Reviews of the new Stratospheerius album, “Impostor!”

Reviews of the new Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius album, “Impostor!” from 7D Media

“Impeccably played progressive rock music by a solid core of players assisted by an impressive array of guest artists.”

Joe Deninzon and Stratospheerius – Impostor! | The Phantom Tollbooth

JOE DENINZON Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius: Impostor! music review by BBKron

 

Prog Report Awards:

https://progreport.com/vote-for-the-2024-prog-report-awards/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHF5E5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHaoaS-XaqRm8oTbSoZ_gDkAasJf0qd_jqcaMIQ3JWuG3X-kgNkudVpJgNA_aem_I9rBh6_4q5N_Adit68Swfw

Best of 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Evh-gDRvzA

DMME

https://dmme.net/joe-deninzon-stratospheerius-impostor/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1xr85L8ikdCvi4bT2SSc7Dv0ImBeNLYkx8yDpChiS1mkgf4hC8BkJMQbY_aem_QnHJ2GRHXs-oSe8NQAo3Pw

Progressive aspect review 

“When a band jumps several levels from one record to the next as Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius have done, I am reminded of all the unsung artists toiling away, pouring their hearts and souls into the music, chasing the dragon as it were. In this case, I think Impostor! is an example of watching the band grab that fire-breathing reptile by the tail. Well done, gentlemen!”

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius – Impostor! – T P A

Howard Whitman interview

https://www.goldminemag.com/columns/living-the-dream-joe-deninzon-reflects-on-life-in-kansas

Ray Shasho:

https://www.classicrockhereandnow.com/2024/11/kansas-member-and-prolific-violinist.html

https://www.progsheet.com/impostortbt2024.html

Sea of tranquility review

Impostor! stands out for its refined blend of progressive rock, fusion and jazz-rock. Fans of intricate musicianship and complex compositions will find this album captivating… just like I did.”-Jose Antonio Marmoi 

Review: “Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius: Impostor!” – Sea of Tranquility – The Web Destination for Progressive Music!

South FL music magazine

https://www.sflmusic.com/joe-deninzon/

https://output.reportmule.com/web/dtQKbiFiRN#full_article_2911982

SONIC PERSPECTIVES

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/joe-deninzon-stratospheerius-impostor/

“…Ushering the violin into its rightful place as a lead prog instrument, Joe Deninzon and his band serve up a diverse and inspired collection of original songs plus one choice cover. Accept no impostors, Stratospheerius are the real deal…”

THE PROG REPORT

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius – Impostor! (Album Review) – The Prog Report

“With excellent composition and production, a seven-stringed instrument conferred by the angels, brilliant drumming, guitar, bass, keys and vocals and outstanding production, this album is more than just another good Prog album. It is a veritable classical gas.”

https://vintagerock.com/joe-deninzon-stratospheerius-imposter-new-studio-release-review/

Deane Wolfe interview

 

NJ ARTS INterview Feb 2015

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

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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.”