JOE DENINZON NEWS APRIL/MAY 2015

JOE DENINZON NEWS APRIL/MAY 2015

DENINZONEWS

THE LATEST ON VIOLINIST/VOCALIST JOE DENINZON

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Dear friends,
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

 

DG
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!

Sweet Plantain Performance in Troy, NY

 

SWEET PLANTAIN OCT 2014 HEADSHOT
Friday, April 10th
8 P.M.
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Presented by Troy Savings Bank
30 Second Street
Troy, NY 12180
Performing music by:
Eddie Venegas, Joe Deninzon, David Gotay, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Aldemaro Romero, Luiz Simas, Cole Porter, and more…
Sweet Plantain is:
Eddie Venegas-violin/trombone
Joe Deninzon-violin/mandolin/vocals
Orlando Wells/Eddie Hardy-viola
Leo Grinhauz-cello

Upcoming Stratospheerius shows

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Sunday, April 12th
8 P.M.
Pianos, NY
158 Ludlow St.
New York, NY
10002
212-505-3733

STRATOSPHEERIUS ANNOUNCES SONIC VOYAGES FESTIVAL!

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:
Friday. May 22nd, 7 P.M.
2071 Park St.
Hartford, Ct
Saturday, May 23rd, 8: P.M.
With Black Knight’s Castle (Joe Stump), Ben Levin Group, Shadow Eden
148 Grove St.
Worcester, MA
Sunday, May 24th, 6 P.M.
5 Granite St.
Newmarket, NH
Stratospheerius is:
Joe Deninzon-lead vocals/electric violin/mandolin
Aurelien Budynek-guitar
Lucianna Padmore-drums
Jamie Bishop-bass

Press

 
STRATOSPHEERIUS LEADER SAYS IT’S A GOODTIME TO BE A PROG ROCK MUSICIAN.”
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Recordings

 
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

 

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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.
Stream or download for $1. Enjoy!
Written by Joe Deninzon
Performed by Joe Deninzon and Stratospheerius
Joe Deninzon-lead vocals, electric violin
Aurelien Budynek-guitar, background vocals
Jamie Bishop-bass/background vocals
Lucianna Padmore-drums
Benny Koonyevsky-percussion
Engineered by Rave Tesar. Studio X Ridgewood, NJ
Mixed by Nic Hard
Mastered by Rave Tesar

Check out our other recently-released single,  “Behind the Curtain,” 

 

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REGISTER NOW FOR THE 6TH ANNUAL

MARK WOOD ROCK ORCHESTRA CAMP!

 

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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!
Register TODAY at www.mwroc.com

GIVE THE STRING PLAYER IN YOUR LIFE A PARADIGM SHIFT!

ORDER “JOE DENINZON’S BOOK/DVD/CD “PLUGGING IN” FROM MEL BAY PUBLICATIONS

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NJ ARTS INTERVIEW FEB 2015

STRATOSPHEERIUS LEADER SAYS IT’S A GOOD TIME TO BE A PROG ROCK MUSICIAN

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http://www.njarts.net/pop-rock/stratospheerius-leader-says-its-a-good-time-to-be-a-prog-rock-musician/

Roxy and Dukes in Dunellen usually presents pretty earthy, straightforward music — blues and country and rockabilly and hard-rock — as well as the occasional burlesque show. But it also hosts the NJ Proghouse series, devoted to the more sonically adventurous sounds of progressive rock. The next show in the series takes place Saturday, and features The Levin Brothers (led by bassist Tony Levin of King Crimson, and his piano-playing brother Pete) and the New Jersey quartet, Stratospheerius.

“(NJ Proghouse founder) Jim Robertson has been carrying the torch of progressive rock music for many years, with NEARfest and all the other stuff he’s been doing,” says Stratospheerius’ frontman, singer-violinist Joe Deninzon of Dumont. “We’re honored to be a part of it.”

Stratospheerius was originally formed in 2001, and has released four albums since then. It improvises like a jam band in concert, and its latest single, “Guilty of Innocence,” is as catchy as is is forward-looking, with echoes of The Police and Talking Heads.

In the current lineup, Deninzon is joined by guitarist Aurelien Budynek, bassist Jamie Bishop and drummer Lucianna Padmore. The band’s name, by the way, is a play on Stradivarius, the name for the highly regarded violins and other string instruments made by Antonio Stradivari and other members of his family in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Deninzon was once playing in an orchestra at a Smokey Robinson concert, he said, and another violinist had a high solo, and said, “That’s up in the stratosphere. I should have brought my Stratospheerius.”

“I just took that word and ran with it,” says Deninzon, “because our music is up in the stratosphere. It’s very trippy and spacey, and the violin is doing crazy things.”

Deninzon is also doing a lot of writing these days, having been commissioned to compose a piece for violinist Rachel Barton Pine, and having premiered an electric violin concerto with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra in Indiana in September.

He also is doing some prog rock organizing, putting together a traveling festival, Sonic Voyages, that hits New England in May and may come to New Jersey at some later point.

He believes this is a good time, in general, for progressive rock.

“I see a lot of mainstream acts incorporating elements of prog music, even though they’re not known as prog acts. The last few Coldplay albums, there was some really interesting stuff going on with arrangements and time signatures and production. Muse is a band that really blew up, especially in Europe, and became a mainstream act that had hits, but they’re really, technically, a progressive rock band in a lot of ways.

“More and more bands are hitting the mainstream and reviving an interest in prog-rock, especially among younger generations, and as a result you’re seeing groups like Thank You Scientist and Tea Club coming up that are really doing some cool, innovative stuff; they’re rooted in the history of progressive-rock music, but taking it somewhere else.”