here are some stills to wet your appetite. Stay tuned…
Finally, there is another MASSIVE track in the works. This one with tons of cameos by folks like guitarist Fernando Perdomo, flutist/pianist Rachel Flowers, Ruti Celli, and………………………
As many of you know, teaching is one of my biggest passions, especially when it comes to sharing my love for all things related to jazz and rock improv, electric violin, extended techniques, and gear gear gear! With the current situation in the world, EVERYONE is going virtual. I’m psyched to be a part of this great movement, which has the potential to reach people all over the world more than ever before! I always try to see the positive in everything. So here is ALL the info:
This camp is my heart. This will be my tenth year teaching at the camp that bears the name of the legendary electric violin pioneer who built my 7-string Viper electric violin, Mark Wood. This camp really feels like a family, both among the faculty and “repeat-offender” campers who come back year after year after year, and stay in touch throughout the year. I’ve seen kids grow up in this camp and become world-class professional musicians. My main class this year, “Flying Solo,” focuses on creating a solo performance in the age of quarantine, namely live looping and solo arranging. I am also giving a masterclass on Rock String arranging for trios, quartets, and string orchestras. If you are interested in this camp, please contact me and I can get you a $100 discount on tuition. My esteemed colleagues on the faculty include Dr. David Wallace, Chuck Bontrager, Mark Wood, Haydn Viterra, Greg Byers, Val Vigoda, Lila Hood, Nathan Blake, Laura Kaye, with special guest classes by Jordan Rudess (keyboardist from Dream Theater), Tracy Silverman, Alex DePue (Steve Vai), and Indian Violinist Dr. Mysore Manjunath.
Sign Up at WWW.MWROC.COM
Here’s a video from my faculty performance last year, playing a solo loop version of Mahavishnu Orchestra’s “Cellestial Terrestrial Commuters.”
Here’s one of many faculty collaborations that happen when the camp takes place in Olathe, KS, performing “Seven Bridges Road”by the Eagles.
Julie Lyon Lieberman has been a pioneer in the world of “alternative strings” for over 35 years, publishing over 15 books, recording numerous albums, and running Strings Without Boundaries in Nebraska. This year, I am honored to join the esteemed faculty in the virtual version of her camp, alongside David Wallace, Alissa Jackmnan, Chris Haigh, Vi Wikam, Andy Reiner, Katie Glassman, Tom Morley, Renata Bratt, Sarah Curro, and many more!
My classes here include:
“Rock Pizzicato”
“Pedalboard Configuration”
“Rock 101”
“Survival for the 21st Century String Player.”
You can attend my classes or any of the classes offered by this esteemed roster at WWW.STRINGSWITHOUTBOUNDARIES.COM
Englewood Dwight is an amazing private school and summer camp in Englewood, NJ not far from where I live. They have a
world-class summer string program run by my friends violinist Analiessa Place and cellist Diego Garcia.
For More Information, VISIT THE WEBSITE
My friend Rudolf Haken, electric violinist/violist and professor at University of Illinois Champagne Urbana has assembled an all-star team of online clinicians to participate int he 70th annual Bayreuth Young Artists Festival, this year focusing on electric strings. I am honored to be joined by Tracy Silverman, Martha Mook, Dr. David Wallace, Earl Maneein, Marvillous Beats, Mark Wood, Jesus Florido, Naomi Tagg, Robb Janoff, Andy Reiner, and Edgar Gabriel in this killer collection of mini workshops:
ttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcYKXN3ZM3CRM1H0U01TnNmdpr5iNIkNz
I am excited to be teaching privately on this wonderful new platform created by my friend Jeremy Cohen. No matter where you are, if you want to study with me virtually and subscribe to get all the perks this website has to offer, sign up TODAY at www.stringmasters.com!
I have recently revamped and overhauled my website. Check it out at
WWW.JOEDENINZON.COM
In this difficult time, income for artist is severely limited, too say the least. It is next to impossible to make money from Spotify streams and youtube views, and public concerts are non-existent. Bandcamp is one of the few websites that compensates artists fairly for this products. My bandcamp includes digital downloads, CD’s, DVD’s, books, vinyl, and t-shirts. Please visit
WWW.JOEDENINZON.BANDCAMP.COM and complete your catalogue.
My original string quartet, “What’s That Thang?” was published by Ludwig Masters back in 2018. Thank you to the ASTA (American String Teacher’s Association) for this wonderful review of the arrangement.
ORDER from JW PEPPER!
You can see Sweet Plantain performing the song at 7:15 in this video:
Over the years, I have accumulated over 200 string arrangements of rock and pop tunes for duos, trios, quartets, and string orchestras with and without rhythm sections. Up until now, selling arrangements of copyrighted material was a nightmare of red tape and legal fees. Recently, Sheet Music Plus has made a deal with Hal Leonard, Alfred, and other publishers to make it easy for writers and arrangers to sell their arrangements online. One of my quarantine projects was to upload all of these songs I’ve had lying around for years and be able to sell them. These are perfect for string quartets looking for pop and rock music to play at weddings and high school orchestra teachers adding rock and pop music to their programs. I have 70 arrangements uploaded so far, with many more to come! Music by Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Lizzo, Kansas, Smashmouth, Black Sabbath, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Ceelo, Glarls Barkly, the Beatles, Paul McCartney, DNCE, The Weeknd, Heart, Jimi Hendrix, ACDC, Michael Jackson, Queen, David Bowie, Rick James, and much much more…
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/search?Ntt=Joe+deninzon
Last month, I had the honor of being interviewed by conductor Tigran Arakelyan. We talked about music, our shared experiences as immigrants when we were young children, and my electric violin concerto. Check it out!
If you want regular unreleased material, more updates, musings about the world, personal performances, free swag, please JOIN MY PATREON! You can join for as Lowe as $5 per month and I’ll love you forever!
That’s it for now! Back to work. Good to keep working and not dwell on the negative. I hope we all come out of this healthier, wiser, and more tolerant and understanding of each other.
Peace and love!
-JD
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If you live in the Tri-state area, you don’t wanna miss this string of
shows coming up next week with our label mates from Melodic Revolution
Records.
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius is excited to be sharing the stage
with Potter’s Daughter and Dark Beauty!
Wednesday, March 11 Debonair Music Hall
1409 Queen Anne Rd, Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 833-0011
7 P.M.
Thursday, March 12 Bushwick Public House
1288 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221
Friday, March 13th NJ Proghouse
Roxy & Dukes
745 Bound Brook Rd, Dunellen, NJ 08812\
(732) 529-4464
https://facebook.com/events/s/sonic-voyage-fest-potters-daug/601727030614516/?ti=icl
Saturday, March 14 Olive’s
118 N. Main St. Nyack, NY
With special late-night guest Binaural Beats!
We look forward to seeing you at these shows! Thank you for supporting
live music.
Rock on!
-JD
Hope you had a wonderful Holiday season and are ready to turn a new page in the new decade. Despite all the fucked up things going on in the world, I remain hopeful that we will learn total care of our planet and show each other some respect and compassion. Call me an idealistic fool, but I wear my idealism like a badge of honor!
Anyway, enough of my rambling.
Nah, here’s more rambling…
Looking back on the past decade, it’s been a wild ride!
2 kids, 3 albums, a book, a violin concerto, new bands, new friendships formed, and some of the greatest recording and touring experiences of my life!
Celebrating 20 years of marriage with the lovely violinist/NY Philharmonic member Yulia Ziskel!
Hanging out with my musical heroes and Playing on Cruise to the Edge with In Continuum featuring Dave Kerzner Steve Hackett Michael Sadler Jon Davison Randy McStine Marco Minnemann Nick D’Virgilio The McBroom Sisters Fernando Perdomo Leticia Wolf Gabriel Agudo Ruti Celli and Kaitlin Wolfberg.
Appearing on four of the year’s critic’s choice best prog albums: In Continuum “Acceleration Theory Part I & II,” Fernando Perdomo :Out to Sea II, and Thank You Scientist “Terraformer.”
Playing with The Who at Madison Square Garden & Jones Beach!
Playing with Kurt Elling (with Deedee Bridgewater and Ben Vereen) at Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Working on the underscore to “The Rose Tatoo” on Broadway starring Marissa Tomei with Alessandra Belloni
Co-writing & producing “The Greatest Lives” with Anne Leighton featuring Carmine Appice on drums and Thembeka Mnguni on vocals!
https://soundcloud.com/leighto…/the-greatest-lives-with-band
Touring as concertmaster with Renaissance for their 50th anniversary tour with my brothers in Sweet Plantain.
Releasing the first single, “Impostor,” with the new lineup of Stratospheerius on Melodic Revolution Records with Jason Gianni Paul Ranieri Michelangelo Quirinale.
https://joedeninzonstratospheerius.bandcamp.com/tr…/impostor
Playing the main stage with Stratospheerius at ProgStock Festival the biggest Progressive rock festival in the Northeast U.S!
Publishing my string quartet, “Benson Burner Boogaloo” with Ludwig Masters/JW Pepper.
https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/search.jsp…
Having my “Dream Diary” Electric Violin Concerto performed by Rudolf Haken and my piece “Electric Lake of Soul” performed by renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine.
Teaching/performing residencies with
Northside HS in San Antonio, TX with Heather Newman Gonzalez Angelica Guerra
Highland School in Medina, Oh Rachel Martin Gamin
East brunswick HS Arvin Gopal
Vance Music in Wichita, KS
Arlington HS with Sweet Plantain in LaGrangevile, NY
American String Teachers Conference Albuquerque, NM
Fiddle Hell Massachusettsl in Westport, Mass
Teaching and playing at MWROC Music Festival my favorite week of the year!
Performing and teaching at the Grand Canyon Music Festival with Robert Bonfiglio.
Playing at Vail Jazz festival in Co with Mark Diamond trio.
Playing with Brooklyn Raga Massive Mahavishnu Orchestra/Shakti/McLaughlin tribute,
While 2019 will be a hard year to live up to, I got many projects cooking on multiple burners, so stay tuned…..
BUY A MUG, send us your Mug shots, and we will post on our instagram!
Sunday,Jan 12
Playing with Brooklyn Raga Massive
celebrating the music of John McLaughlin,Mahavishnu Orchestra, & Shakti
55 bar (55 Christopher St. NYC)
2 sets: 9:15 & 10 PM
with: Joe Deninzon-violin, Premick Russel Tubbs (original Mahavishnu member)-sax, Neil Murgay-sitar, Vin Scialla-drums, Dan Asher-bass, Dr. David Ullman-guitar
Thursday, Jan 23rd–Sweet Plantain makes it’s debut at the Fever Up Candlelight Concert Series
Middle Collegiate Church (50 East 7th St. NYC)
7-10:30 P.M.
BUY TICKETS HERE!!
Friday, Jan 30 7 P.M. Residency with Ridge View High School Orchestra Columbia, SC with director Phillip Pagal
4801 Hard Scrabble Rd.
Columbia, SC 29229
Honored to be conducting/performing my arrangements with this talented group of young musicians.
March 5-7: ASTA (American String Teachers) National Conference in Orlando, FLA.
Hyatt Regency Hotel (9801 International Dr. Orlando, FL)
Order of events:
Thursday March 5th 2:45-3:45 P.M. Teaching masterclass open to attendees.
Thursday March 5th 8 P.M. Performing all-star triple bill with violinist Jesus Florido and Tracy Silverman!
Friday, March 6th 2:45-3:45 P.M. Live Loop clinic
Saturday, March 7th 1:30 P.M. Panel on effects for electric strings hosted by Julie Lyonn Liberman
March 11-14, Sonic Voyage Fest Tour with Potters Daughter & Dark Beauty
Stratospheerius is honored and excited to tour with our label mates at Melodic Revolution Records! More details forthcoming…
Wed, March 11th: Debonair Music Hall (1409 Queen Anne Rd, Teaneck, NJ 07666)
Thur, March 12th: Bushwick Publick house (1288 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221)
Friday, March 13 TBA
Saturday March 14th TBA
If you haven’t already, stream (or better yet, download) the new Stratospheerius single, Impostor.
Featuring: Joe Deninzon-electric violin/vocals, Jason Gianni-drums, Michelangelo Quirinale-guitar, Paul Ranieri-bass, Bill Hubauer (Neal Morse Band)-keyboards, Randy McStine-guitar/vocals
Recorded by Rave Tesar (Renaissance). Mixed and Mastered by Rich Mouser (Spock’s Beard, Flying Colors, Neal MKorse, Trans Atlantic, Dream Theater, Tears for Fears)
My friend and brother Matt Bell has released this killer version of “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama,” with guest appearances by yours truly, ThatViolaKid Patrick Contreras and Ross Holmes.
Earlier last year, I was blessed to collaborate on this song with my friend and manager Anne Leighton. The lyrics she sent me were inspired by her hero Muhammad Ali, and deal with overcoming your worse fears and personal demons to live your best life and inspire others. She recently launched an indiegogo campaign to help promote the song. We had the privilege of Thembeka (Universal artist/winner of the Voice South Africa) to grace us with her incredible voice, and the legendary Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Jeff Beck,Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osborne) to play drums. Engineered by Dale Wardell, Mixed by Alex Salzman, mastered by Fred Kevorkian. Check it out!
I’m honored to have participated on one of the best Prog albums of 2019 with an all-star cast. Keyboardist/singger/songwriter/producer Dave Kerzner released the sci fi concept albums, Acceleration Theory Part I & II in 2019, and I contributed strings to both projects. Musicians on the album include Michael Sadler (lead singer of Saga), Jon Davidson (lead singer of Yes), Steve Hacket (original Genesis guitarist), drummer Marco Minneman (Joe Satriani, Aristocrats), drummer Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Big Big Train), singers The McBroom Sisters (Pink Floyd), bassist Matt Dorsey, guitarists Randy McStine and Fernando Perdomo, and singers Gabriel Agudo and Leticia Wolf!
Attention string players!
Check out my original compositions available on from Lathasm Music/JW pepper. My latest is a “Sidewinder”-style funky jazz string quartet titled “Benson Burner Boogaloo.”
BUY SHEET MUSIC HERE!
New Projects
We are currently hard at work filming and editing the video for Stratospheerius “Impostor,” with videographer David P. Levin, who produced our video for “Behind the Curtain”
Here is the full performance of my “Dream Diary Electric Violin Concerto” by Prof Rudolf Haken!
Finally, check out this bootleg video of Stratospheerius performing our song, “Game of Chicken” live at Progstock Oct 13, 2019. Union County Performing Arts Center.
We are also putting the finishing touches on three new tracks that will be a part of the next Stratospheerius album. At least one will be released as another single until the album comes out. Also writing new music we plan to record.
I will soon be launching patreon account and look forward to the opportunity to share my day to day musical activities, projects, and general thoughts with you. Stay tuned…
Peace, love, and music,
-JD
GREETINGS, FRIENDS!
Fall has been jam packed for Stratospheerius. We recently had the honor of performing alongside bands like Saga, Nekrar, Discipline, and Joe Getter at Progstock, the biggest Progressive Rock Festival in the Northeast United States!
Here are some photos from our show and meet n greet! Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts to Tom Palmieri and Ann Rinaldi for this incredible opportunity! Thank you to our videographer David P. Levin for creating 75 minutes of mind-blowing backdrop footage for our performance! Also, thank you for the tireless crew of volunteers backstage, which includes Ray Loboda, Scot Corcoran, Alan Benjamin, Jim Robinson, Jason Kresge, Joel Simchas, and a slew of other folks who were involved!
We our proud to release our new single, “IMPOSTOR!” Please stream it, download it, and she it with your friends!
Engineered by Rave Tesar (Renaissance)
Mixed and Mastered by Rich Mouser
Written by Joe Deninzon
Joe Deninzon-electric violin/lead vocals
Paul Ranieri-bass
Jason Gianni-drums
Michelangelo Quirinale-guitar
Special guests:
Bill Hubauer (Neal Morse Band)-keyboards
Randy McStine-guitar/background vocals
Enjoy sipping your morning coffee in these sleek mugs with our logo, a shape of the Viper electric violin, and bow!
Order yours TODAY! https://stratospheerius.bandcamp.com/merch/stratospheerius-mugs
Greetings, friends!
It’s hard to believe the summer is over! It flew by in a flash. In my case, a whirlwind of gigs, travel for business and pleasure, and many beautiful experiences both musical and non-musical.
Highlights include:
-Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp/Music Festival, where I have been fortunate to teach and perform since 2011. My favorite week of the year with my extended family of friend and colleagues.
-Teaching School of Rock & Performing for my 20th year with Robert Bonfiglio and Steve Benson at the Grand Canyon Music Festival.
-Performing for the Vail Valley Jazz Festival with the Mark Diamond Trio, BLT band with Tony Gulizia and other wonderful musicians.
-Playing at Madison Square Garden & Jones Beach with The Who!
-Mixing the new Stratospheerius single, Impostor, which will be unleashed on the world at Progstock on Columbus Day Weekend. More on that in a bit…
Fall is kicking my ass! Here are some of the things I’m involved with:
Stratospheerius is honored and excited to be performing on the main stage at Progstock!
Progstock is the premier progressive rock festival in the Northeaster United States, founded by our good friend Tom Palmieri.
The event takes place at the Union County Performing arts Center in Rahway, NJ from Friday, October 11-Sunday October 13th
Stratospheephius performs on Sunday, October 13th at 1:30 PM, but you should BUY TICKETS NOW and spend the whole weekend to hear these other incredible bands, who we are proud to share the stage with:
Brand X, Saga, Nektar, Jane Getter band, Randy McStine, Rachel Flowers, and many more…
Yes folks, it took us a while but we HAVE NEW MUSIC!!! This marks the recording premier of the new lineup of Stratospheerius, featuring:
Joe Deninzon-Electric violin/lead vocals
Michaelangelo Quirinale-guitar/vocals
Paul Ranieri-Bass/vocals
Jason Gianni-drums/vocals
In May, we laid the groundwork for four new tracks, which will eventually become a part of our next record. In the meantime, we have created an 8-minute monster called Impostor!
This track will be released as a single and be available for the first time EVER at Progstock!
The track features guest appearances by Randy McStine-guitar/vocals
And keyboardist Bill Hubauer (Neal Morse Band) and was tracked by Rave Tesar and mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser, best known for his work with Neal Morse, Spock’s Beard, Trans Atlantic, Flying Colors, and basically half of my record collection. Please visit our Facebook and twitter page for teaser samples of the song in the next few weeks. I can’t wait for you to hear this track!!!
Sept 15th, Performing with The Who at Jones Beach Ampitheater!
October 8th, wet your Progstock Appetite with with Stratospheerius and Ad Astra at The Shrine.
2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. in NYC
Sweet Plantain is honored to be touring with legendary vocalist Annie Haslam
and symphonic prog rockers Renaissance in honor of the band’s 50th anniversary
Please visit https://renaissancetouring.com/tour/ for ticket information.
10/11/19 Town Hall, New York, NY
10/12/19 Keswick Theater. Keswick, PA (Recording LIVE 50th anniversary CD/DVD!!)
10/15/19 Count Basie Theater. Red Bank, NJ
10/16/19 Ridgefield Playhouse. Ridgefield, CT.
10/19/19 The Egg. Albany, NY
Sweet Plantain is:
Eddie Venegas-violin/Trombone
Joe Deninzon-violin/mandolin
Orlando Wells-viola
Leo Ginhauz-cello
Olive’s Bar
118 N. Main St.
Nyack,NY
10 P.M.
Classes include:
-How to read Chord Charts and Lead Sheets
-Live Looping
-Get in the Groove
-Effects for strings
-Learn a Rock Solo
-Power Chord Workout
11/16/19 @ 3 P.M.
Trinity Episcopal Church, 55 George St , Allendale NJ.
1 hr solo electric violin set by Joe Deninzon, followed by a duo set with keyboardist Neil Alexander.
Performing originals and covers by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, Jean Luc Ponty, Tracy Silverman, Mar O’Connor, and more!
https://www.facebook.com/events/505511826870985/
I’m honored to record the underscore music for the new revival of Tennessee Williams’ classic “The Rose Tattoo” on Broadway starring Marissa Tomei!
The recording was produced by Tony award-winning producer/sound designer Fitz Patton, and features Alessandra Belloni-percussion, Wilson Montuori-guitar, and Steve Gorn-bansuri flute.
The show is a limited run at the Roundabout Theater. Sept 19-Dec 8th. BUY TICKETS HERE!
The recording features myself, legendary percussionist Alessandra Belloni, guitarist Wilson Montuori, and Bansuri flutist Steve Gordon!
Show opens at Roundaboit Theater on October 15th and runs through.
I am pleased to announce that a new original string quartet of mine called “Benson Burner Boogaloo,” is now available from JW Pepper! This is another funky jazz piece with a “Sidewinder” feel. Easy to learn for intermediate players. Check it out, as well as my other sheet music, “What’s that Thang” and “Shock Therapy.” Thank you to Lynne Latham for making this possible
That is all …..for now….
Whew!
-JD
