As we are getting ready to head back into the recording studio for our third album in 3 years, Michael will be playing solo gigs to try out the new songs. Since all Sour Alley tunes started in Michael's living room, basement or car (except for Red Shoes and Impossibility), he want's to try them out in public as written. Whenever the band takes on a tune, it becomes the band's song with all the influences that come with collaboration and interpretations. The singer-songwriter creates in a different dimension. Tune with lyrics and instrument with voice establish a very complex product that is both hard work and reflective joy. Of course some of the stuff comes out as shlock that the band has to work over to make up for the sentimental drivel that songwriters and poets can't always restrain. So, when you listen to a singer-songwriter, you must listen with an open mind and mindfully connect with the intent of the song and the mood of songwriter without being distracted by judgement or what you want to hear. If there is a goal for the singer-songwriter, it is to restrain the demons and nurture the soft soul of peace that we all wish for. Sometimes that product is bred through play and sometimes it is through pain. And on occasion, it is just the right combination of the two. We just posted a song (our album title) that came from an event that took place on the sidewalk in front of a Starbucks . . . it's just a report, not a criticism. We all have bad daze. Thank you for listening to Sour Alley and please visit our web page. Cheers! Michael Polacek http://souralley.com/