Search - Mike Germano :: Side Street Cafe

Side Street Cafe is a multi-genre project by Mike Germano that features seventeen songs of various styles and instrumentation. Do you know those wonderful cozy little places that you find in travel books as alternatives to the big chain hotels? This album takes you on that kind of a musical journey off the beaten path to a special place called the Side Street Cafe. The ambience is friendly and familiar, everything is made from scratch and the coffee's piping hot, and the twists and surprises keep coming for the entire experience. At seventeen songs, this almost seems like a double album, but several of the songs are short and served as appetizers between the main courses. The songs on this album are all presented as items on the cafe menu and each has it's own distinctive flavor and style. If you're used to the typical album these days where all eight or ten songs sound exactly the same, well, this just isn't that kind of place. A some point through, you'll stop trying to guess what style and flavor the next song will be and just relax and let it take you along. Mike Germano has a smooth and articulate voice that melts like butter over the blended set of dishes that this album has to offer. The crafty guitar work and other instruments are a unique blend of acoustic, rock, jazz, and alternative music with syncopated rhythms and run the gamut from solo acoustic guitar to full band arrangements and everything in between. There's sure to be something on the menu to suit everyone's taste. The album ends with a rich and delicious dessert track. You'll feel so full and satisfied after sampling all the items on the menu that you'll just want to sit back for a while to savor it. This is one cafe you'll be sure to visit again and again.