“Save the Monarch”: New Video from John Hall featuring Dar Williams

Nashville, TN – Acclaimed singer-songwriter, environmental activist and former U.S. Congressman John Hall announced today the release of a new video for his song “Save the Monarch,” which features renowned folk music artist Dar Williams. The four-and-a half minute long video is available on Hall’s website and YouTube (https://youtu.be/Q3y2L4jyyJo)

“Save the Monarch” appears on Hall’s latest album, Reclaiming My Time, which was released in May 2021. Hall’s sixth solo record, in addition to the 18 albums he released with the pop-rock band Orleans, Reclaiming My Time broke the Top 20 on the Americana Country Charts and was widely praised upon release. (The album’s title is a phrase used on the floor of Congress when a member wants to resume speaking after an interruption.) 

“When I wrote ‘Save the Monarch’ I envisioned it as a hymn for endangered species, a sincere prayer that we answer the call to be good stewards of the earth,” said Hall. “The urgency of needing to protect life on our planet has been an enduring theme in my work, and I was absolutely thrilled when Dar (Williams), a neighbor of mine when I lived in New York’s Hudson Valley, agreed to sing the song with me. Dar is such an extraordinary artist and writer, as well as an engaged environmentalist. She certainly helps lift the song and gives it greater resonance.”

Hall and Williams swapping vocals on “Save the Monarch” is certainly apt, as they served for several years together on the board of directors of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environmental and education nonprofit co-founded in 1969 by folk music icon and activist Pete Seeger. 

The video for “Save the Monarch” was directed, filmed and edited by Rob Arthur, who has directed videos for the Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason and Peter Frampton as well. A veteran keyboardist, Arthur has spent the past two decades serving as the bandleader for Peter Frampton. 

Hall plays all of the instruments on “Save the Monarch” except for drums, which are handled by Peter O’Brien, Hall’s former bandmate in Orleans. Reclaiming My Time is notable for the many musical artists who joined Hall in the studio, including John Cowan (New Grass Revival, Doobie Brothers), Andrea Zonn (James Taylor, Vince Gill), Jay Collins (Dukes of September, Allmans), Sean Paddock (Kenny Chesney) and pedal steel guitar player Dan Dugmore. Steve Wariner co-wrote and sang a duet with Hall on “Another Sunset.”

Hall is known mostly for his work with Orleans; the band’s hits “Still the One” and “Dance with Me,” which he co-wrote with former wife Johanna Hall, continue to be streamed over 100,000 times apiece daily. Last year, Orleans released a Christmas album called New Star Shining, and in 2022 the band will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.

In 1979, Hall launched Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash, which culminated in the famed “No Nukes” concerts, which featured the above-mentioned musical artists, as well as Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers and Carly Simon. 

Hall was elected in 2006 and 2008 to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he fought for environmental issues and veterans’ disability rights. In 2016, his memoir Still the One: A Rock’n’Roll Journey to Congress and Back was published.

 

 

Dedicated to Greta Thunberg & Pete Seeger

Songs of The Environment, Leadership, the Pandemic

Wake Up   Orleans Adult Album Alternative, trumpet, group harmony, wake up, people, “wake up!” environment, pollution, “stop throwing plastic in the sea/can’t you let the fishies be!” ecology, snow, lightning, birds in flight, seasons, signs of life, “the day’s gonna come” air pollution, water pollution, #MusiciansUnitedForSafeEnergy,  

 This Darkness  Rachael Sage female singer with CSNY protest guitar sound, environment, the song is about the Dakota Pipeline, keywords:  see myself, grieve myself, somebody's fool, hate, “I don’t know why you’re full of hate.”   

 

Beez (I Know Where The Beez Have Gone Slambovian Circus of Dreams Rock, slow tempo, environment, Americana, vocals like Tom Petty, “Stopped controlling the world,” lyrics offer ideas on how to increase the bees to visit plantlife. “the bees are in my yard, I know where the Beez Have Gone,” “Reteaching me the facts of life” “creatures great and small”    

Freedom Hymn CC Clevenger patriotic southern rock starting with a drum roll & Charlie Daniels/ Molly Hatchet style guitars & voice, respect for our military, hook is "thank you Air Force & Marines, Coast Guard, Army and Navy to the men and women." recites Pledge of Allegiance.

Backbone Emily Hurd  country, female lead vocals, like Alison Krauss, rising above obstacles, against the people that got in the way of her success or love, it breaks her heart but you played your part building my backbone. 

One Good Man   Cornelius Eady male vocals percussion, John Henry's hammer, one good man shook people up against the odds, mock the devil straight to his face, Resist 

Divided We Fall Bill Leverty  hard rock/classic rock, male vocals, bass, lead   guitar, dangerous song, standing up to a troublemaker who can anything than anyone else.  "You're a natural--natural disaster."  

A Void  Andrew Alling acoustic/singer-songwriter Neil Young style with guitar and harmonica male vocals  A Void in relationships, why are we against the world? DirtyWords, time to heal, rock & ground shaking poetics. 

Beverly Garland Award-Winning Artist & Storyteller Wins Multiple Cat Writers Association Awards

 Artist/Social Media/Video Producer Beverly Garland Available for Interviews

Beverly Garland’s YouTube Channel and job, “I Love To Draw Cats” is a multiple winner.  Most recently she was a triple threat in this year’s Cat Writers Association Muse Awards. Her YouTube channel shows Beverly, the pencil artist, in action. She tells stories about the cats she draws them for her adoring fans.

ILoveToDrawCats’ YouTube channel and (https://www.youtube.com/c/ILoveToDrawCats) won:

The MUSE Medallion for the “Social Media Excellence: Humor and Entertainment” category.

Her video drawing Jugg, the Tortie Pet Portrait was presented with the Kari Winters’ Rescue and Rehabilitation Award.

and

The CWA President’s Award (“Best of the Best” of all MUSE winners)

Deb Barnes, who served as President for the Cat Writers Association through September 2020, awarded “Jugg” and Beverly’s YouTube Channel the “Best of the Best” Award, because “this entry captured my heart with its compelling use of storytelling, drawing, and videography…..I enjoyed each and every video portrait immensely, admiring the talents of this very creative artist who uses our current technologies so well….  

“The drawings are exquisite works of art and the use of colored pencils to create the finest of details – from the delicate wisp of a whisker to the beautiful twinkle in the cat’s eye, the window to the soul of a cat, each drawing is beautifully representative of the commissioned cat, becoming a treasured, keepsake, work of art.” 

Ms. Garland is a self-taught artist, whose cat portrait business developed organically through a confluence of events and circumstances, became a reality at the beginning of 2019. “I was interviewing people about their beloved cats, making drawings, and editing together videos for each one. It was my dream job!”

Whatever Beverly’s worked at, cats found their ways into her focus. She earned her Masters’ Degree in Geography and the Environment, in part, by writing her thesis on feral cats! She was deeply involved in Trap-Neuter-Return, even taught TNR classes for Spay Austin. 

With roots in Illinois and Texas, Beverly’s been living and traveling with her partner, Cobra, and one of her senior cats, in a retired school bus! “We usually cover 5000-plus miles each year. Creating cat portraits is the perfect business to do on the road in a confined space.”

The Cat Writers Association is a Global Cat-centric professional organization, dedicated to excellence in written, visual, and audio media. The CWA is an organization that supports existing members and seeks to mentor those new to the profession. Its goal--since 1992 – is to improve the quality of cat information for the general public and to inspire, educate, and inform. Visit catwriters.org.

This is Beverly's award-winning video, Jugg the Tortie

New Single in Europe: HYSTERIA by Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius

Band Gives muse Song “Queen” Treatment Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius are releasing a new single HYSTERIA for International Audiences.  HYSTERIA is a “Queen-esque” cover of the muse hit.  Deninzon chooses his covers carefully. “Being a fan of Muse, the song spoke to him. “We would perform it on our live shows over the past few years, and I felt it suited us and fit in with our set next to our originals. I wanted to record a version similar to the original, but the band refused, saying why re-create something that was so perfect to begin with? They forced me to re-imagine the song entirely.”  “I was having a very good day vocally and channeled my inner Matt Bellamy, hitting the E’s! Rocking my “Viper” electric violin through a whammy pedal and an Earthquake Arpenoid in the solo. We pulled out all the stops!” The operatic intro is my tip of the hat to Queen, who obviously influenced the music of MUSE. Two of my all-time favorite bands! This was the first time we had an operatic Soprano (Melanie Mitrano) on a Stratospheerius recording.” Here is the music video for HYSTERIA.   Recently passing the 150 mark of radio stations playing the band’s latest album, GUILTY OF INNOCENCE, the album is finding support in Europe—thanks, in part, to a media outreach campaign by Judith Fisher of BJF PR. The group is being played a number of times by iconic radio hosts including Mark from Holland and Dick Heath’s Alt2 Radio Show out of Loughborough. Says Garry of Starship Overflow (on London’s Radio Gibb FM) “Real proof that the fiddle rocks & the vocals shine... Cracking album, so get your rocks off and PLAY LOUD!”    Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius are signed to Melodic Revolution Records, one of the leading progressive rock labels in North America.  Melodic Revolution Records’ slogan is “Music Is Our Voice.” The group was the buzz band at this year’s ProgStock, and have signed on for the main stage at next year’s Fest.     GUILTY OF INNOCENCE is Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ fifth album.  The 10-track prog rock album is available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats, and features special appearances by Alex Skolnick (Testament), Rave Tesar (Renaissance) and Randy McStine (The Fringe).     The band is led by founding member, electric violinist & vocalist Joe Deninzon. Joe has been called the “Jimi Hendrix of the electric violin.” Playing are guitarist Aurelien Budynek (Cindy Blackman, Vernon Reid), bassist Jamie Bishop (The Syn, Francis Dunnery), and drummer Lucianna Padmore, praised by Modern Drummer Magazine for her “Deep grooves and serious fusion chops.”    As a renowned violinist, Joe has recorded/performed with Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Peter Criss, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC Ballet (electric violin soloist), Les Paul… He is the author of the alternative violin Bible: “Plugging In: A Guide to Gear and Technique for the 21st Century String Player” through Mel Bay. Joe premiered his “Dream Diary: Concerto for Seven-String Electric Violin and Orchestra” with the Muncie Symphony, and renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine commissioned Joe’s “The Electric Lake of Soul.” He is a 14-time BMI Jazz Composer’s grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Sports Music by Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius

Hysteria The hit by (UK rockers) muse, reimagined. Wagnerian rock with shades of Queen. Hard and faster, Passionate vocals. The electric violin gives the recording electric heavy metal power. “I want it now.” 


Road Rage Aggressive, electric violin driven songs with the power and energy similar to Slamming metal, pace like Flight of the Bumblebee.  

The Greatest Lives Joe wrote the music, tweaked lyrics, produced, and arranged this song about "The Greatest"--Muhammad Ali.  Sung by Thembeka Mnguni for Universal South Africa, this version song recalls Midwest rock and soul.  Vocals will remind you, probably, of Etta James, Mavis Staples, Cissy Houston.  

” 

Game of Chicken Violin-driven rock, similar to Survivor, but with electric violin. Chasing to fight reckless causes. We are all speeding towards the edge of a giant cliff screaming at each other as a way to try to solve our problems. The one who swerves will be called a "chicken,” or a coward.   



Climbing Vocals kindred to Jack Bruce, electric violin-driven. Song is inspired by music of Marshall Tucker/Pearl Jam. CLIMBING is about never giving up! 



Listen to Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius' new album, GUILTY OF INNOCENCE, now on over 100 stations in North America:

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius Music Video/Single, HYSTERIA

(Electric Violinist/Singer Amplifies Muse’s Passionate Song)

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ new music video and single, HYSTERIA will be live on YouTube, Spotify, and digital stores on August 4.

HYSTERIA is a Wagnerian/Queen-esque cover of Muse’s 2003 hit.  The song is going to be on the upcoming Stratospheerius album, GUILTY OF INNOCENCE, out September 29 on Melodic Revolution Records, the leading North American progressive rock record label. 

Directed by musician Dave Milone (of the band Radio 4), the video for HYSTERIA features a dramatic performance of the band punctuated with explosions. Deninzon says the explosions represent “Someone who has had enough! Feeling hopeless frustration with the current state of the world, breaking out of a bad relationship, or someone held back from their dreams and ambitions, a prisoner in their mind or in a literal sense…or both!”  

Joe is a huge Muse and Queen fan, and pays tribute to both bands in their version of this song, "The original was so perfect that we wanted to reimagine the song entirely!" The single features singer Melanie Mitrano, the first time Stratospheerius has ever had an operatic soprano guesting on any of their recordings.

Fusing influences by artists as diverse as Tool, Tom Morello, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Jack Bruce, Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius are contenders for being the biggest deal in prog that you've never heard!  Writes Cleveland.com’s Peter Chakerian, “He may not be a ‘household name’ (yet) but he's kind of a big deal.” Adds Progressive Rock Central’s Angel Romero, the group “combines solid songwriting and tradition with extraordinary electric violin work and the sounds of the future.” 

Special guests on GUILTY OF INNOCENCE include guitarist Alex Skolnick (Testament, TSO), keyboardist Rave Tesar (Renaissance), and vocalist/guitarist Randy McStine (The Fringe, Stu Hamm).  

For updates on digital store links such as iTunes, Amazon, visit both the Melodic Revolution Records and Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ Facebook and YouTube pages. CDBaby is selling the single, and taking pre-orders for the GUILTY OF INNOCENCE album at: 

http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/joedeninzonstratospheeri4. 

Melodic Revolution Records’ slogan is “Music Is Our Voice.”

#### 

Social Media

www.facebook.com/stratospheerius/

www.youtube.com/user/jdeninzon

www.Instagram.com/Stratospheerius

www.twitter.com/JoeDeninzon

www.JoeDeninzon.com

www.Stratospheerius.com

http://melodicrevolution.com

Dave Milone, Video Director: 

www.silverproentertainment.com

Highland School Orchestras to Perform with Electric Violinist, Joe Deninzon, May 4, in Medina, OH

  

Highland Middle School and Highland High School Orchestras will present two concerts on Wednesday, May 4 in the Highland High School Auditorium, featuring electric violinist and recording artist Joe Deninzon. The HMS Orchestra concert begins at 6:30 p.m.; and the HHS Orchestra concert begins at 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. The program will include original songs by Deninzon, as well as some of his arrangements of popular songs from composers including Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon/Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Kurt Cobain and Muse’s Matthew Bellamy.    

Deninzon, the music world's expert on alternative violin techniques, will also lead a two-day workshop with Highland orchestra students, focusing on rock stylings and improvisation. A musician who transcends many genres, Deninzon has recorded and performed with a variety of artists including Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis, Les Paul, Phoebe Snow, Jane Monheit, Robert Bonfiglio and President Bill Clinton. An active clinician, he has taught at Mark O’Connor’s renowned String Camp and Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp. He leads the band Stratospheerius, which was a winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Additionally, he was awarded the Online People's Choice Awards in the Cornucopia Festival, and named "Best Jam Band" in Musician's Atlas Independent Music Awards. He is also a member of the classical hip hop Latin jazz string quartet, Sweet Plantain.  

The Highland Orchestras are under the direction of Mrs. Rachel Gamin who holds both a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University and studied violin performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Under her leadership, the Highland Orchestra Program has grown from 41 students in 2009 to over 300 presently. The concert and workshops are made possible through the generous support of The Highland Foundation.

highlandschools.org

 

Renowned electric violinist Joe Deninzon Joins SEE 1 Rock Orchestra (Students From The Sycamore School System in the School’s Rock Orchestra) Live on February 19th.

LOCATION INFO:
Sycamore Junior High School
5757 Cooper Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
(513) 686-1760

Sycamore High School
7400 Cornell Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
(513) 686-1770

Contact: Sycamore Community Schools: Mallory Bonbright |  bonbrightm@sycamoreschools.org.

Contact: Joe Deninzon: Anne Leighton: 718-881-8183 | anne@anneLeighton.com

Renowned electric violinist Joe Deninzon Joins SEE 1 Rock Orchestra (Students From The Sycamore School System in the School’s Rock Orchestra) Live on February 19th. (Media avails from Deninzon & the School’s Conductor David Smarelli)

SEE 1 Rock Orchestra of the Sycamore Community Schools will be presenting contemporary hits by the Weekend, One Republic, Muse, classics by Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Van Halen, and the Allman Brothers, plus some of Joe Deninzon’s original music at Sycamore High School, in  Cincinnati, OH on February 19th at 7 pm. 
Admission is $10. Tickets will be at the door.
The school’s phone number is (513) 686-1760.
  The website is sycamoreschools.org. Tickets are available on www.SBOB.org through the online store.

Other activities will take place on February 18th, including workshops with students from both Sycamore’s Junior and Senior High Schools. Workshops run 8:15 am through 11:20 am at the High School and Junior High. 

Sycamore Electric Ensemble (also known as SEE 1) is Cincinnati’s first high school rock orchestra. Formed in 2003, SEE 1 is composed of electric string instruments along with traditional "garage band" instruments. SEE 1 has collaborated with national fiddling champion Alex DePue, Mark Wood, internationally known electric violinist and Emmy-winning composer and Christian Howes, internationally known jazz and rock violinist. The concert will feature a professional light show.  

Directing The SEE 1 Rock Orchestra is founder David Smarelli, now in his 27th year as the Director of Orchestras, and a strings teacher for the Sycamore Community Schools.  His musical credits include conducting the Ohio Northern University String Ensemble and the Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra (where he also served as music director).

In Cincinnati, David performs regularly with the Blue Ash/Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and has guest conducted on several occasions. He currently is the assistant concertmaster with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. He has played violin in the Lima Symphony Orchestra, the Lima Symphony Chamber Players and—there—served as Co-Concertmaster and performed as a soloist. 

Under his direction, David’s school orchestras have received local and statewide recognition, performing at numerous Ohio Music Education events, Disney World, and in Chicago and Washington D.C. including a performance on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin,” because of his innovative style on acoustic and electric seven-string violin.  A musician who transcends many genres, Joe has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Les Paul, Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin, and Ritchie Blackmore, and performed for President Clinton. He can be heard on over 100 recordings and jingles as a violinist and string arranger.  

Joe is the lead singer and violinist for the progressive rock band, Stratospheerius, and a member of the Latin Jazz string quartet, Sweet Plantain, which tours extensively. Mel Bay books has published  his book/CD/DVD "PLUGGING IN: A Guide To Gear and New Techniques for the 21st Century Violinist." In 2016, Joe debuted “Dream Diary: Concerto for Seven-String Electric Violin and Orchestra” with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, and world renown violinist Rachel Barton Pine debuted Joe’s composition “The Electric Lake of Soul” at Interlochen Music Festival.

Joe is a 14-time BMI Jazz Composer’s grant recipient and winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. 

He has taught rock violin at Mark O’Connor’s String Camp and teaches at Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp, and has made repeated appearances performing with harmonica legend Robert Bonfiglio at the Grand Canyon Music Festival, where Joe co-founded the Grand Canyon School of Rock in 2006, an annual program for local high school students. He also has been involved in the Native American Composers Apprenticeship Project (NACAP), which won the President's award from the National Endowment for the Arts. He continues to travel throughout the world as an on-demand clinician and performer.   

Downloadable flyer to share with friends in Cincinnati and Louisville.