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! Big announcements, projects, lots of shows, its gonna be H.O.T!
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 of the big things on my bucket list was to write and perform an electric violin concerto for orchestra. One year ago, Douglas Droste, the Musical Director of the Muncie Symphony, commissioned me to write and premier such a piece with his orchestra. It’s been a year of intensive work, and I’m still revising like crazy and working out the kinks, but this is HAPPENING! If all goes well, I hope to bring the piece to other orchestras and already have had interest from a few different places. Stay tuned…
To say I’m psyched is the understatement of the year! With this concerto, I want people to feel like they’ve been to a rock concert. It’s definitely got Zeppelin, Mahavishnu, and Stratospheerius all over it, and tons of “sonic architecture” from the electric violint. I’m pouring my heart and soul into one of the biggest projects I’ve ever done, and I feel I have learned a lot and grown in the process. Hope those of you within driving range of Muncie, IN 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.
The festival involves educational workshops for young musicians and music lovers in the afternoon, followed by performances by all three bands, as well as additional sets by local bands in each city.
Our maiden voyage is a tour of New England on Memorial Day Weekend. Here are the dates:
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 Mazz Swift, 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!
NEW STRATOSPHEERIUS SINGLE, “GUILTY OF INNOCENCE,” AVAILABLE NOW
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.
It’s been a roller coaster ride of experiences and emotions so far this spring. Some wonderful performances and opportunities have opened up while I also lost a dear friend. Here is what coming up and what has come to pass:
R.I.P. David Gotay
The world has lost an incredible musician and a beautiful soul. It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my dear friend David Gotay after a long battle with kidney cancer. We are all in awe of the dignity and bravery with which he carried himself during his illness. He stopped his chemo a few weeks ago and spent his final days with no pain killers. When I last visited him, he hadn’t lost his sense of humor and we talked about life and music like we usually do, playing each other pieces we were both working on. For a moment, it felt like any other hang that we had in the past. We shared incredible moments on tour with Sweet Plantain, the group he founded and built up to huge success. He was the only cellist I knew who could rap and play cello at the same time. He was an incredible player and composer, who successfully merged his classical upbringing with his love of hip hop. He was and is loved by many people who’s lives he touched and enriched.
How do you say goodbye to someone for the last time? In our last meeting, I made a joke that he was gonna get to jam with Hendrix and Pablo Casals. “See you on the other side, my friend,” he said.
Rest in peace, Goat Burger.
Here is a performance Sweet Plantain did a few years ago at Severance Hall in my hometown of Cleveland. David plays a beautiful improvised cadenza at 1:24. Please enjoy!
Stratospheerius is proud to announce the launch of the Sonic Voyages Festival
Sonic Voyages is a traveling music festival involving three incredible bands, Stratospheerius (www.stratospheerius.com), Shadow Eden, and Circuline
The festival involves educational workshops for young musicians and music lovers in the afternoon, followed by performances by all three bands, as well as additional sets by local bands in each city.
Our maiden voyages is a tour of New England in May. Here are the dates:
I am honored to appear on “Galaxy Mechanics,” The sophomore effort from the incredible progressive band, Fractured Dimension. (https://www.facebook.com/thefractureddimension)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DPAYk7qaWs
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.
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!
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!
I hope you’re toughing it out until the warm weather blesses us once again, unless you’re one of the lucky ones on whom the sun shines year round.
February and March are Jam-packed for me on all fronts. Sweet Plantain is playing some exciting NY-area shows, Stratospheerius is releasing a new single, playing some cool shows, and going into the studio once again. I am involved in some great education-related projects as well.
Stratospheerius had two amazing shows in Binghamton, NY on Feb 6th and Erie, PA on Feb 7th. Thanks to all who came out! Thanks also to Jeff Khan from Cyber Cafe West, the Bingham Press & Sun Bulletin, Erie Times, Ryan Bartosek, Dave Richards, and the incredible musician, Eric Brewer, and his band who opened for us in Erie with a killing set!
I also recently returned from Cincinnatti, where I had the privilege of working with the Sycamore High School Rock Orchestra. The orchestra, lead by David Smarelli, did an incredible job learning some of my tunes. We also jammed on songs by Muse, AC/DC, The Beatles, Mark Wood, and Coldplay, to name a few. I am grateful to have had this very rewarding experience.
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!
