Dave Kerzner, with a new album, full band, and audiovisual experience
Matt Dorsey, with a full band
Mystery
Rachel Flowers
The Mahavishnu Project
Unitopia
Exhibitors:
Bob Moog Foundation featuring Robeone (Robert Schindler)
The Bandwagon USA
ProgRock.com
More to come!
A New Home!
After 6 years, ProgStock has a new home in 2023!
The Williams Center in Rutherford, NJ, a 101-year-old performing arts center in the heart of Rutherford, located at 1 Williams Plaza, Rutherford, NJ 07070, will be the home of the ProgStock Festival in 2023 and (we hope) for many years to come!
We bid a fond farewell to our former home, the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, NJ. We will especially miss her crew, but the time has come to make a fresh start!
Ticket sales will start on Saturday, June 3rd at 12:00PM US Eastern time with our ProgDucer passes.
Our 5-year Patron passes are already available with your choice of the best available seat this year and for future years at ProgStock, plus many other incredibly awesome perks! Contact us now for details before tickets start selling to the general public.
Access to artist meet-and-greets that day (after Prog-Ducers)
Available starting in mid-September:
Live-Streaming: $10-$15 USD (for each performance)
Can’t make it to the festival this year, but want to join in the fun from the comfort of your own home? Each main stage performance of this year’s festival will be broadcast as a separately ticketed event on the StageIt livestreaming platform. Prices for these livestreamed shows are very affordable, so feel free to throw us onto the big screen at home and join us for as many of our stellar performances as you wish!
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius have launched an IndieGoGo campaign to fund two new releases; a live box set and a new studio album, both due out in 2023.
All the rewards are related to Stratospheerius’ music, starting with a $10 pledge that grants the fans project updates and early mixes, to $2000 for the band to play a concert anywhere in the United States. (Out-of-country performances, please email us).
Melodic Revolution Records will be releasing the live double CD/DVD& Blu-Ray box set in early 2023. The box set is called “Behind the Curtain: Live at ProgStock.”
Later in the year, the band will release their next studio release, the working title “Impostor,” which features many guest stars including Saga’s Michael Sadler, Porcupine Tree’s Randy McStine, Bill Hubauer (Neal Morse Band), multi-instrumentalist Rachel Flowers, cellist Ruti Celli, singer Chloe Lowry (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), and Echo in the Canyon’s Fernando Perdomo.
Along with social media, live shows, and appearances and workshops at music events, Joe says crowdfunding is a way he and the fans have connected through the years. “These days, artists have more creative control and can bypass the middleman and build a beautiful relationship directly with their fans. We are beholden to no one but the people that love and support our music. I love the fact that fans get a chance to follow an album as it is being written, recorded, and mixed. They feel more vested in the project and it becomes a collaboration between the band and the fans.
“The band is grateful for the love and support they have received for their music in recent years, especially in the progressive rock community, and is very excited to release the new projects.”
Led by electric violinist/vocalist Joe Deninzon, who has been called “The Jimi Hendrix of the violin,” Stratospheerius has showcased their “frenzied mélange of progressive rock, jazz fusion, and funkabilly” throughout the world.
Band members are Joe Deninzon-electric violin/vocals (Bruce Springsteen, Renaissance, The Who, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Jason Gianni-drums (The Ultimate Queen Celebration, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rock of Ages, Neil Morse Band), Michaelangelo Quirinale-guitar (Thrilldriver), and Paul Ranieri-bass (Mark Wood, Circuline, Riot Act).
Joe Deninzon & musical friends Rachel Flowers (flute, piano) and Alex Skolnick (guitar) perform Chick Corea’s “Spain” on the upcoming Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ “Behind the Curtain: Live From ProgStock” via Four-Disc Box Set – Double CD, DVD & Blu-Ray to be released by Melodic Revolution Records.
“Spain” will premiere on YouTube on Friday, October 14 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT/ 3 AM Amsterdam time (October 15, Saturday) Watch it here or on YouTube.
“Spain,” and how it came to be by Joe Deninzon
One of the perks of being a jazz musician is that you can walk into a room anywhere in the world, jump on stage with people you’ve never met who may or may not speak your language, and weave together a spontaneous concert based on a shared musical language.
On October 2nd, 2021, when the late great John Goodsall from Brand X fell ill, Stratospheerius was asked last minute to headline Progstock, the biggest prog rock festival in the Northeastern U.S. Preceding our set was the amazing multi-instrumentalist Rachel Flowers, who recently contributed her talents to our single, “Storm Surge.” Following us later that night was the bassist Percy Jones. Joining Percy on guitar was Alex Skolnick. Alex is an old friend who recorded and toured with our band in the early 2000s. I saw a great opportunity to reunite with Alex and include Rachel in a song. It was also nice to give the band a break and play something more stripped-down in the middle of our set. We decided to play Chick Corea’s “Spain,” a song we all knew well. There was no time to rehearse. Alex had heard of Rachel but had never met her. That night, Rachel and Alex met on stage, never having played together before. This performance was completely on the fly! Judging by the audience’s reaction, I think we created some magic that night and are excited to share it with everyone who couldn’t be there in person.
Discography Behind the Curtain: Live at ProgStock (2022) 4 Disc Box set Spain “Live at ProgStock” (2022) Digital Single The Prism “Live at ProgStock” (2022) Digital Single Game of Chicken (Live at ProgStock) (2021) Digital Single Cognitive Dissonance (2021) Digital Single Storm Surge (2020) Digital Single Frame by Frame (2020) Digital Single Impostor! (2019) Digital Single Guilty of Innocence (2018) LP/Vinyl Guilty of Innocence (2017) CD & Digital Album Hysteria (2017) Digital Single The Next World (2012) CD & Digital Headspace (2007) CD & Digital Live Wire (2004) CD & Digital The Adventures of Stratospheerius (2002) CD & Digital Electric / Blue (1998) CD & Digital
Voted “Best Keyboardist of All Time” by Music Radar Magazine, Jordan Rudess is best known as the keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire for platinum-selling Grammy-nominated prog rock band, Dream Theater. A classical prodigy who began his studies at the Juilliard School of Music at the age of 10, Jordan’s music is a unique blend of classical and rock influences.
In addition to playing in Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment, Jordan has worked with a wide range of artists including Deep Purple, David Bowie, Steven Wilson, Jan Hammer, Enrique Iglesias, the Paul Winter Consort, Annie Haslam, LMR (his side project with Tony Levin and Marco Minneman), Blackfield, Aviv Geffen, the Dixie Dregs, Rod Morgenstein and Tony Williams among others. Jordan’s interest in state-of-the-art keyboard controllers and music apps are another area of his career in which he has achieved success. Jordan owns the successful iOs app development company Wizdom Music, creators of award-winning apps such as MorphWiz, SampleWiz, and Geo Synthesizer. Wizdom Music’s latest app GeoShred was created in collaboration with moForte, founding members of Stanford University’s Sondius team. In addition, Jordan is Artist in Residence at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. Jordan’s Patreon page offers access to his live streams and lessons.
Every Saturday in November, ProgStock Presents brings you Moogvember, benefitting The Bob Moog Foundation with marquee performances by Adam Holzman, Larry Fast, The Ryo Okumoto Project, Jordan Rudess and Tom Brislin!
Please note: Artists who appear twice on the schedule will be doing two unique shows.Learn more about Moogvember here! Please note that the StageIt website will default to Pacific time until you have logged in. Once you are logged in, showtimes will be displayed in your local time. Direct Ticket Link for ProgStock Presents: https://www.stageit.com/ProgStock
View this email in your browserWhat could you possibly be doing tonight that’s better than this???Tonight’s Marquee Artist is Jordan Rudess at 4PM & 9PM US EasternVoted “Best Keyboardist of All Time” by Music Radar Magazine, Jordan Rudess is best known as the keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire for platinum-selling Grammy- nominated prog rock band, Dream Theater. A classical prodigy who began his studies at the Juilliard School of Music at the age of 10, Jordan’s music is a unique blend of classical and rock influences.
In addition to playing in Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment, Jordan has worked with a wide range of artists including Deep Purple, David Bowie, Steven Wilson, Jan Hammer, Enrique Iglesias, the Paul Winter Consort, Annie Haslam, LMR (his side project with Tony Levin and Marco Minneman), Blackfield, Aviv Geffen, the Dixie Dregs, Rod Morgenstein and Tony Williams among others. Jordan’s interest in state-of-the-art keyboard controllers and music apps are another area of his career in which he has achieved success. Jordan owns the successful iOs app development company Wizdom Music, creators of award-winning apps such as MorphWiz, SampleWiz, and Geo Synthesizer. Wizdom Music’s latest app GeoShred, was created in collaboration with moForte, founding members of Stanford University’s Sondius team. In addition, Jordan is Artist in Residence at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. Jordan’s Patreon page offers access to his live streams and lessons.
Please note: Artists who appear twice on the schedule will be doing two unique shows.Learn more about Moogvember here! Please note that the StageIt website will default to Pacific time until you have logged in. Once you are logged in, show times will be displayed in your local time. Direct Ticket Link for ProgStock Presents: https://www.stageit.com/ProgStock
The painting is being auctioned on betterworld.org.The image displayed here is the cover art for “Giants,” which is the most recent album cover by Paul Whitehead.Auction winner wins the painting. Paul Whitehead retains the copyright to the original artwork and the right to sell the image. Auction winner may not sell copies, prints or photographs of the painting or use the image for any commercial purpose.Auction winner will also be responsible for the costs of shipping the painting or has the option of picking it up at Paul Whitehead’s gallery in Ventura, CA.Mystery Caught in the Whirlwind of Time December 12, 2020 at 4PM & 6PM US Eastern ProgStock Presents Virtual SeriesWe will have members of Mystery LIVE on Zoom as we play this amazing recording from Boerderij Cultuurpodium in The Netherlands in two segments:Mystery – Caught in the Whirlwind of Time Part 1Mystery – Caught in the Whirlwind of Time Part 2At only $5 each, you are going to want tickets for both parts!
Over the years, the Canadian progressive rock band MYSTERY has gained the reputation of being a great Live band. Caught in the Whirlwind of Time showcases the power and magic of a MYSTERY concert with over 2 hours and 45 minutes recorded on the first show of the “Live and Butterflies Tour.”Recorded and Filmed on November 17, 2018, at the Boerderij Cultuurpodium, Zoetermeer, Netherlands.Mystery’s current line-up is Michel St-Père, bassist François Fournier, guitarist Sylvain Moineau, drummer Jean-Sébastien Goyette, singer Jean Pageau and keyboardist Antoine Michaud.You can also purchase the BluRay here!Mystery – Caught in the Whirlwind of TimeAnnouncing the Nektar Holiday Spectacular! Nektar is having a live concert streaming event on December 5, 2020. Starting at 8pm US EST, Nektar will be performing from the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY. Please join in! This is a 3-tiered event. Details are on Nektar’s website. This event will be available for 3 days to view. We hope to hear from you all! https://nektarsmusic.com/product-category/streamingVirtual ProgStock 2020 T-shirts Now Available for Pre-order in the ProgStock Store!DEADLINE EXTENDED! We need a minimum of 100 preorders to make it possible to produce these shirts at a reasonable price. Please place your order as soon as possible, but definitely before November 30 at 11:59pm US Eastern.
Artwork by Ed UnitskyProgStock Merchandise is ON SALE in the ProgStock Store! Shop Now! ProgStock 17oz Vacuum Bottle (Red, no year) was $25, now on sale for $20!ProgStock Embroidered Hat (Black, no year) was $30, now on sale for $20!ProgStock 2019 Logo T-shirt was $25, now on sale for $20!ProgStock 2019 Logo Glass Beer Mug was $25, now on sale for $20!Get the whole ProgStock Glass Collection: the 2017 pint beer glass, the 2018 stemless wine glass and the 2019 glass beer mug, all for only $40!ProgStock 2018 Logo T-shirt was $25, now on sale for $15!ProgStock 2017 Logo T-shirts (Blue Logo or Black Shirley) were $25, now on sale for $10!All ProgStock Posters (2017, 2018, 2019) and Programs (2018, 2019) now reduced to $2.50 each!New to StageIt? Here’s how to get started…
hows will be presented on StageIt. To participate, you must have a StageIt account. If you don’t yet have an account, here’s what to do:Go to stageit.com (on your laptop or desktop, the site is not mobile-friendly for accounting, but works on mobile for viewing/tipping)Click Sign Up (upper right corner)Create a username and passwordClick “Buy Notes” (10 notes = $1) – The StageIt system sells Notes in minimum intervals of $5 (50 Notes).After choosing how many Notes you want to purchase, choose your payment type – it’ll be credit card or PayPal (with PayPal, you do not need to have an account, you can use a credit/debit card as a guest).Go to the direct ticket link for ProgStock Presents to “follow” the ProgStock StageIt channel and to purchase tickets to the shows you want to watch. Feel free to contact us, if you have any issues.You will also be able to tip the artists before, during and after the shows with Notes. Consider loading up your account in advance, so you can have some fun with tipping while supporting your favorite artists. Many artists view tipping as applause from the audience, since they can see the colored bands appearing on their screen during the show – let them see you cheering!Pricing: With exceptions for special events, 45-minute shows will have a minimum ticket price of $4.00 (40 Notes) and 90-minutes shows will have a minimum ticket price of $8.00 (80 Notes), with prices in US Dollars. You can pay more, if you have the means, and you will also be able to tip during the show with your StageIt Notes. We encourage you to support the artists at this difficult time.
The individual performances on StageIt are separate shows. Audience members will purchase a ticket to each performance individually, not the whole night as a block. Some shows will be 45 minutes and others will be 90, so we may have as few as 3 shows or as many as 6 on each Saturday night.
StageIt is all about experiencing music in the moment, duplicating the live music experience as closely as possible. You have to be there to see it, just like you would in a venue, so shows are only available on their site during the performance window. Some of our artists may choose to capture their shows and make them available later on some other medium (Bandcamp, CD, DVD, etc.) and we (ProgStock) may even capture some of the shows, with artist permission, of course, but the shows will not be available on StageIt outside the show window.
“Storm Surge” is about the anxiety we all feel in these uncertain times. With the global pandemic, the fight against racism and the continuing struggle for social justice, climate change, political upheaval, economic turmoil, and a future of uncertainty, there is a storm that’s raging inside of us right now.
….”as stated by Joe Deninzon” A little over a year ago, my son Max was playing a short piano piece by 19th-century composer Friedrich Burgmüller, called “The Storm.” The piece was stuck in my head because I would hear him practicing it every day. I started to imagine it as a rock power ballad and began to sketch out a slowed-down version with the basic chord changes and structure.
I was imagining a cello replacing the ostinato part played by the left hand on the piano, so I asked my friend Ruti Celli, who I met on Cruise to the Edge last year when we played with Dave Kerzner and In Continuum, to contribute her beautiful part.
Our drummer, Jason Gianni, had a sketch he never finished that he thought would be a perfect fit in the middle of the song. I layered a huge string orchestra on top of that section and recruited the great guitarist/producer Fernando Perdomo to lay down a soaring guitar solo.
Next, I was hearing a flute during the breakdown section that followed. We have never had a flute, or any woodwinds for that matter, on one of our recordings! I asked the genius multi-instrumentalist Rachel Flowers to play the flute and lay down a piano track for the song. Rachel has been blind since age 3 and plays piano, flute, bass, guitar, drums, stick, sings, and records and mixes her own albums! I’ve met and worked with a lot of gifted people in my career, but don’t think I have ever met a person with this level of talent! Check out the documentary about her, Hearing is Believing, on Amazon Prime.
Finally, I’ve been into the idea of using outside singers in Stratospheerius. Up until his time, I have always been the lead vocalist. The new album we are slowly putting together will feature many special guests. We’ve been longtime fans of the 80’s Canadian band SAGA best known for hits like “Wind Him Up” and “On The Loose.” When we played at the ProgStock Festival afterparty back in 2018, Saga’s lead singer Michael Sadlercaught our set after his performance at the festival, and was raving about the band! We were incredibly humbled to receive such words of encouragement from such an iconic artist.
We felt Michael’s voice would be perfect for this song! He ended up contributing a jaw-dropping vocal performance, enhancing the melody, and adding Queenesque harmonies. As a side note, he and his wife Gwen turned out to be some of the nicest and most gracious people I have ever worked with.
Stratospheerius is: Joe Deninzon – lead vocals/electric violin Jason Gianni- drums Michelangelo Quirinale – guitar Paul Ranieri – bass
Special Performances on Storm Surge Video and Single Michael Sadler – Vocals Rachel Flowers – Keys and Flute Yulia Ziskel – Violin RutiCelli – Cello Fernando Perdomo – Guitar
Tracked by Rave Tesar (Renaissance) Mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser (Spocks Beard, Dream Theater)
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