Neon Swing X-perience

“Tragically Uncool”

The year is 1939. Amidst the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, one type of music can be heard in the smoky bars over the monotone hum of dirty neon lights. Hundreds of miles away, a big band is playing to a frenzied mob of jitterbug fanatics stompin’ away at the Savoy. In New Orleans, Dixieland musicians are swinging the blues on street corners. In Texas, jump-swing rhythm is playing on the jukeboxes in every gin joint, dive bar, and watering hole from Austin to Dallas and all points in between. And America’s first radio station broadcasts swing to every blue-collar family sitting in their living room, mobster drinking moonshine at a nearby speakeasy, and chef preparing a gourmet meal in a supper club kitchen in Pittsburgh.

Fast forward to the 21st century where Neon Swing X-perience is harkening back to (and reinventing) the sounds of the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Walking into a Neon Swing show is like stepping back in time – to an era where music was hot, martinis were strong, zoot suits were sharp, and romance was sparked on the dance floor.

Mike Urick, founder of Neon Swing X-perience, explains how the group channels the spirit of a bygone era: “Neon Swing X-perience’s idea sounds simple…but we’re the only band bold enough to do it. Put on a Glenn Miller record and speed it up. Then add the heart and soul of a rockabilly band. Turn up the horns. Give Louis Armstrong a couple shots of whiskey, hand him a Cuban cigar, and send him onstage to sing. Mix in a bunch of vintage Americana music styles. Then serve it HOT!”

Neon Swing X-perience is aware that some critics mistakenly think that swing music is outdated – making NSX “uncool” for keeping it alive.

“If the same mainstream music insiders that brought us Britney Spears, boy bands, pop-country schmaltz, and overproduced rap hits think swing is uncool, then we say it’s cool to be uncool,” Urick responds. “Being uncool is about doing your own thing regardless of what everyone else is doing. Keeping it real and having your own sound – just like Benny Goodman, Louis Prima, and Elvis Presley did during the golden age of American music – that’s what we’re about. ”

And this has been the theory behind each Neon Swing X-perience tune since 1998.

Highlights of the band’s successful history include:
• Performing at The Derby in Hollywood, CA (as featured in the movie “Swingers”, where Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Royal Crown Revue held the house band slots for years, and where the swing movement of the 90s was reborn).
• Appearing live on KDKA Radio (America’s first radio station).
• Selling out the Hard Rock Café (Pittsburgh) on multiple occasions.
• Performing at east and west coast venues to record audiences.
• Recording six albums.
• Appearing on several nationally released compilations and movie soundtracks.
• Being the only Western PA-based band to have a mixed drink (The Neon) named after them.
• Ranking in the top four out of nearly 150 bands in the prestigious (2005) Graffiti Rock Challenge. NSX was the only swing band in 19 years to rank in this competition which had been dominated by hard rock acts. Other bands that appeared in previous years’ competitions include Rusted Root, The Clarks, and Poverty Neck Hillbillies.
• Performing at the same festivals as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Bill Haley’s Comets.

2008 is the band’s ten year anniversary.

For more information, email SrgntSwing@aol.com or call 724-331-7335. (read less)

“Tragically Uncool”

The year is 1939. Amidst the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, one type of music can be heard in the smoky bars over the monotone hum of dirty neon lights. Hundreds of miles away, a big band is playing to a frenzied mob of jitterbug fanatics stompin’ away at the Savoy. In New Orleans, Dixieland musicians are swinging the blues on street corners. In Texas, jump-swing rhythm is playing on the jukeboxes in every gin joint, dive bar, and watering hole from Austin to Dallas and... (read more)