The release party for Steven Ybarra’s What I Really Want to Say happens May 1 at Valley View Casino Center. “We have exclusive access and use of the VIP lounge,” Ybarra says of the event, where he’ll be backed by Taylor Guitars honcho Tim Godwin, bassist James East (brother of Clapton collaborator Nathan East), and drummer John Thomas Price. “It will also be the premiere of the video from the first single off the CD, ‘Stand,’ which was filmed to raise awareness for North County Solutions for Change.”

Sponsored

The debut EP from robotic rockers Headphone, Sectors, drops May 7 at Soda Bar. “We’re a new band in the San Diego scene, but production has spanned the last three years,” says singer/keyboardist Morgan McRae of the band, which features players from Pool Party, Talk in the Static, and Kindergarten. “The four-track EP will be available in hard-copy form, including a bonus track, at the show.”

May 9 finds Michael McGraw & the Butchers at the Soda Bar, launching a new CD called So Few Places to Run and Hide.

On May 10 at Tower 13 in Cardiff, Darius Degher is premiering his new CD, Eleven Story Strum. “I’ll be debuting my new band, Circus Darius, and my daughters Cleopatra and Cordelia will be singing with me, too. There’ll be some fun covers: a couple songs by Doug Sahm and a version of Van Morrison’s ‘I Been Working,’ which I’ve been playing for years and which bears almost no resemblance to the original. We’ll also be playing a Cajun rendition of Hank Williams’s ‘Jambalaya.’”

Marujah’s Guerrero, their first full-length since arriving in San Diego from Nashville, will be released May 18 at House of Blues. “It’s a concept record sung in English and Spanish, inspired by the disappearance of 43 students of the Normalista school in Ayotzinapa Guerrero, Mexico,” says Enrique Madico, who promises the gig will offer “firsthand Latin gypsy dub destruction.”

Alt-punk trio Buddy Banter is debuting their I Am Nothing CD on May 22 at the Soda Bar. “It’s about becoming an adult and dealing with love, shame, change, tragedy, and finding the strength to move forward,” says Steven Perez Oira of the record, which was also pressed in clear vinyl for a hand-cut edition of 25 copies, only available at shows. The band will support by touring through June.