San
Diego Songwriters
Guild - by Bridget Brigitte, President
Steven
is a natural on stage after years of fronting touring bands Liquid
Groove and 34Below and SDSG is proud to help bring Steven’s new
independent project to San Diego and the world in the wake of his
having written more than 200 songs. His smooth voice covers every
inflection from committed and transported to resigned and angry while
his guitar strumming runs from soft under lining melodies to bold
resonating lines that carry an entire song. If anyone deserves to be a
snobby in-your-face egotistical rock star, it’s Steven Ybarra, but
instead, and this is what makes Steven’s songs so irresistible, what he
communicates is the fact that he’s vulnerable: to music, to the tides
of living, and to love.
All
Access Magazine - by Heather Champagne
Watching
and listening to Steven Ybarra sing persuaded me that
there is
not a stage large enough to contain this man’s voice.
There is no
ignoring him, and with his talent, who would want to?!
Platinum Award
Winning
Female Rock Singer, Pat Benatar
After
hearing Steven's perfomance of "One" for the Los Angeles,
California 98.7 Be A star Contest hosted by Ryan Seacrest,
Pat
Benatar one of the judges said in her words "Steven could teach Bono
how to sing that song."
Steven was one of five finalist in the contest.
North County
Times - by Jim Trageser
Ybarra's
years as lead singer for 34 Below have provided him a sense of dramatic
presence that a lot of acoustic singer-songwriters just don't have. His
first solo release (although he did have a couple of homemade demo EPs
he sold at shows during the past year) has a fullness of sound that
belies the stripped-down instrumentation (a couple of guitars, drums
and keyboards here and there).
Having worked with a full band,
Ybarra brings to his debut a real comfort with overdubbing of harmony
vocals, of adding strings to the mix, while not letting any of this
distract from the simplicity of his arrangements, the purity of the
melodies he's written on the 11 songs.
None of the songs is more
beautiful than the stunningly gorgeous "Please Please." And yet, he
improves on the beauty of the notes by wrapping them in an arrangement
that gives the song a wonderful narrative flow, using strings to help
build the tension toward the chorus. It is a most impressive bit of
songcraft and arrangement.
While Ybarra is an openly committed
Christian, and the acknowledgments reflect this, the music itself is
fairly secular. Some of the songs address issues of faith, the love
songs to his wife are more numerous. Short story: This is music for
listening to, not an album of praise music.
