Backstory

 

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Darius Degher is a maker of both music and poetry. He's a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. And his poems have been published in many journals. He's released numerous albums and songs and performed at national music venues like CBGB, the Bitter End, Troubadour, Roxy, Whiskey, and Austin’s Continental Club. He's opened shows for the likes of Don McLean, Lucinda Williams, Dr. John, and many others. His songs and videos have aired on radio and TV. He’s been nominated for three San Diego Music Awards, been included on two San Diego Homegrown albums, and played sitar on a classic Warren Zevon song. In short, he's been around.  

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Open Question to the Sky, his first singer-songwriter album in some years, was released in Spring, 2024. 

 

He has released three albums as the Westwatcher over the last three years: Locally Exotic (2023), Slide the Wide Horizon (2022) and Groundswell Corduroy (2021). These instrumental, surf-centric guitar albums are inspired by Darius’ love of surfing and the surfing life. (Please see the Westwatcher page.)

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He also releases music as Stark Shay, with his daughters Cleopatra and Cordelia. Their EP Treasures was released in late 2023 and was nominated for a San Diego Music Award. Their other singles include USA/Mexico Borderline, Days of Change, and We Begin Again. (Please see the Stark Shay page.)

 

In 2017 Darius started the Sham Saints with his old friend Mike Packard (of the Magnets) and released the EP Out of Tune, which included the single Pledge of Allegiance (to the Earth). It was also nominated for a San Diego Music Award.

 

Going all the way back to the late 80s -- and comprising the heart of his music career -- Darius has been a singer-songwriter and folksinger. He's released four critically-lauded albums under the name Darius and Darius Degher. (Please see the singer-songwriter page for more.)

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Darius also lived in Sweden for a dozen years, where he started the Americana band Burning Bridges. In 2003 they released an album: Poor Man's Vacation (and Other Tales of the Wild and the Weary) and performed at various venues around Sweden. 

                   

In his more nascent years, his band Darius and the Magnets was part of the so-called “Paisley Underground” scene of L os Angeles and San Diego. They released a single on Big Time Records of Australia, along with an EP and two videos, one of which aired on MTV and other music video shows.

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His turnstile of names and band names hasn’t always made it easy to track him, but he's been at it all along. He's also produced the recordings of his singer-songwriter daughters Cleopatra and Cordelia. These include Cleopatra's album Pacific and her EPs Watershed and Restrung. And Cordelia's singles October and Run with Me.

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