Neon Swing X-perience
Jeannette, Pennsylvania, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
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.
Jamie Kirkavitch - The Examiner (Jul 7, 2009) - The Examiner
"...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..."
Andy Mulkerin - Pittsburgh City Paper - Pittsburgh City Paper
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
GMB - Blue Suede News (Oct 21, 2008) - Blue Suede News
Discography
2011: Grandpa Tempo and the Chairman of Swing (forthcoming album))
2010: Swing's Not Dead (compilation - featuring "Tragically Uncool")
2008: Here To Stay (album)
2005: Late To The Party (album)
2004: No Turning Back (album)
2003: Music For The Minority (compilation featuring Big Bad Wolf)
2003: It Happens Every Day (EP)
2002: The Eclectic Mob (album)
2001: The Swingin'est Show On Earth (album)
Songs featured on radio: Big Bad Wolf, Late To The Party, Speakeasy, Stray Cat Strut
Other songs also featured in commercials and independent movie soundtracks include Black Magic Spell (On Me) and Prohibition
Photos
Bio
Since 1998, Neon Swing X-perience (NSX) has been dedicated to preserving Americana. NSX rips it up in the styles of ballistic big band, revved-up rockabilly, blazin’ blues, and jumpin’ jazz. The band’s been known to feature a mind-bending mix of innovative originals, little-known chestnuts, and re-interpretations of familiar songs in their live sets. They’ve been described by the media as “swing with sting” and “not your grandparents’ swing music” due to their highly energetic and eclectic performances.
There are 7 steps that the band uses to carefully formulate its sound:
1. Put on a Glenn Miller record.
2. Speed up the tempo.
3. Add the heart and soul of a rockabilly band.
4. Turn up the horns!
5. Give Louis Armstrong a few shots of Kentucky bourbon, hand him a Cuban cigar, and send him onstage to sing.
6. Mix in a bunch of vintage American music styles.
7. Serve steaming HOT!
NSX founder, lead vocalist, and trumpeter Mike Urick explains: “That all sounds simple. But we’re the only band bold enough to do it.” Indeed, NSX is the only band bold enough to jump, jive, and rock.
Over the past 12 years, NSX has recorded 6 albums and performed on both US coasts. NSX’s original song “Big Bad Wolf” has been featured on two compilations from Heyday Records and other originals have appeared in numerous commercials and independent films. NSX songs are a staple of vintage swing and rockabilly-themed internet radio broadcasts. Notable venues that the band has performed at include:
• Central Park (NYC)
• The Derby (Hollywood)
• The Orleans Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas)
• The Hard Rock Café (Pittsburgh)
• Arlene’s Grocery (NYC)
• The Meadows Casino (West Virginia)
• The Blue Wisp (Cincinnati)
• Friday Night Swing Dance Club (Baltimore)
• PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
• Dogfish Head Brewery (Delaware)
• Swing 46 (NYC)
• Clarendon Ballroom (Arlington, VA)
• Sassy Marie’s (Pittsburgh)
• Many others
The band is comfortable performing at clubs, rockabilly riots, festivals, swing dances, backyard barbeques, street parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs, casinos, car shows, coffee shops, bars, sidewalks, and lingerie sections of department stores. In fact, at one point or another, the band has played all of these types of venues!
NSX has won the following awards:
• Top Rock Band (Graffiti Rock Challenge 2005 – Pittsburgh; previous participants included Rusted Root, The Clarks, and Poverty Neck Hillbillies)
• 2nd place: Best Jazz Band (voted by readers of Pittsburgh’s City Paper 2008)
• Top Wedding Band (voted by readers of The Knot Magazine 2009)
How many other bands do you know of that have won awards in both the rock and jazz genres?!? (The wedding award from a national magazine was the one that surprised us!)
The band has also had the opportunity to play on the same bill with many great acts including:
• Jerry Lee Lewis
• Max Weinberg (former Tonight Show band leader and Bruce Springsteen’s drummer)
• Reverend Horton Heat
• The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
• Glenn Miller Orchestra
• Eddie Money
• The Toasters
• Guy Forsyth from Asylum Street Spankers
• Flatfoot 56
• Gas House Gorillas
• Many others
The future looks bright for NSX. The band is expected to play the biggest rockabilly festival in the US in Vegas this spring. The group is currently working on recording its 7th album tentatively titled “Grandpa Tempo and the Chairman of Swing”. NSX has also just confirmed that their original song “Tragically Uncool” will appear on the compilation “Swing’s Not Dead” from the punk/swing label Wolverine Records based out of Germany.
Lace up your wingtips, grab your fedora, put on your poodle skirt, sip your martini, light that cigar…you’re about to have a Neon Swing X-perience.
Neon Swing X-perience can be contacted at: 724-331-7335, srgntswing@gmail.com, or www.neonswing.net
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