DENINZONEWS OCT 2021
All the news that’s fit to print about violinst/composer/singe/mandolinist Joe Deninzon

Greetings. friends!
It’s been a very productive time in my little world of musical mayhem.

Stratospheerius headlines PROGSTOCK

Progstock is the biggest Progressive Rock festival in the Northeast United States, and is run by our good friends Tom Palmieri and Ann Rinaldi. Last year, there were able to keep the festival going virtually. This year, they did it in person, but with strict rules on vaccinations for artists and attendees. With lower than normal attendance due to covid, they pushed forward and made it work! This was the festival’s 5th year and we are proud do say we have performed in 4 of them. This year was different. Upon hearing that their Saturday headliner Brand X had to cancel due to guitarist John Goodsall falling ill with pneumonia, we were invited on one week’s notice to headline the festival. Coincidentally, my friend Rachel Flowers would be playing right before us and our old guitarist Alex Skolnick would be accompanying bass legend Percy Jones in the set right after us. I saw a great opportunity to collaborate with both of these amazing artists and invite them up during our set as special guest. The festival was held at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, NJ. In the middle of Stratospheerius’ set, I gave the band a break and did an intimate duo performance of Kansas “Dust in the Wind” with Rachel as a tribute both to recently deceased violinist/singer/songwriter Robie Steingart, and a tribute to the millions of people who passed during the pandemic. The second song was a tribute to Chick Corea, and we invited Alex Skolnick to join us on guitar. Playing with these two world-class musicians was an amazing experience, and the audience felt our energy and many said it was the highlight of the festival for them. Later on, Alex joined Stratospheerius for a song he co-wrote with me twenty years ago, “Heavy Shtettle.”
Here’s an awesome review by Thomas Hatton for Proglodytes:

Here’s a video of Spain with myself, Rachel Flowers, and Alex Skolnick shot from a member of the audience.

And here’s a video of Stratospheerius performing Storm Surge with special guest Rachel Flowers

Here are some photos. As we wrap up editing the Live from Progstock 2019 DVD, it looks like we have some new 2021 footage and audio that we might include. Who knows? Maybe we’ll turn it into a compilation…

Composers Now is an organization founded by renowned composer Tania Leon that promotes the music of  modern composers. I am honored to be included in their IMPACT series this month alongside Laura Schwendinger. The livestream premier was on Thursday October 7th, but you can watch a rerun of it here. Thank you to Tanya and everyone in the organization.

Sweet Plantain upcoming concerts

My Latin Jazz string quartet, Sweet Plantain, hard a lot of concerts coming up in the NYC area. Most of them are free to the public!

Local 802 Centennial Celebration at Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park | Manhattan
October 12, 2021 12 PM
FREE ADMISSION!

Chelsea Table + Stage | Manhattan
November 12, 2021 1 PM

The Woodland, Great Hall | Maplewood, NJ
November 28, 2021

Stratospheerius LIVE again in NYC & NJ!

Hot off our Progstock and Olive’s performances and hard at work on our upcoming live and studio albums, Stratospheerius is excited to return to Manhattan for the first time since the pandemic hit for a night of epic PROG!

Tuesday, Oct 12th, 7 P.M.
Composers Now and Sonic Voyage Fest present
Stratospheerius, Mile Marker Zero, Ad Astra, and King Dutch
Arlene’s Grocery
95 Stanton St.
NYC

Thursday, Oct 21st, 8 P.M.
Fusionfest with Stratospheerius, Andy Rothstein Band, and One More Once
Crossroads
78 North Ave, Garwood, NJ 07027

For Your Consideration (FYC)

After many years, I finally became a member of  NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences). This means I can vote for the Grammy’s, and also submit some of my stuff. …cause hey, you never know!🤷‍♂️

Stratospheerius released two singles in the past year that qualify for consideration; “Cognitive Dissonance” (featuring Rany McStine) and “Storm Surge” (featuring Michael Sadler, Rachel Flowers, Fernando Perdomo, and Ruti Celli.) Here is the info, with a link to the page on my website where you can check out the songs and their videos. If you’re a member of NARAS, please review these songs when time allows. We humbly thank your your consideration.

https://joedeninzon.com/for-your-consideration/

Thank you all for continuing to support live music!

Love and blessings,
-JD

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