Andrzej Citowicz, performing as CITOVITZ AND THE FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY, has released “Venom & Stardust”, a new track from the forthcoming album “Living Room Rockstar Part 2”. The release coincides with the birthday of legendary songwriter Desmond Child, whose influence on Citowicz’s musical journey runs deeper than the artist himself realized.
A SPONTANEOUS HOMAGE
“Venom & Stardust” emerged from a spontaneous writing session several weeks ago, with the song’s distinctive key changes and melodic progressions flowing naturally and unexpectedly.
Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FED3dekP0uY
“I was playing guitar, and everything just came—all these key changes, these progressions, these moments that felt right,” Citowicz recalls. “When I stepped back and listened, I thought: this sounds like something Desmond Child would create. And that’s when I realized how much his work has shaped the way I think about songwriting, even on a subconscious level.”
DESMOND CHILD: THE ARCHITECT OF ANTHEMS
Desmond Child stands as one of rock music’s most influential songwriters, crafting hits for Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, and countless others. His work defined the sound of 1980s and 1990s rock, creating anthems that combined accessibility with emotional depth.
For Citowicz, growing up in Wałbrzych, Poland, Child’s compositions provided more than entertainment—they offered a masterclass in songwriting craft.
“Desmond Child wrote the soundtrack to my youth without ever knowing it,” Citowicz reflects. “Songs like ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ and ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ weren’t just hits—they were blueprints. They taught me that rock music could be both massive and intimate, both anthemic and personal. When I was alone in my room with those Bon Jovi posters and a battered guitar, I was studying Desmond’s work, learning how to build a chorus that connects, how to create that moment where everyone sings along.”
He continues: “What makes Desmond’s songwriting so powerful is the marriage of craft and emotion. The songs are meticulously constructed—those key changes, those melodic hooks, those bridges that elevate everything—but they never feel calculated. They feel inevitable, like they’ve always existed and he just discovered them. That’s the magic I chase in my own writing.”
THE GUITAR AS STORYTELLER
For Citowicz, the guitar serves as both instrument and voice, a means of expressing what words alone cannot capture.
“The guitar is my first language,” he explains. “Before I write lyrics, before I think about structure, I play. The guitar tells me where the song wants to go. Sometimes it’s angry, sometimes it’s melancholy, sometimes—like with ‘Venom & Stardust’—it’s playful and ambitious, pushing into these key changes that feel like reaching for something just out of grasp.”
He adds: “When you play guitar, you’re not just making sound. You’re telling a story without words. Every bend, every slide, every choice of whether to let a note ring or cut it short—those are narrative decisions. The guitar solo in ‘Venom & Stardust’ says things I could never articulate verbally. That’s what I learned from players like Richie Sambora and the songwriters who understood how to let guitar breathe within a song.”
WHAT MUSIC MEANS: SURVIVAL AND SALVATION
Throughout our conversations, Citowicz has consistently described music not as a career choice but as a necessity—a form of therapy, communication, and survival.
“Music for me isn’t optional,” he states plainly. “It’s how I process everything I can’t process any other way. Being on the autism spectrum means the world often feels overwhelming, confusing, difficult to navigate. But when I pick up a guitar, when I’m writing a song, suddenly everything makes sense. The noise becomes melody. The chaos becomes structure.”
He continues: “After losing ,my Son, Jonasz, music became even more essential. It’s the only place where I can hold all these contradictory emotions at once—the grief, the love, the anger, the hope. A conversation has rules, social cues, expected responses. A song has no rules except honesty. That’s why I keep creating, even when it’s painful. Especially when it’s painful. Because music can hold what nothing else can.”
THE LIVING ROOM ROCKSTAR PHILOSOPHY
“Venom & Stardust” will appear on Living Room Rockstar Part 2, scheduled for release in November 2025. The album, dedicated to Citowicz’s late son Jonasz, represents a father’s tribute and a musician’s journey through grief toward healing.
“The ‘living room rockstar’ concept is about understanding that you don’t need stadiums to matter,” Citowicz explains. “I never became the rockstar on those posters in my teenage bedroom. But I became someone who still plays, still writes, still believes that creating music means something, even if the audience is small or imaginary. That’s not failure—that’s victory. That’s survival.”
He adds: “Desmond Child wrote songs that played in stadiums, that millions sang along to. I write songs in my living room that maybe hundreds will hear. But the act of creation is the same. The need to say something through music is the same. The hope that your song might reach someone who needs it is the same. That’s what being a living room rockstar means—you keep playing like it matters, because it does.”
ABOUT THE SONG
“Venom & Stardust” showcases Citowicz’s guitar-driven rock aesthetic, featuring dynamic key changes, anthemic choruses, and the melodic craftsmanship that connects his work to the classic rock tradition. Patryk Szymański’s bass work provides the song’s foundation, adding depth and power to the composition.
“The title ‘Venom & Stardust’ captures the duality I was chasing,” Citowicz notes. “The venom is the edge, the bite, the acknowledgment that life isn’t all beautiful. The stardust is the hope, the magic, the belief that something transcendent can emerge from ordinary moments. That tension between darkness and light, between earthbound and reaching for the sky—that’s what makes rock and roll powerful.”
A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE
Releasing “Venom & Stardust” on Desmond Child’s birthday serves as both celebration and acknowledgment of artistic debt.
“I’ll never meet Desmond Child,” Citowicz reflects. “He’ll never know about the Polish kid in Wałbrzych who studied his work like sacred texts. But that doesn’t diminish the impact. He taught me how to write songs that connect. He showed me that rock music could be both intelligent and accessible, both crafted and passionate. This song is my way of saying thank you to someone who changed my life without ever knowing I existed.”
He concludes: “That’s the beautiful thing about music—it travels across borders, across decades, across circumstances. A songwriter in one place and time creates something that reaches a listener in another place and time, and that listener becomes a creator themselves. That’s the lineage. That’s the tradition. And on Desmond Child’s birthday, I’m honoring that tradition by releasing a song that exists because of everything he taught me.”
ABOUT LIVING ROOM ROCKSTAR PART 2
Living Room Rockstar Part 2, scheduled for November 2025, will feature ten tracks exploring themes of loss, resilience, love, and the transformative power of music. The album is dedicated to Citowicz’s late son, Jonasz, and represents the artist’s journey through profound grief following the loss of his stillborn son whilst maintaining commitment to creative expression.
Recent singles from the project include “Serpents of Tomorrow,” “Living Room Rockstar,” and collaborations with Citowicz’s wife, Shereen, on tracks like “Burn Like Thunder,” “When The Fight Is Gone,” and “The Space Between.”
“Venom & Stardust” is available exclusively as an official audio on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FED3dekP0uY
Listen to the first single “Serpents of Tomorrow”: https://youtu.be/Mlwy6guwlK0
CREDITS:
Music, Lyrics, Guitars: Andrzej Citowicz
Bass: Patryk Szymański
Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
Connect with Andrzej Citowicz:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7aIeg5DyI7xwkYLsBgJNWf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrzejCitowicz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/citovitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citovitz/
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