iolin in rock has always been a curious concept with a few brave pioneers willing to merge the two unconventional components. Jerry Goodman, who started out with the flock from Chicago, R&B legend Sugarcane Harris, McKendree Spring's Michael Dreyfuss and local mercenary Ed Caner come to mind, but that's it from my memory banks on the subject.
A musical hybrid that the violin can adapt to more easily is fusion, and that's where former Clevelander Joe Deninzon chooses to place his audio chips, thanks to Electric Blue. This disc has everything but the kitchen sink, and I'm sure if Deninzon could have hooked a pre amp into that household device, we would have heard a solo out of it, too.
For instance, "The Dark Frontier" starts with a lilting opening and goes off in some strange directions with enough of a jolt to give a sperm whale the shakes. Although "Acid Rabbits" has a trick near-Seinfeld opening, Deninzon's violin endows this cut with a welcome ethereal quality. While the majority of tracks run along the nervousness of "In Stride", it's best when Deninzon turns the electric volts down in more low-key tunes like "An Evening Nap in the Afternoon Sun" and "Oasis". These give the instrument enough room to breath without sending all gray matter into sensory overload. Using a magnetic weave on his first disc, Joe Deninzon has the potential to eventually become a cited example on some other music connoisseur's future review.
iolin in rock has always been a curious concept with a few brave pioneers willing to merge the two unconventional components. Jerry Goodman, who started out with the flock from Chicago, R&B legend Sugarcane Harris, McKendree Spring's Michael Dreyfuss and local mercenary Ed Caner come to mind, but that's it from my memory banks on the subject.