Live Wires Music Morsels Review

LIVE WIRES review for SEAOFTRANQUILITY.ORG

LIVE WIRES REVIEW for www.f5wichita.com

Quotes from fans

Review of The Adventures of Stratospheerius

18 Strings & a Drummer: Review of Wetlands gig (NYC) 3/30/01

All-Music Guide. Alex Henderson

Cadence Magazine. December, 1998

Long Island Entertainment. September, 1998

U.S. Rocker. August, 1998

Bottom Line Magazine. July, 1998

Quotes from all over the place

LIVE WIRES REVIEW FOR SEA OF TRANQUILITY.ORG

Deninzon, Joe and Stratospheerius: Live Wires

    Violin master Joe Deninzon and his magic band Stratospheerius return with the album that captures them in the environment they seem to have been born to play in––on the stage with strings smoking and thoughts flying faster than the Concorde on amphetamines. Those already familiar with Deninzon’s work, whether Adventures of Stratospheerius or Electric/Blue already knew that he could smoke, that his compositions were living, fire-breathing monsters but this proves it once and for all, for all those who bother to pause and listen and all those who can’t help but be drawn in by Deninzon’s musical magnetism.

    Old favorites such as "Acid Rabbits," "Pleasurepain" and "What’s That Thing?" get wheeled out and given the once-over and what-for, while the maestro turns to past masters such as Danny Elfman ("Theme From The Simpsons"), Frank Zappa ("Magic Fingers") and Stevie Wonder ("Contusion"), lending the effort the sense of past-meets-present that Deninzon has always done so well.

    Alex Skolnick joins the band for two tunes (he also co-wrote "Heavy Shtettle"), while the core band of Ron Baron (beautiful bass), Luciana Padmore (smoking drums) and guitarist Jake Ezra (Where’s this guy been all our lives?) , does just fine on its own.

    The only regret here is that this isn’t a double live monster but there’ll be time for that. Deninzon isn’t going anywhere, except into the stratosphere where we’ll crane our necks to watch him shine.

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LIVE WIRES REVIEW for www.f5wichita.com
By Jedd Beaudeon

Live Wires — Joe Deninzon and Stratospheerius
D-Zone Entertainment, 2004

Originally published October 21, 2004

by Jedd Beaudoin
jbeaudoin@f5wichita.com

Classic fusion lives and breathes via Russian-born, classically-trained Joe Deninzon and his amazing band Stratospheerius. Captured blazingly bright live and in the moment on this 10-song live outing, Joe and his magic band bring old music (Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra) and new music (fans of the Dave Matthews Band's most transcendental moments won't feel lost here) together with a heavenly blend of originals from Deninzon's two previous studio affairs,Electric/Blue andAdventures of Stratospheerius, covers, and previously unreleased material.
     From the latter disc comes the inspiring "Contusion," the ass-shaking "What's That Thang" and the aptly-titled Acid Rabbits" (think Jeff Beck'sBlow By Blow), from the former; there's also Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers," Danny Elfman's theme from The Simpsons and "Heavy Shtettle," co-written by ex-Testament guitarist and current jazz ax meister Alex Skolnick (who guests on two tracks here).
     While Deninzon's studio outings served as fine introductions to the New York-based maestro, this little sonic boom captures him unhinged and unencumbered as he leads his fiendishly good mates into strange and bold new worlds that leave now jaw snapped together, no heart beating at anything approaching a normal rate. Sounding more relaxed and confident than ever, Deninzon unleashes the fury on "Shock Therapy," "The Perfect Storm" and shines in the vocal department on the lovely and amazing "An Evening Nap In The Afternoon."
     As at home in the world of Grappelli and O'Connor as he is in the world of Steve Vai and Jimi Hendrix, Joe Deninzon may very well be our next national violin treasure.

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What fans have said about Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius:
 

"You absolutely blew my mind tonight. That was one of the more amazing, influential, spiritualy reviving things I have heard from a band in a long time."

"We put Acid Rabbits on our wedding CD. It meant a lot to us."
-Leslie Llopresto, Cleveland, OH

"I really enjoyed the band and the music. It was excellent!"

"Thanks for kicking ass and playing your heart out. I hope to see you again."

"I fly US airways and was on a layover in Cleveland one day and saw your write up in the paper there. I saw the word ZAPPA mentioned and knew you were somebody I’d have to check out. I bought your CD Electric Blue and loved it!"
David Black, Tampa, Fla

"Listening to your CD last night, I was very happy to hear something original in the music world highlighting a player that isn’t afraid to walk on the other side and obviously plays with passion."
-Tyme Rogers, Tech 21/Sans amp, NYC

"He sounds great….a really honest sound."
-Mark Feldman, NY violinist

"I love the playing on Electric Blue-It seems ages to have heard a violinist create  such a range of sounds."

"Your CD is awesome: your virtuosity is a breath of fresh air ina post-Nirvana era of dumbed-down popular alternative culture that seems to idolize over-glorified three-chord garage bands"
Trevor Hoffman, Baltimore, MD

"Pleasurepain’ is my favorite. ‘Rise’ is up there too. Zappa and Jean-Luc would be proud."
-Kevin Seal, San Francisco-based musician

"I recently got a chance to come see you play and wow, what a show! I enjoyed it immensely. You’re a fantastic performer."

""I’m quickly becoming a fan. I’ve always been into Jerry Goodman and Mark Wood. You’re right up there with them."

"You and your band kick but live in concert. You and Jean-Luc Ponty are fantastic musicians."

Review of The Adventures of Stratospheerius
by Eric Aaron, the Big Room

With his remarkably creative "The Adventures of
Stratospheerius," violinist Joe Deninzon is making a strong
artistic statement. Two statements, actually: he says Yes to
violins; and he says No to musical boundaries. With obvious
foundations in both jazz and rock, Deninzon's sound is the
result of an ambitious melting pot, including everything from
scratching turntables and '70s-sounding fusion keyboard to
polychromatic guitar lines --laid down by metal/fusion cult
hero Alex Skolnick-- and some marvelous 6-string electric
violin lines from Deninzon. It is consistently fun and energized,
often funky, and rarely easy to explain.

As might be expected, "Stratospheerius" is not the most coherent
record ever made. It's half-instrumental and half-vocal, and
its songs land all over the musical map, from smoothly funky
rock/jazz fusion ("What's That Thang?") to sweet balladry ("Hope
Alive"), free-ish jazz (a cover of Wayne Shorter's
"Nefertiti"), and metal-edged rock ("Hindsight"). Throughout,
the performances are engaging, and the two lead string players
are superb: when the songs allow it, Skolnick is his expected,
rippin' self (check out his killer solo on "Contusion");
somewhat less expectedly, Deninzon shines every bit as bright as
Skolnick, conjuring consistently creative, energetic turns from
his violin. Deninzon's rhythm section also keeps pace with
remarkable grace and flair, no mean feat on these diverse
"Adventures."

 18 Strings and a Drummer!
Review of Joe Deninzon Gig at Wetlands.  March 30th, 2001:

By NYC Correspondent: Jay Terrien
 

The crowd at the Wetlands on Friday, March 30th, 2001 knew from the opening tune that crazy electric 6-string violinst/composer Joe Deninzon, dressed in a fiery red Trix T-shirt, and his all-star line-up were not your average silly rabbits!  The band’s mission was simple: Make the crowd groove to the acid funk-infected vibe of his latest quartet, Stratospheerius.

While Ulu and Addison Groove Project meandered through their groove sets upstairs, Joe Deninzon's Stratospheerius, with Grisha Alexiev on drums, Rufus Philpot on 6-string bass, and Alex Skolnick on guitar, dazzled the Wetlands second stage crowd all night long with their original jam band tunes.  Deninzon, a Cleveland native who is now living in NYC, is finally staking his claim in the jam bands space as a virtuoso performer whose unique, feisty blend of funk and fusion jam explorations are reminiscent of Bela Fleck or Jean-Luc Ponty.

Stratospheerius started the set with "What's That Thang?", a funky blues groove that featured Deninzon and Alex Skolnick trading blazing solos in midstream.  Skolnick, the former lead guitarist for metal rock outfit Testament, pleasingly defied all of the laws of groove tradition by blending his metal and noisy jazz runs within Joe's music.

The next tune was "Pleasurepain", a pounding jam tune that started out with an eerie, minimalistic bass and guitar motive that soon broke down to all out New Orleans funk hell.  Joe's chunky violin wah-wah riff forced the crowd to mossy down from the upstairs and hit the dance floor.  The listeners were now ready for "Peppermint Patty", a funk and jazz-inspired song that featured Deninzon's Stevie Wonder-style vocals.  The tight groove, created in part by a jazzy violin and wah-wah guitar underlying primary riff, conjured up images of Peppermint Patty wearing leather and lace.  Deninzon and Skolnick displayed their cool thematic interplay all night long as a screaming violin second verse frenzy broke down to quiet jazzy, jam band groove.    Letting the rest of his ensemble jam in the limelight, Joe went out into the crowd and danced with his hippy fans -- oh, sweet liberation!!

With the crowd eagerly anticipating a return to the principal groove,. Deninzon followed up with a mellow Grappelli-esque "Evening Nap In the Afternoon Sun.".  This song began with a "Rolling Stones"-sounding Middle Eastern motive, with an ascending linear guitar line that set the stage for Deninzon's "ever-so-true to his jazz violin roots" sense of melody --  his music is incredibly diverse, due in part to his vast array of musical influences.

"Chunga Chunga" and its quirky violin rhythms created an inspirational Dave Mathews Band-type groove that got the crowd dancing.  The whole ensemble got into this song, as the guitar, violin, and bass all had turns displaying their chops galore over the Bossa-Nova type harmonies.  6-string bassist Rufus Philpot, on loan from his stint as house bassist on Broadway's "Saturday Night Fever", took an adventurous bass solo  relying upon blazing 32nd note Jaco-like staccato runs which showcased his amazingly precise sense of right-hand articulation. The entire crowd bowed its collective heads as each player soloed in.  At this point in the show, people were actually leaving ULU to check out Stratospheerius.

Newer jam tunes like "The Chicken" and "Storytime" soon followed.  Throughout the rest of the night, drummer Grisha Alexiev carried the pulse on his shoulders and displayed some serious woodblock chops as Deninzon's violin jigged on top of the bass and guitar syncopated harmonies.  "Acid Rabbits" was at least 20 minutes long and its purposeful violin solos, fueled with effects-driven delayed and harmonized melodic thoughts were somewhat reminiscent of Trey Anastasio's poignant melodic noodlings.  A neat little Nintendo-sounding muted bass ostinato drove the harmonic tension during portions of this tune.  With its old-school Chili Peppers pulse, "Hindsight" relied on Deninzon's Anthony Keidis-style vocals to entice the crowd into its hardest dance of the night.

Another new tune, "Red", kept the crowd on its heels.  The last song of the night, the appropriately named "Shock Therapy", was by far, the funkiest tune of the night.  You don't need horns to lay down the funk when you have Deninzon's violin mimicking the sound of Fred Sanford's son coming back to the junkyard!  There were a ton of highlights in this gig closer.  The pounding funk pulse, held tight by Alexiev's energetic downbeats and another smokin' bass solo led the band into a final jagged musical statement, highlighted by a fragmented Skolnick-esque heavy metal solo.  As the end of the song broke down into a mini drum solo, Alexiev's huge, pounding chops keep the crowd moving on their feet.  Deninzon and Skolnick even uttered melodic fragments of the "Stayin' Alive" motive, playfully teasing their bassist, Rufus Philpot.

Following the inspirational musical path of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and Dave Matthews Band,  Joe Deninzon’s musical statement and creative presence are leaving brilliant impressions in the jam band space.   His profound musicianship, intertwined with skillful, effects-driven arrangements ultimately creates very accessible and mainstream music --  qualities that are the hallmarks of the most diverse jam bands and virtuoso players in the space.  Deninzon has arrived.  Stay tuned for the release of his upcoming CD and be sure to check out his website at www.joedeninzon.com for the latest touring information.
 

River Rat Records, Burlington, VT
„Copyright, 2001, Yoda's Oreos Music, Jay Terrien

Review of Joe Deninzon's Electric Blue: All-Music Guide
by Alex Henderson

Cadence Magazine. December 1998

Long Island Entertainment. September, 1998
by Dennis Riley

U.S. Rocker Magazine. August, 1998
by Peanuts

Bottom Line Magazine. July, 1998
by Randy Allar

Quotes from all over the place