Neon Swing X-Perience: Hot Off The Press!

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Calling All Cats and Kittens...Swing Is Alive and Well at the Thunderbird

Most of the local shows worth going to in this city don't start until around ten o'clock in the evening. That's why on any given night before a show, you will find my friends and I wondering from pub to pub trying to get in the right mindframe for the gig ahead.
On one such night, almost two years ago, we had tickets for a show at Club Cafe, that of course, didn't start until ten at night. We headed down to the South Side early to enjoy a few pre-game cocktails. Most of our usual haunts, however, just weren't singing us their siren song. So we strayed from the hustle and bustle of East Carson Street, down a dimly lit 18th, and wound up at the James St. Tavern.
What we expected to find was a less-than-crowded, hole-in-the-wall, cheap drinks kind of joint. What we discovered instead when we passed through the door, was a fully packed, hole-in-the-wall, cheap drinks kind of joint, with a six piece swing band playing in the backroom. It was quite an unexpected, but absolutely welcome, suprise.
I do not recall the name of the band that was playing at Club Cafe that night, but I do remember the name of the swing band; the Neon Swing X-perience. These fellows have been playing around town for over ten years, and how I had never heard of them was vexing. This is the kind of band that can transport you back in time to when the music was clean, the air was smokey, men knew how to dress, and weren't afraid to dance Not only do they break out the standards you would expect to hear from a band of this genre, but they compose and play their own music as well. That is what sets them apart from the more gimmicky bands that are out there. They are extremely talented musicians with a stage presence that could energize the crowd at a funeral.
If you have not had the honor of seeing the Neon Swing X-perience yet, tonight is your chance. They are opening up for Austin singer/songwriter Guy Forsyth at the Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville. Tickets are $12 at the door and the doors are at 7:30pm. So what are you doing still reading this? Neon Swing is the perfect reason to dress up, get out, order a dirty martini, and pretend you can jitterbug with the best of them.

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Swing At Sassy Marie's (review date 7/16/08)

If you like summer hot, then head on out to Sassy Maries for the hottest new swing dance event in town. Every third Wednesday, Neon Swing X-perience plays live dance tunes that heat up the night and raise the roof! Located just off East Ohio Street in the North Side, this historic family run “speak-easy” has offered Pittsburgh good food and entertainment for generations. Formally known as James Street Tavern, jazz & blues have been the norm for years but now they’re really on the right track. Good swing dance music should be welcome anywhere but bringing together an appropriate venue and a rockin’ live band, so close to the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, is surely a compelling reason to get out and dance.

On the corner of Foreland and James Streets, you can’t miss Sassy Maries but don’t be fooled by the main entrance to the restaurant. Dancing takes place upstairs in a separate area called the “foot-note”. I didn’t see any signs but if you head for the inconspicuous side door you’ll be in the right place. A friendly doorman will then point you up the steps where again you may be confused on where to go but just one level up, give the door a tug and suddenly you’re in another world. It’s like going back in time….cool and relaxed, tall 20 foot ceilings, low hung fans, high-set windows, small round tables with black tablecloths and beautiful hard wood flooring. I can just visualize movie scenes with mob guys sitting around, smoking cigars, playing cards and taking in the dance hall girls kicking it up across the stage but back to reality…..

A preliminary dance lesson was scheduled to start at 7:30 but not much was happening until 8pm. By then, about 15 participants stepped up to the dance floor to learn basic jitterbug. After boisterous encouragement by dance instructor Chris Roth, 8 couples emerged to practice. A half hour or so later the main event began as the well dressed band members, totally in character, took the stage. How sweet it was! Neon Swing, now celebrating their 10th anniversary, has evolved into a great dance band. They treated us to some new and old favorites all well suited for dancing. Most songs were jitterbug (single swing) style but an occasional east coast, cha cha or rumba snuck into the mix. No time was wasted as the moderately sized dance floor filled up quickly and about 30 dancers showed off their skills. There was a wide range of levels from very beginner to advanced, yet all were fairly raw, loose and friendly. Some seasoned dance couples arrived together but the men were generous in offering to dance with the many available women and the instructor was constantly dancing too. As the first set ended, a second lesson ensued as Chris taught some additional moves to the growing crowd. All in all I guess around 60 people passed in and out but I’d say this event is destined to grow.

Now if you’re like me perhaps North Side is not typically your first choice of destinations. It’s time to change those preconceived ideas! The north shore development has brought positive change to this area and continues to encourage a more up-scale atmosphere to the entire neighborhood. It’s also important to note that the Sassy Maries staff is truly dedicated to creating a safe environment. They provide a convenient parking lot aside the building and it’s equipped with motion sensor lighting and camera surveillance. Additionally, when you’re ready to leave, there’s always someone available to accompany you to your car. So I highly recommend dropping by next month. This is a local hot spot for dining and dancing that won’t suck your wallet dry. Prices on food and drink are reasonable, parking is free and dancing is only $5.

In ending, I’d like to thank everyone for an entertaining evening and great hospitality. For more information visit Sassy Maries @ www.sassymaries.com or call 412-246-0355. Dance instructor Chris Roth may be reached at 412-531-8320 or www.steelcityballroom.com. One more note, extra special thanks to the band members and in particular, Mike Urick - SrgntSwing@aol.com. Please check out their newly released CD at www.neonswing.com or call 724-331-7335.

NOTE: This article was written by dance instructor Janet Miller. For dance lessons and other inquiries, contact her at Dance Pittsburgh, dancepgh@gmail.com, www.dancepgh.com, or 412-563-4196.

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"Whether it was due to the fedoras, martinis, swing dancing or suspenders, people flocked to Public Assembly in Williamsburg for the monthly Gemini & Scorpio party, an early 20th century-themed event last Saturday night. Hosted by artist Larisa Fuchs, the vaudevillian atmosphere was bolstered by a fire breathing performance courtesy of Melissa Marie Wilhelm of the Cirque-tacular Entertainment, and sexy burlesque by the headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, Ms. Jo Boobs...Almost all the people who attended the event were dressed to the nines in vintage, reproductions or classic attire, dancing to the Big Bang Big Band and Neon Swing X-perience. The place was hopping."

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WHIRL AFTER MIDNIGHT: SASSY MARIE'S

Crimson steps lead to an unmarked entrance. The muffled sound of music seeps through the hinges. I turn the knob, the wooden door swings open, and I am instantaneously hit by a wall of sound.

It’s a Wednesday evening, and I’m at Sassy Marie’s on Pittsburgh’s historic North Side. It’s the restaurant’s first Swing Night. The Neon Swing X-perience is wailing away, and it feels like anything but a weekday. The brass section blares, the drums riff, and the electric guitar sizzles. One musician sports a lime green zoot suit…couples twist across the cherry wood floor, while others sit sipping martinis and tapping their toes…

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This seven-guy group has been glowing with bluesy, deliberately retro stuff for nigh on 10 years, and the latest thing is the group's sixth CD, Here To Stay. Bouncing, honking, thumping, jumping, Neon Swing X-perience jitters the new-found bug in six oldies-but-goodies along with four similar sounding songs written by the band.

Sometimes supplemented by five other musicians, the band goes in for vocals with five singers variably up front, blending like fraternal descendants of the Andrews Sisters. Often you'll hear the gritty lead vocals of founding member and nominal leader Mike Urick of Monroeville. A couple of trumpets, an array of saxophones, guitars, basses, and a piano pop are in there too.

Among the familiar songs: Glenn Miller's 1939 hit "In the Mood"; Louis Prima's "Jump, Jive, & Wail"; and from the Satchmo regular book there's "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" The above are evidently regular audience favorites according to Urick, who's also among the contributors, in terms of original writing, as is Mount Washington's John Rokosz. You can find this happy sound all over the Web site maps, as well as in actual bookstores. More info at neonswing.net.

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Neon Swing X-Perience / Here To Stay

Neon Swing X-Perience has been playing a powerful mix of modern Swing for the last 10 years in and around Pennsylvania. Founder and singer Mike Urick (also on trumpet) contributed four of the ten songs. Reworks of classics include "In The Mood" (like Glenn Miller's arrangement), "Jump, Jive & Wail (more like the Brian Setzer version than Louis Prima's original) and Cab Calloway's cool "Minnie The Moocher", among others. Their own "Tragically Uncool" starts off the self released album with a powerful groove and lines you haven't heard before like "A Subaru is my favorite car". The following "Man With The Hex" is a rockin' Swing that combines the power of Gospel style shouting with the voodoo of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The septet reminds me of bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Fans of modern Swing music will enjoy Neon Swing X-Perience. Neonswing.com. -GMB

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First Review of "Here To Stay"

"...the band's execution is spot-on. Urick is a plenty capable vocalist, exhibiting a growl evocative of, but a bit smoother than, icons like Louis Prima..."

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"Working-class swing outfit the Neon Swing X-perience is expected to release their new album "Here To Stay" on July 20...Swing Music is in the blood of the Neon Swing X-perience and (they) continue to build on the strong foundation they established in 1998, as they continue to do the world of swing justice in keeping it alive here in Western Pennsylvania."

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A bright, 'in-your-face' X-perience at Dogfish

REHOBOTH BEACH — Witness a rare showcase of the big band music tradition at Dogfish Head Brewpub on Saturday when Pittsburgh’s Neon Swing X-perience takes the stage at 10 p.m.

“Most of our songs are rooted in the swing style, but we do branch out a lot,” said band founder, vocalist and trumpeter Mike Urick. “We do some rockabilly, some ska, some jazz, rock and blues. We just define all that as a part of Americana, too, and in some respect, these all grew out of the big band era or all grew out of the swing genre, so we still define that as part of what we do. Basically, we play what we view as being fun music.”

Urick was 16 years old when he founded the band. He said it was more of a novelty then because members were so young and playing old music. The band typically performed at coffee shops and festivals.

Neon Swing X-perience modernizes the traditional style of playing swing by increasing its vigor.

“It’s a lot livelier. It’s a lot more pumped up and more energetic. It’s a little less traditional than your regular big band, but still has some of the traditional rhythms and we’re still doing some of the same songs,” Urick said. “The idea of neon is, you look at neon and you see a bright light and you see something that’s in your face and energetic, which is what we sort of strive for in our originals and live performance. So, that’s one of the reasons it’s in the title of the band.”

Although its six band members are influenced by a wide spectrum of styles, from metal to pop and classical, tenor saxophone and trumpet player Wally Hunter explained, “It all goes into what we put out for our product, but we’re all still based in a swing tradition.”

Neon Swing X-perience’s July 2008 release “Here to Stay” marked the band’s 10th anniversary, and Urick is pleased with its acceptance among audiences.

“It’s doing pretty well for us. People seem to respond to it very well,” he said, “And we’re very proud of that disc, too, and so we’re excited to be sharing it on our second tour after its release.”

The single “Tragically Uncool” was the first song the band all wrote together, and Urick and Hunter said it all fell into place within the lapse of an hour.

Urick said he came to the swing genre through his grandfather and his interest evolved from there. Hunter joined jazz band in high school, already familiar with the music because he heard it around the house.

“Of course, I went on to study in college and the floodgates opened there and I was exposed to a lot of things. And that continues to this day,” Hunter said.

Urick sticks with swing as opposed to adopting other styles because “it relates to everybody. I don’t know anyone who’s ever come to see our show that says, ‘Man, swing music — I hate it.’ It might not everyone’s favorite genre, but at least everyone finds something good to relate to in it.”

The band performs many songs from big band era artists like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller, as well as numerous original compositions off of its six albums. The set list may even include songs from current day enthusiasts such as Brian Setzer Orchestra.

“Swing was the punk rock of the ’40s. It was the rebelliousness. We try to keep playing swing music in that spirit, so that it still is progressing that genre forward, while sort of giving props to the past as well,” Urick said.

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Music Preview: Neon Swing X-perience keeps retro glowing

What started as nothing more than a one-shot deal has turned into a livelihood for Mike Urick.

To that end, the band he founded and fronts, Neon Swing X-perience, is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a band with a Sunday release party in celebration of its new CD, "Here to Stay."

That the band has lasted this long might be somewhat surprising considering its origin. Urick, the band's trumpeter who describes himself as a "pep-band geek," decided to put it together for a talent show at Greensburg Central Catholic High School. The day before the show, the lead singer pulled out, which meant he had to sing, something he had never done in public before.

"We never had a reaction [before] that we had there," Urick says. Afterward, "we got a couple party bookings and more booking from friends," and a band was born -- although the timing seemed less-than-optimum for a career in "retro" music.

"We were kind of getting into the tail end of" the swing music revival, which began in the late 1980s, Urick admits. But that hasn't stopped him because now "we find more people who are interested in that kind of music."

Although "Here to Stay" represents the X-perience's sixth release in a decade -- the name was an amalgam of ideas from three former band members and was previously known as the "Neon Spam X-perience" before it learned it couldn't use "Spam" because of trademark considerations -- the band nevertheless considers "Here to Stay" a more personal effort.

"We wanted to focus on the songs that made us as a band and swing music in general," Urick says.

The 10 tracks on the new record include six covers, such as "In the Mood," "Minnie the Moocher" and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?," which represent a departure because "we have a lot of great original songs, [such as] 'Big Bad Wolf' and 'Speakeasy.' "

Although its out-of-town gigs generally take the band up and down the East Coast, last September through an Internet connection it did a show at a place called the Derby in Hollywood, Calif.

"It was probably the most favorite show I've ever done," Urick confesses. "They have a weekly Sunday night swing dance there," and he noted that the audience's sartorial sense rivaled the band's. "The Derby said, 'We want you back in October,' " which was impossible because band members still have day jobs.

Another possible venue for the X-perience: New Orleans. In April it opened up for the Crescent City-based Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Byham Theater. Urick recalls PHJB members telling him, " 'You guys are playing something similar to Dixieland jazz -- maybe we can work together.' "

"We're always looking ahead," Urick says. "We don't want to do a traditional album anytime soon -- [but perhaps a] Christmas album or a live album."

Besides Urick, the only original member still left, the band comprises Wally Hunter on tenor saxophone and trumpet, Steve Tomkowitz on alto and baritone saxes, Ryan Kuntz on guitar and vocals, Andy Leer on keyboards and vocals, Tim Palko on bass and Joe Palacki on drums.

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X-perience this

The Neon Swing X-perience has been around for 10 years now, long enough to catch one swing renaissance, and maybe the next one. If they don't, they probably won't care. The long-lived Pittsburgh-based band likely will still make the music they love -- upbeat big-band swing infused with early rock 'n' roll attitude -- either way.

The band's 10th anniversary CD, "Here to Stay," is getting a release party at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Club Cafe in the South Side. The album collects some of its best originals, along with its interpretations of swing classics like "Minnie the Moocher" and "In the Mood." Tickets are $10.

Details: 412-431-4950.

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The following websites are to articles that have been written about NSX from Pittsburgh-area press. Most are from around our Graffiti Rock Challenge/Late To The Party era, but there's at least one mixed in that dates from a little farther back. Just copy and paste the address into your browser and enjoy!

http://www.o-ronline.net/weblog/artists/archive/2005_08_01_archive.html

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_142168.html

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_304542.html

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05052/460685.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05063/465851.stm

http://www.o-ronline.net/weblog/artists/2005/11/never-too-late.html

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Here are a couple of videos of us at our CD Release Party/10th Anniversary Extravaganza from July 20th. It was a blast, all!

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Check out this segment that aired on New York City TV! It features us at Central Park!