No matter what you celebrate, be it Christmas, Channukah, Kwanza, Festivus, or just another day above ground, there is always a good excuse to buy Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius music & merch!
Whether it’s a gift for a friend or relative, or for yourself. Our items are perfect for stuffing your stocking… or stuffing anything else for that matter!
(We don’t judge).
….And now until 11:59 P.M. EST on December 31st, you can get 20 pct off of ANYTHING on the Joe Deninzon or Stratospheerius BANDCAMP stores if you type in the code “holidaze” at checkout! So what are you waiting for?!
We got CD’s, DVD’s, vinyls, T-shirts, books, mugs for your egg nog, and downloads!
2025 has been another jam-packed year! Busy touring with Kansas, playing a few shows with Stratospheerius, session work and writing, and taking care of my family as much as I can. Here are some highlights…
Kansas had an incredibly busy year, but it got off to a rough start.
Back in February, our singer, Ronnie Platt, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, leading to two months of cancelled shows, including us pulling out of the 70’s Rock and Romance Cruise, which we were supposed to do in March and will make up for this coming March.
Fortunately, Ronnie was able to get thyroid removal surgery in March, and returned to the stage in St. George, UT on April 4th.
The speed of his recovery was truly a miracle!
For the remaining part of the year, we made up for lost time, touring for 20 weeks straight without a break and playing a total of 71 shows in 2025!
After our epic 50th anniversary tour won down in December of last year, we changed up our setlist and joined forces with some other great classic bands.
It was such an honor to share bills and hang with 38 Special, Outlaws, Night Ranger, Jefferson Starship, Starship (feat. Mickey Thomas), and Blue Oyster Cult.
I grew up listening to these bands and it was such a blast getting to know them personally and watching them kick ass onstage every night. The comraderie and mutual respect was a beautiful thing and the musicians inspired each other!
On November 2nd, my worlds collided when Kansas played a show with members of the New Jersey Symphony at my backyard venue, Bergen Performing Arts Center! NJSO was my wife Yulia Ziskel’s first job while she was still in Juilliard before she joined the NY Philharmonic, and I have subbed with that orchestra as well.
It’s amazing when things come full circle. In attendance that night were keyboard legend Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Derek Shulman, former singer of Gentle Giant and legendary record executive who signed Bon Jovi, Pantera, and Dream Theater among others!
2026 is shaping up to be another busy year for us. You can see all the upcoming Kansas shows at www.kansasband.com
These days, you can count on one hand how many shows Stratospheerius does each year., but we keep on going because we love playing with each other and … well… its just so damn fun!
In 2025, our show highlights included a show at one of our favorite venues in the Philly/Wilmington area, Kennett Flash, with Kansas’ bassist Dan McGowan’s incredible band, The Tea Club! Check out their great new album, “Chasm.”
Other highlights included opening for Asia (Feat. John Payne) at the Sellersville Theater, and making our debut at Daryl’s House Club (beautiful venue owned by Daryl Hall) in Pawling, NY.
We are currently writing and tracking some new music, and we have a big show announcement pending, so please stay tuned…
Here again is our latest video for the song “Voodoo Vortex (Part I, which we released back in February
Education Station
Before joining Kansas, I was busy as a clinician and teacher, doing workshops and residencies at high schools and colleges throughout the country, teaching at Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp and other music camps. It’s one of most rewarding things that I love to do! That’s why I’m grateful to my friend Jocelyn Rowland Khalaf for organizing a 1-hr performance/workshop for me when Kansas was in Tulsa this past November. It was a blast performing for and working with 600 orchestra kids from the Union County Public Schools!
Album Appearances
When I’m not on tour with Kansas, I love doing session work for people and making guest appearances on other people’s projects. Here are some of my favorite ones from the past year.
My new friend and 7D Media labelmate, Jason Everett, is an incredible bass player and composer. His project, “Deep Energy Orchestra,” is a combination of some of my favorite musical influences, namely Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. I was honored to appear on two tracks on the excellent new album, “The Science of Sound”
The album also features stick player Trey Gunn (King Crimson), drummer Gary Husband (Chick Corea, Jeff Beck), and Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson) among others.
Nad Sylvan is best known as the singer for original genesis guitarist, Steve Hacket. He’s also released a bunch of excellent solo albums. His awesome new album is called “Monumentata” and you can here me on the track, “I’m Stepping out.”
Door Dash Commercial
Back in February, one of the commercials I recorded strings for was aired during the Super Bowl. Check out this DoorDash commercial featuring Nate Bargatze, music composed by Aaron Paul Low.
Press
Joe Deninzon Violin Tour
I thought it would be fun to showcase and talk about my collection of acoustic and electric violins, violas, chin cellos, and other bowed stringy things, as well as some of the studio work I have done. Check it out!
Interview & Reaction Video with NicknLex
NicknLex are a super cool couple who are passionate about music. Stratospheerius was honored to get our first reaction video from our song, “Impostor!” NicknLex also interviewed me and my drummer Jason Gianni.
More international rave reviews of Stratospheerius’ album, “Impostor!”
“. Chasing The Dragon is diverse, dynamic, bombastic and 100% harmonious; indeed, a classic prog rock epic for sure, and a powerful end to a magnificent album.”
Impostor! is a MUST have album for fans of Kansas, Spock’s Beard, and The Neal Morse Band, so check it out indeed!”
Daryl’s House is owned by Daryl Hall from Hall & Oats and is a super cool venue. We are excited to be making our debut there!
Stratospheerius is: Joe Deninzon-electric violin/lead vocals
Jason Gianni-drums
Michelangelo Quirinale-bass
Bill Hubauer-keyboards on select shows
Dan Asher/Jeff Kotch-bass
Almost a year ago, Stratospheerius released our album, “Impostor!” On 7D Media. This was our most acclaimed album to date, peaking at #4 on the Relix National charts, making numerous critic’s “Best of 2024” list, and receiving much love from fans worldwide. This year, it is eligible for Grammy consideration, and we have submitted it in the following categories:
Best Instrumental Composition: Voodoo Vortex (Part I)
Best Rock Album: “Impostor!”
Best Rock Performance/Best Rock Song: “Outrage Olympics.”
You can listen/watch the music here on our FYC PAGE
Joe Deninzon Violin Tour
I thought it would be fun to showcase and talk about my collection of acoustic and electric violins, violas, chin cellos, and other bowed stringy things, as well as some of the studio work I have done. Check it out!
Here’s a recent interview I did with Jim Masters on his show. We talked about my journey fro a shy immigrant kid who didn’t speak any English, to falling in love with rock violin, my adventures in freelancing and hustling for years in NY, teaching, Stratospheerius, and joining Kansas, among other things. Check it out!
For this who don’t know, I have a PATREON page. For the base price of $5 per month, I’ll share behind the scenes crazy stories in my “Gig Diaries.” For $10 you get a free unreleased track every month. Higher tiers include lessons, personalized, zoom concerts, free tickets, and free swag. I haven’t heavily promoted this page, but it does exist, and all this helps fund future JD/Stratospheerius albums, tours, and other such endeavors.
I’m long overdue for this newsletter, but I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off and have let things pile up on my to-do list. (Sorry about that)
Anyway, hope you’re all staying cool and finding some time to travel, chill out, and catch some live music.
Speaking of live music… Kansas is in the middle of an epic tour with our friends 38 Special and the Outlaws. As a young kid in the 80’s for whom MTV was the gateway drug that led me down the “evil” path of rock n roll and away from my parents’ classical music aspirations, 38 was one of the bands I’d listen to on a regular basis. It’s great to get to know these guys and watch them kick ass every night before Kansas goes on.
We’ve been playing mostly outdoor amphitheaters, and have had to deal with rain.. a LOT of rain! In fact, the first ten shows in a row were monsoon gigs! It’s like a cloud was following us everywhere we went! But fortunately, outside of the recent Richmond, VA, show where everyone risked getting struck by lightning, we’ve had no cancellations, just a few delays. The show must, go on, as they say!
Here are all the dates for the tour with Outlaws and 38. We also will have other artists joining us, like Dave Mason, Jefferson Starship, Eli Young Band and Blue Oyster Cult. Please visit kansasband.com for ticket links to all the shows for tour and beyond.
Stratospheerius stuff
The “Impostor!” Album keeps making waves all over the world! We are so grateful to our label, 7D Media, for helping this album grow, as well as our European distributors Burning Shed and Just for Kicks, and The Bandwagon USA!
Our music has been streamed and purchased across 5 continents and in countries including the US, Canada, Brazil, India, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Viet Nam, and all over Europe!
“Outrage Olympics” has gotten over 60k Spotify streams and the video has been featured in 5 international Film Festivals. We are so grateful to all the fans, old and new, who have embraced this album and hope that we can follow it up with something beautiful and continue building the buzz!
Here are some more recent reviews of “Impostor!”
“. Chasing The Dragon is diverse, dynamic, bombastic and 100% harmonious; indeed, a classic prog rock epic for sure, and a powerful end to a magnificent album.
Impostor! is a MUST have album for fans of Kansas, Spock’s Beard, and The Neal Morse Band, so check it out indeed!”
If you haven’t already, check out THIS LINK which will take you to all the places where you can stream, purchase, or download the album.
And here again is the video for our “smash” single, “Outrage Olympics.”
Kansas’ relentless touring schedule has limited Stratospheerius from booking live shows, but all that is about to change. Stay tuned for soon-to-be-announced dates!
In the Press
Joe Deninzon NicknLex reaction video and interview
Reaction videos have become all the rage in recent years, and Stratospheerius is honored to get our first one from the awesome NickNLex! These guys are passionate and knowledgeable about music and are just the nicest people you can talk to. Check out their reaction video to the song “Impostor!” And the interview I did with them for their show. And please subscribe to their channel!
Back in the year 2000, I was a hungry 25-year-old newcomer to NYC, taking any gig or opportunity that came my way. My wife Yulia was finishing her Master’s degree at Juilliard. In 1999, MTV held their VMA’s at the Met Opera and put up ads at Juilliard looking for seat fillers and people to appear in the crowd. Yulia signed up but didn’t take part….but they had our contact info in their database. A few months later, I got a call from MTV saying they were holding auditions for the show “Say What Karaoke” and asking if I’d like to try out. I thought, what have I got to lose? It could be an interesting experience!
The auditions were held at Fordham University. I picked the song “Get a Job” by the band OutKast and sang my heart out! A few weeks later, I got the call inviting me on the show. They filmed the whole season in one day at MTV studios in Times Square.
The judges were Mandy Moore, the late great Ananda Lewis, and Luke Esterkyn, the lead singer of Stroke 9.
I actually had hair back then, and a pair of purple magenta glitter Doc Martens, and could show my bare chest without shame (before the beer belly, haha!) And I knew how to ham it up for the crowd. I still do. Anyway, that’s all I’m gonna say. I found the videotape and had it transferred to digital, and here it is in all its glory. Enjoy!
Nad Sylvan is a Swedish singer best known for his work with Genesis guitarist, Steve Hackett. Nad does an amazing job recreating Peter Gabriel’s vocals on the classic Genesis material, but he is also a great songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and has released a string of great records. The latest, “Monumental,” on the Inside Out/Sony label, features me on the second, single, “I’m Stepping Out.” The album also features an all-star cast of musicians, including bassists Nick Beggs, Jonas Reingold & Tony Levin, drummers Marco Minnemann, Felix Lehrmann & Mirko De Maio, as well as a few guest guitarists with Randy McStine, David Kollar & Neil Whitford. Such an honor to be among these legendary musicians on a beautiful record that is very well-written and well produced. I think you’ll dig this one. Order the album HERE and watch the video below.
Some people do Sodoku puzzles to chill out. I write rock and pop string arrangements. In fact, I’ve written over 300 of them, and have over 200 currently available for sale! Check out my catalogue HERE! I call it “Joey D’s Rock & Pop String Arrangement Emporium!”
Well, that’s it for now. Have a great summer and I hope to see you all down the road.
Hope this newsletter finds you in good spirits. Despite the world being on fire (literally and figuratively), we can still find solace in good music, art, friends, and all the beautiful things life has to offer.
Sorry to start on such a dark note.
First off, on behalf of Stratospheerius and myself, our hearts go out to all the people who lost their homes in the tragic LA fires that took place in January. One such person is our good friend, Rich Mouser. Rich was the engineer who mixed and mastered our “Impostor!” Album. He is a brilliant engineer whose resume includes artists like Tears for Fears, Wheezer, Dream Theater, and Spock’s Beard. Rich lived in Altadena and lost his home and his legendary recording studio, “The Mouse House,” where some of our favorite albums of the past three decades were created. His daughter started a Gofundme to help Rich recover some of his lost equipment so he can continue making beautiful records and rebuild his life. Please consider making a donation.
You can also donate to the artistic community through https://musicares.org, an organization run through the Recording Academy to help musicians. They are currently focused on artists based in the LA area affected by the fires.
New Stratospheerus Video “Voodoo Vortex Part I”
Our latest video is from our song, “Voodoo Vortex Part I” from our “Impostor!” Album. This is an instrumental song with a seventies vibe, inspired by some of my electric violin heroes, like Jean-Luc Ponty, Jerry Goodman, and Eddie Jobson. The seventies washeavily populated by innovative electric string players who paved the way for guys like me. The video includes AI footage generated by Robert Minsk, combined with still shots of Stratospheerus taken by Jody Gianni and performance footage from our album release back in December filmed by David P Levin. Enjoy!
“Outrage Olympics” video featured in two film festivals!
This is the first time one of Stratospheerius’s videos has been recognized by the film industry!
Our video for “Outrage Olympics,” which came out a few months ago, will be featured in two international film festivals; “Independent Shorts Awards” in LA and the “North Film Festival” in NYC. The video will be shown on the big screen for the North Festival, followed by a Q&A with myself and director David P. Levin, this coming Thursday Feb 27th at 2 P.M. at the Producers Club Theater:
358 West 44th Street, New York, New York 10036 United States
Joe Deninzon strings featured in Super Bowl DoorDash commercial
I was psyched to have my string work featured on a recent DoorDash commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl. I recorded all the violins, violas, and chin cello, in collaboration with my longtime colleague Aaron Paul Low. The commercial features one of my favorite comedians, Nate Bargatze.Check it out!
Prayers for Kansas’s Ronnie Platt
My good friend and Kansas bandmate, singer Ronnie Platt, has been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer, forcing us to cancel tour dates through the end of March. We hope too be back in April and are taking time off while Ronnie recovers from his surgery and as we look for a possible sub until Ronnie is able to tour and sing again. Sending him our prayers and healing vibes.
Four months after its release, our new album, “Impostor!” continues to make waves around the world! With rave reviews, multiple critics’ “best of 2024” lists,” air-lay on 120 stations nationwide, and 3 months (and counting) on the Relix Jamband Charts!
We are blown away by the overwhelmingly positive response and are grateful for the love people have shown for this music. It makes all our efforts worthwhile.
Here are some recent international reviews, which you can punch into google translate:
Attention, European fans! Stratospheerius is happy to announce that we recently signed a deal with Burning Shed distribution in the UK and Just for Kicks Music in Germany for our CD, “Impostor!” You can now order the physical CD directly from those sites and avoid expensive shipping costs associated with the US.
