The new Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius music video, “Voodoo Vortex (Part 1)” might remind fans of prog rock, fusion, and classic rock of the 1970s in sound and look. Musically Joe was channeling his favorite fusion violinists—Jean Luc Ponty, Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Jerry Goodman, Didier Lockwood, and Eddie Jobson.
First Joe organized some video imagery generated and edited by Robert Minsk. Next, Joe interspersed photos by (“Impostor!” album designer) Jody Gianni and performance footage shot by (Stratospheerius’ “Outrage Olympics” video director) David Levin from the band’s recent album release party in Rutherford, NJ.
The video premieres at Stratospheerius’ online watch party on YouTube on Friday, February 21, at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT/3 AM on Saturday the 22 in the Netherlands at
“Impostor!” has found fans all over the world. The initial music video “Outrage Olympics” was recently chosen to be featured at the LA-based “Independent Shorts” awards. In the past few months, over 120 stations have picked up the album for airplay, helping the band chart on Relix/Jamband radio, and finding favor on a number of Best of 2024 album lists, including the song “Chasing the Dragon” making its way to Epic Tracks of the Year charts. Now the album’s been picked up for International Distribution in the UK by Burning Shed, and Germany’s Just for Kicks.
The Progressive Aspect’s John Giordano compares “Voodoo Vortex (Part 1)” to King Crimson’s “Matte Kudasai.” “The effects Deninzon uses on the violin deepen the aural interest,” and raves about the “Impostor!” album, “While there is a definite Kansas vibe, no other band sounds quite like Stratospheerius.” The Prog Report’s Prog Nick loves the “glorious melody” of “Voodoo Vortex (Part I).” “Ethereal and hazy to begin with, it develops into an expansive arrangement in 11/8 timing that, despite its complexity, will have your head bobbing. The weaving interplay between Deninzon’s violin and Hubauer’s keyboards will enrapture you, and Gianni holds it all together perfectly, with an economical yet elaborate approach. He is a very fine drummer indeed.”
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius released “Impostor!” on Trey Gunn’s 7d Media and features Joe (electric 7-string violin, acoustic violin, viola, chin cello, lead and background vocals, and producer), Michelangelo Quirinale-(Guitars), Paul Ranieri (bass), Jason Gianni (drums), and Bill Hubauer (keyboards). “Impostor!” is mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser (Tears for Fears, Dream Theater, Weezer). The group’s music’s been compared to Rush, Muse, Dream Theater, and Kansas, who welcomed Joe into the band in May 2023. “While Kansas became my main gig, it was my work with Stratospheerius that got their attention.”
with Friends—his band Stratospheerius, Randy McStine, The Tea Club, and Dave Bainbridge—Dec. 15 online and in person from Rutherford, NJ
Kansas violinist Joe Deninzon & his band Stratospheerius celebrate the release of their new album, “Impostor!” & Joe’s 50th Birthday!
With very special guests:
The Tea Club (featuring Kansas bassist Dan McGowan)
Dave Bainbridge (The Strawbs, Lifesigns)
Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson)
The ProgStock-sponsored celebration and event takes place on Sunday, December 15th, at 6:30 PM, at the Black Box Theater at the Williams Center, 15 Sylvan Street, in Rutherford, NJ 07070.
For more information, please call 973-886-6077.
This very special concert-celebration will be streamed worldwide on StageIt at 6:30 PM ET /3:30 PM PT /and Monday morning at 12:30 AM Amsterdam time as its happening on Sunday December 15th. StageIt tickets are available for $10 at ProgStock Festival is on StageItIn-person tickets range from $32.08-$47.56 (service fees included in these prices) and are available at progstock.simpletix.com The Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1NC5Cb4wvh
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius
Stratospheerius is Joe Deninzon (Electric violin/lead vocal), Jason Gianni (drums/background vocals), Michelangelo Quirinale (guitar/background vocals), Bill Hubuaer (keys/background vocals), Dan Asher (bass). The group’s new album, “Impostor!” (on Trey Gunn’s 7d Media) is on over 100 radio stations across world, with more plays than ever on streaming media, acclaim, and still growing.
Thankful for this 50th birthday celebration, Joe is looking forward to connecting with fans and friends on December 15. He says, “With my crazy Kansas touring schedule, my band Stratospheerius only gets to do a handful of shows during the year. I’m psyched to celebrate my birthday and the release of our new album at the Williams Center alongside some of my favorite artists on the planet! The audience is in for a treat!”
Dave Bainbridge
Dave Bainbridge is musician, composer, artist, and producer who co-formed the Celtic Prog Band Iona, who were popular from 1989 through 2015. He joined the Strawbs and Lifesigns. He and Sally Minnear (daughter of Gentle Giant keyboardist Kerry Minnear) released a recent collaboration, “Live in the Studio.” Dave has been in the Top 4 of Prog Magazine’s Top Ten Guitarist in their annual readers poll every year since 2021.Dave sat in with Stratospheerius in Baltimore; and we hear that he’ll play guitar on one of the band’s classic songs in Rutherford!
Randy McStine
Most known as a great collaborator, including as a member of Porcupine Tree, McStine and Minnemann, and Dave Kerzner’s prog/symphonic group In Continuum, the multi-instrumentalist Randy is also working solo artist. Currently on tour, opening for the Pineapple Thief, his three solo albums have featured special guests including Nick D’Virgilio (notably of Spock’s Bear), Kings’ X’s Doug Pinnick, and Porcupine Tree’s Gavin Harrison and Colin Edwin.
Randy’s played every notable rock instrument (guitar, bass, drums) as a substitute in Stratospheerius through the years. Quips Joe, “If he learns violin, he’ll fill in for me!”
The Tea Club
The Tea Club is fronted by the songwriting team of brothers Patrick and Dan McGowan whose unorthodox guitar playing and fervent singing form the core of the group’s unique art-rock, folk, electronica, and romanticism style. Bassist Jamie Wolff and drummer Dan Monda draw upon their shared love of dynamics and melody to create a raucously sophisticated rhythm section. Joe Dorsey helms the keyboards and brings boundless energy, virtuosity, and a forward-thinking approach to the compositions.
Their latest record If / When is daringly personal, exploring themes of death, failure, new life, and hope. Dan McGowan and Joe share the stage most every weekend in Kansas, but it was originally at ProgStock Festivals that Joe and Dan, and the rest of their bands fell in love with each other’s music!
Joe says, the song always spoke to him with its simple lyrics and dramatic theme. Co-written by Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, and Adrian Belew, whose voice, Joe says, “is right in my range and we’ve been playing this live a lot. I also thought I’d inject it with a lot of staccato violins to give it more of an edge and put my own spin on it.”
A studio version will appear on Joe’s upcoming album, “Imposter,” slated for late spring 2024 on Melodic Revolution Records.
“Frame by Frame” appears on the boxset (2 CDs/DVD/Blu-Ray) “Behind the Curtain (Live at ProgStock)” on Melodic Revolution Records/Amplified Distribution. The box set is three years in the making; the collection is made up of Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ 2019 and 2021 live performances at the ultimate Northeast progressive rock festival, ProgStock.
“Behind the Curtain (Live at ProgStock)” final song titles Disc 1 (2019) 01-Behind the Curtain-Live at ProgStock 02-Release-Live at ProgStock 03-Impostor!-Live at ProgStock 04-Frame by Frame-Live at ProgStock 05-Climbing-Live at ProgStock 06-The Missing Link-Live at ProgStock 07-Gods-Live at ProgStock 08-Game of Chicken-Live at ProgStock 09-The Prism-Live at ProgStock
Disc 2 (2021) 01-Take Your Medicine-Live at ProgStock 02-Cognitive Dissonance-Live at ProgStock 03-Storm Surge-Live at ProgStock (feat. Rachel Flowers) 04-Spain-Live at ProgStock (feat. Rachel Flowers and Alex Skolnick) 05-Hysteria-Live at ProgStock 06-Heavy Shtettle-Live at ProgStock (feat. Alex Skolnick) 07-One Foot in the Next World Live at ProgStock
Joe is the new violinist with legendary rockers Kansas, now on tour celebrating their 50th anniversary. He has played violin for the Who, Bruce Springsteen, 50Cent, Sheryl Crow, and as the concertmaster for Renaissance. The other Stratospheerius bandmembers have a great heritage, as well: Jason Gianni-drums (The Ultimate Queen Celebration, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rock of Ages, Neal Morse Band), Michelangelo Quirinale-guitar (Thrilldriver), and Paul Ranieri-bass (Mark Wood, Riot Act).
Join Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius on YouTube Saturday, February 27th at 3 PM EST for a chance to win free music downloads. There can only be 20, will you be one of them?
The new video features claymation with live footage from each band member from their own studio. “Cognitive Dissonance” is a collaboration with Patrick Carmichael, who has subbed on drums for the band through the years.
“Cognitive Dissonance”’s first verse deals with the confusion we go through, when elders and leaders influence us to change our minds with their negative feelings on those we care about. “We are all born innocent, free of prejudice and hatred, but our elders make us carry a heavy burden, which can last our whole lives. Hatred is taught, we are not born with it,” explains Joe. “We all see children that are terrified by friends that are their same ages, because their parents have taught them negative things about other religions, ethnicities, genders, skin colors, political ideologies….” He says prejudicial teachings “can create “cognitive dissonance” in anyone’s mind when they’re told their friends are ‘evil’ because they have different roots.”
The second verse deals with political and ideological intolerance. “There’s rising extremism, and it’s been this way for decades. People are prisoners of fake news, social media echo chamber bubbles, and politicians who reinforce conspiracy theories and retweet them to their followers. The line ‘No one can touch us now’ refers to people hiding behind their screens, spewing the deep-rooted hatred without fear of physical retaliation. Even though I wrote the song a year ago, I think it eerily speaks to recent events.”
“It’s easy to write about our high ideals and our wishes for world peace, but when you have a gun pointed to your head or your business is burning down, it’s a rude awakening about how nasty the world really is. The big collective guitar/electric violin solo at the end represents two sides screaming at each other, full of hatred, fading out screaming, never reaching an understanding or resolving anything.”
Multi-instrumentalist Randy McStine, who has subbed in Stratospheerius on guitar, bass, and drums, has played on a few of the band’s songs: “Soul Food” and “Impostor.” His voice blends with Joe’s, that “we thought it’d be cool to have him sing lead on the second version of ‘Cognitive Dissonance.’”
Joe has been called The Jimi Hendrix of the electric violin. Stratospheerius has showcased their “frenzied mélange of progressive rock, jazz fusion and funkabilly” throughout the world. Stratospheerius was a winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition the Musicians Atlas Independent Music Awards. They have been featured in Progression, Relix, Downbeat, and Jazziz, among other publications. Their last album on Melodic Revolution Records, “Guilty of Innocence,” has been widely acclaimed by critics and fans. Joe has played violin in orchestras for Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Sheryl Crow, 50 Cent, and Renaissance.
Stratospheerius is: Joe Deninzon – lead vocals/electric violin Jason Gianni – drums Michelangelo Quirinale – guitar Paul Ranieri – bass
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius has released their first new song “Cognitive Dissonance,” with a claymation video to follow in late February. The video is a collaboration with Patrick Carmichael, who has subbed on drums for the band through the years.
“Cognitive Dissonance”’s first verse deals with the confusion we go through, when elders and leaders influence us to change our minds with their negative feelings on those we care about. “We are all born innocent, free of prejudice and hatred, but our elders make us carry a heavy burden, which can last our whole lives. Hatred is taught, we are not born with it,” explains Joe. “We all see children that are terrified by friends that are their same ages, because their parents have taught them negative things about other religions, ethnicities, genders, skin colors, political ideologies….” He says prejudicial teachings “can create “cognitive dissonance” in anyone’s mind when they’re told their friends are ‘evil’ because they have different roots.”
The second verse deals with political and ideological intolerance. “There’s rising extremism, and it’s been this way for decades. People are prisoners of fake news, social media echo chamber bubbles, and politicians who reinforce conspiracy theories and retweet them to their followers. The line ‘No one can touch us now’ refers to people hiding behind their screens, spewing the deep-rooted hatred without fear of physical retaliation. Even though I wrote the song a year ago, I think it eerily speaks to recent events.”
“It’s easy to write about our high ideals and our wishes for world peace, but when you have a gun pointed to your head or your business is burning down, it’s a rude awakening about how nasty the world really is. The big collective guitar/electric violin solo at the end represents two sides screaming at each other, full of hatred, fading out screaming, never reaching an understanding or resolving anything.”
Multi-instrumentalist Randy McStine, who has subbed in Stratospheerius on guitar, bass, and drums, has played on a few of the band’s songs: “Soul Food” and “Impostor.” His voice blends with Joe’s, that “we thought it’d be cool to have him sing lead on the second version of ‘Cognitive Dissonance.’”
Joe has been called The Jimi Hendrix of the electric violin. Stratospheerius has showcased their “frenzied mélange of progressive rock, jazz fusion and funkabilly” throughout the world. Stratospheerius was a winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition the Musicians Atlas Independent Music Awards. They have been featured in Progression, Relix, Downbeat, and Jazziz, among other publications. Their last album on Melodic Revolution Records, “Guilty of Innocence,” has been widely acclaimed by critics and fans. Joe has played violin in orchestras for Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Sheryl Crow, 50 Cent, and Renaissance.
Stratospheerius is: Joe Deninzon – lead vocals/electric violin Jason Gianni – drums Michelangelo Quirinale – guitar Paul Ranieri – bass
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