Picture a musical yard sale. A digital front lawn is piled high with the precious refuse of American musical history and Darius’ own experiments. If you can do that, you’ll have some idea what to expect on GARAGE SALE OF THE SOUL. In other words, it’s an eclectic record, one on which Darius allowed himself to range free into multiple musical styles and contexts. Yes, it features its share of rootsy Americana numbers, Darius’ usual comfort zone, songs like “My Love is Nothing like the Sun” (proudly co-written with William Shakespeare) and “You Got Love.” But it doesn’t stop there. It also includes the folk anthem “USA/Mexico Borderline” and the philosophical folk ballad “The Bishop and the Beast.” It contains its share of wry moments as well, such as “East Meets West,” in which Darius imagines a Japanese rock devotee visiting the US for the first time: “She might have been a koto master, if she’d never heard a stratocaster.” “Collecting Bottles” is a duet about homelessness, sung and written with Darius’ long-time musical friend Phil Leavitt (of Dada). But Darius is a postmodern musical artist and is not content keeping strictly to traditional forms. In “Mockingbirds” he explores uncharted musical territory, merging spoken word poetry with psychotic jazz-blues. The CD even includes a couple of romantic moments, “Bittersweet World” and “Rainbow Day.” In case you’re not familiar with Darius, he is veteran singer-songwriter, poet, and recording artist. His first solo CD, Cardboard Confessional, helped make him a feature of the vital Los Angeles acoustic scene of the late 80s, which included so many great Americana artists, such as Lucinda and Victoria Williams, Rosie Flores, and others. The CD came out on Gold Castle/Capitol Records, the same folk music label that at that time featured renaissance artists like Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Don McLean, and Bruce Cockburn. See press excerpts below. The CD received radio airplay in numerous American cities, and the video for the song "White Boy Raving" was aired on MTV and other music video shows. It made Billboard Magazine's Top Twenty Video List. You can see it on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76rGHf1ljTM. Over the years, Darius has performed at some of the USA’s most important rock and folk music venues: CBGB in NYC, the Whiskey and Roxy in L.A., the Continental Club in Austin, not to mention other venues like the South By Southwest Music Conference, New York City's New Music Seminar, and the Shrine Auditorium. He has played on bills with Don McClean, Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, and Guy Clark, to name a few. He also played sitar on "Bad Karma," on the late Warren Zevon’s Sentimental Hygiene CD. Over the years he has recorded nearly a hundred of his songs. He has released four CDs, an EP, and a single. His songs have been included on several compilation albums. In the early 80s, he fronted Darius and the Magnets, the sitar-driven neo-psychedelic outfit that was a feature of LA’s “Paisley Underground.” Much more recently, he was the singer and songwriter in Burning Bridges of Malmo, Sweden, where he relocated to in 1998. Their CD Poor Man’s Vacation (and other Tales of the Wild and the Weary) was released in 2004. They performed at numerous festivals and clubs around Sweden from 2000 to 2005, opening shows for artists as diverse as Sixteen Horsepower and Dr. John. He is also a published poet (poetry without musical accompaniment). If you’re interested in poetry, please visit his poetry site: www.dariusdegher.blogspot.com FROM REVIEWS OF GARAGE SALE OF THE SOUL & CARDBOARD CONFESSIONAL ”More down to the ground than even Dylan achieved in his talking blues days . . . Darius is a fresh new breed of folkie, proud of but not stuck on tradition.” Kurt Wolf, San Francisco Bay Guardian ”Every once in a while an album comes along with lyrics so wondrous, so vital, that they should be scripted on parchment, bound in fine leather and handed out . . . Darius -- songwriter or poet?” Robert J. Hawkins, San Diego Union Tribune ”Hearing Hollywood’s poet laureate in concert is always a treat . . . his lyrical abilities are still unsurpassed.” Rich Robinson, Los Angeles Reader” ”Cardboard Confessional is a veritable cornucopia of bright, lyrical wit and intelligently crafted songs . . . Darius is a unique talent.” Richard Foss, L.A. Reader and Bam Magazine ”Five fingers” (highest rating) “ . . . a breath of fresh air in a sea of smog, an LP that would surely ‘hit’ if less of us were so into the ‘me’ generation, though it still might.” In Concert Magazine