At 13, Dave Vaccaro was learning guitar on a “piece of junk”; Mike McDonald was experiencing his musical awakening at the YMCA; and Mike BanGrazi was learning from his father, a professional musician. Now, the three are Neon Alley.

Neon Alley’s name signifies the energy and electricity of the band. Every city or town has a Neon Alley – an energy and atmosphere that creates a sudden vibe.

A stable on the Boston music scene in the ’80s, Vaccaro made the decision to spend more time in the studio than the stage to give him time to spend with his family. But five years ago, Vaccaro decided he wanted to play in a live band again. He contacted an old friend, Mike McDonald, a Winchendon native who spent a couple of years at Berklee College of Music, and the two started to audition drummers in the Worcester area. Scott Marion came on board as the drummer, and Neon Alley hit the clubs. BanGrazi filled the spot as drummer three years ago after Marion called it quits.

BanGrazi was performing at a festival when he ran into a mutual friend of his and McDonald’s. While BanGrazi had been trying to reach out to Neon Alley, the friend helped him out and brought the band together. He auditioned for the spot as drummer and got them their first gig two days later.

When BanGrazi replaced Marion, Neon Alley’s sound changed, with BanGrazi’s addition of jazz accents with percussion.

Now, the band is out with a self-titled album that took three years to make. Songwriter Vaccaro outlined the album in a rough draft and wrote most of the songs at practice. The band wanted the album to sound raw – not over produced or sterilized. After the band got enough original songs, they put basic tracks down to record. McDonald added his songwriting skills to the album with “Piece of the Pie.”

But what the members of Neon Alley really love are their fans.

Marketing and getting the word out on social media is a lot of work, they said. But they said they appreciate it when fans show their support for live music.

“The audience is the music scene. If there is no audience, it is a paid rehearsal. When they come out and they play in the clubs and they are listening and playing with the band – that creates a vibe,” Vaccaro said.

McDonald said the band loves playing new places and clubs and “appreciates positive crowd reactions.”

The band agrees that Central Massachusetts has a very friendly atmosphere. McDonald enjoys meeting new people and potential new fans in Central Mass. Vaccaro said there is a “fair amount of acceptance of straight-ahead rock in Central Mass.”

As for the future? Neon Alley is always evolving and would be like to add one more musician to the band – a keyboardist or extra guitarist, for example. But the members of Neon Alley agree: It has to be just the right person.

“Practice, practice, practice,” is McDonald’s advice to aspiring musicians.

Vaccaro also advised, going out and learning from other bands and acquiring mentors.

But it’s really all about the rhythm, Vaccaro added.

“The musician always needs to remember that it’s all about the rhythm of the song, and if it doesn’t have that, it doesn’t have a point.”

Keep up with Neon Alley’s tour dates. Visit facebook.com/NeonAlley.

By Kendall Korengold