Deni Bonet is a US-born singer-songwriter, electric violinist, and multi-instrumentalist. She began her professional career in the house band of National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage radio show.[1] She left to pursue a solo career and also became a prolific session musician. She has toured and recorded with many notable performers including Cyndi Lauper, R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan, Richard Barone, and Robyn Hitchcock, and has released several CDs of her own original music.
Career
Bonet has performed on several national television shows, including Saturday Night Live,[2]Late Night with Conan O'Brien,[3]The Today Show,[4] and Last Call with Carson Daly.[5] She was also a guest on an episode of the nationally syndicated Nate Berkus Show,[6] discussing her unique holiday decorating style, and was featured in an episode of Fox Television's Ambush Makeover.[7]
Bonet was featured in the Jonathan Demme movie Storefront Hitchcock performing alongside Robyn Hitchcock.[8] She was also the subject of a 2001 Wall Street Journal article on how artists were affected by the downturn in the economy,[9] and a 2003 Billboard magazine article on her NYC-area cable TV show Duets with Deni.[10]
Bonet's music has been featured in several television shows, including Cathouse and Passions, and she has scored the soundtracks of the American Civil War drama Red Legged Devils[11] and the Western drama West of Thunder,[12] in which she also appears. Bonet is also featured in Richard Barone's Cool Blue Halo 25th Anniversary Concert DVD released in 2012.[13]
She is an endorsee of Barcus-Berry Electric Violins,[14]Martin Guitars, Kala Brand Ukuleles,[15]Daisy Rock Girl Guitars,[16] and Thomastik-Infeld Strings in the US and worldwide. Bonet also operates OverdubStrings.com,[17] an online business that creates and arranges violin, fiddle, and accordion tracks for studio and home recording projects.
Bonet was invited to accompany Irish multi-platinum performer Mundy (born Edmund Enright) at the official White House St Patrick's Day reception in Washington DC, where they performed several songs for President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, and several hundred invited guests.
Subsequent to the release of the album, Bonet embarked on two-month-long European tours, performing in the UK (including the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool), Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland.
The Huffington Post published an article[19] about Bonet in September 2017 which included the premiere of the video[20] for "Light This Candle".
In 2019 Bonet was appointed an Arts Envoy by the US State Department, and spent August in Zanzibar at the Dhow Countries Music Academy teaching songwriting, violin, and rock n' roll. The residency culminated with a televised concert, sponsored by the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam.
In January 2020 Bonet returned to Zanzibar to record original music with the Tanzanian band, Stone Town Rockerz, which will appear on her upcoming album.
In February she appeared once again at Carnegie Hall as a headliner as part of the Sixth Chinese New Year Spectacular,[21] and also performed as soloist, performing orchestrations of her original music with the Danbury (CT) Community Orchestra.
During the Pandemic, Bonet streamed live performances entitled “Happy Hour Live with Deni Bonet” from her home studio in New York City to a global audience.
She will be releasing a new album in early 2024 titled "Off The Record", which she co-produced with the multiple-Grammy nominated James Frazee, and her longtime musical duo partner, Chris Flynn. It was mastered by Scott Hull of Masterdisk.
Several singles from "Off The Record" have been released on streaming media in advance of the album's release. The first single, "Why Not You?", released in July 2022, was co-written with Cassandra Kubinski, and features Graham Maby on Bass, Doug Yowell on Drums, and Matt Beck on Wurlitzer. The second single, released on April 7, was co-written with John Cobert who also plays piano on the track. Additional performers include Shawn Pelton on drums, Will Lee on bass, and Stan Harrison on saxophone. The third single, released on June 2, is a cover of Crowded House's "I Am In Love" which appeared on the 2016 reissue of "Together Alone". Written by Neil Finn, Deni's cover includes the Spin Doctors’ Aaron Comess on drums and Eric Schenkman on guitar, Michael J Visceglia on bass, with additional guitar from Ben Butler and Deni's musical partner Chris Flynn.
In addition to her solo work, Bonet has also been performing as a duo for the past five years with Chris Flynn (guitar and vocals), and she continues to work as an in-demand session musician and has performed with, and contributed to, music by notable Irish musicians Mundy, Larry Kirwan, Cathy Maguire, and Michael Brunnock.
Discography
A.C. Rose - How The Other Half Lives (2023) played Violin, Viola and Accordion
William Sadler - The Kitchen Tapes (2023) played Violin, Viola, Accordion and String Arrangements
Lauren Agnelli & Dave Rave – Heaven & Earth (1999) played Violin
The Novellas – Magnets in Intimate Places (1999) played Viola and Violin
Kramer – Let Me Explain Something To You About Art (1998) played Accordion, Viola and Violin
Various Artists – What's That I Hear?: The Songs of Phil Ochs (1998) played Viola, Violin and Vocals (performed with Lauren Agnelli, Dave Rave, and Pat Humphries)
Glen or Glenda – Reasons in the Sun (1998) played Viola and Violin
Judy Gorman – Analog Girl in a Digital World (1998) played Violin and Viola
Fuzzbuddy – Fuzzbuddy (1998) played Violin
Various Artists – Texans Live From Mountain Stage (1997) played Violin and Vocals (performed with Sara Hickman)
