Neon Swing X-perience: NSX Blog Spot

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (or are enjoying another holiday that you celebrate) and are looking forward to a prosperous New Year.

Neon Swing X-perience had one helluva year in 2008…but before we get to that, we have two reminders.

First, don’t forget that we’re playing in New York City on Saturday (December 27) at Swing 46 (www.swing46.com). It would be a good idea to make dinner reservations for this one! We hope that you’ll shave some time off over the holidays to spend with us in the Big Apple.

Second, our New Years Eve show(s) will be at Pittsburgh’s First Night Celebration. We play in the CAPA Auditorium (111 Ninth St.) which is perfect for dancing from 7:30-8:30 and 9:30-10:30. Please don’t miss your last chance to see NSX during our tenth anniversary. Just a reminder that you will need a First Night Admission Button to get into the show. They’re available for ONLY $8 at all Giant Eagles and the Theatre Square Box Office downtown. More details are available at www.firstnightpgh.org.

And now for our 2008 re-cap.

NSX started our tenth anniversary by strengthening our member line-up: having just added Andy Leer on keys and welcoming back Tim Palko on bass for most of our live shows and Jared Craig on bass for most recording sessions. Early 2008 saw us completing our sixth album which we entitled “Here To Stay”. It’s excellent, by the way (if you haven’t yet picked-up a copy, check out what Pittsburgh magazine has to say about it in their January issue…).

For a time, we were the house band at two great establishments; Sassy Marie’s and Mountaineer. We released “Here To Stay” over the summer during our busiest month ever (12 shows!). July 2008 kicked off our summer tour throughout the east coast with notable shows such as a huge swing dance in Central Park.

Personally we’ve had quite a lot going on as well. Ryan got engaged and joined the Army, leaving the band for a bit. Andy finished his undergraduate work, got a new job, and started grad school. Joe got engaged. Wally had an operation. Steve made some major renovations on his house. I finished my second graduate degree. We did this all while playing a whopping 60 shows (and opening up for 3 national bands; the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Flatfoot 56, and the Toasters)!

While 2008 was not perfect, what with the economic downturn that partially caused Sassy Marie’s to close and Mountaineer to cut entertainment, we had a great year. It was great mostly because we made so many awesome new friends.

Now, to close out 2008, we have two shows that we’re really excited about – one at the coolest swing venue on the east coast and one back home at Pittsburgh’s biggest New Years Eve party. It seems like so long since we played a public show in our hometown, so we really can’t wait until 12/31.

And we also can’t wait to see you all again in 2009!

Your humble trumpeter,
Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

On behalf of Neon Swing X-perience, I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Thank you for being so kind to us throughout our ten years as a band...we hope to see you very soon, whether in New York at Swing 46 on December 27 or back in the 'burgh on New Years Eve for First Night. Since we've been on a bit of a "surgery break" for Wally, we miss you and can't wait to see you again soon!

In the meantime, have a safe, enjoyable, and fun holiday.

Sincerely,
Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

First off, the entire Neon Swing crew hopes that you had a great Thanksgiving and had time to relax with friends and family as well as eat some fine turkey 'n fixins'.

Second, we congratulate our long-time drummer Joe and his fiance Mary (often part of NSX's road crew and merchandise manager) who got engaged last week at our Mr. Small's show. Very fitting - the two met at the venue almost exactly a year ago when NSX performed there. We hope you join us in wishing them much happiness!

Now down to business - we're (finally) happy to announce that Neon Swing will help you ring in the New Year by performing at CAPA (111 Ninth St.) as part of Pittsburgh's official New Years Eve First Night Celebration. Festivities on 12/31 begin with Chris Roth and Steel City Ballroom giving swing dance lessons at 7:30. NSX's first of two sets is at 8:15. We hope you can join us to welcome 2009!

Also, don't forget that our only Christmas show is in New York City this year...and it's at the heppest swing club on the east coast. Swing 46 (www.swing46.com) is a jazz and supper club specializing in hot swing dancing. You'll feel like you stepped back to 1946 with this joint's ambience. While we're there for one show only, some of the bands that regularly play there are George Gee, Crescent City Maulers, and the Big Bang Big Band who we performed with at July's Swing House in Brooklyn.

Don't make yourself a stranger - see us again before our tenth anniversary concludes!

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Hi, everyone - let's get the bad news out first.

Yes, we came to a mutual decision with Molly Brannigans this week that we will be no longer hosting our Wednesday swing dances there for a variety of reasons. The room was too small, the floor was too hard, and the whole vibe just didn't have the "oomph" of Sassy Marie's. It didn't really feel like home the same way Sassy's did. At any rate, thanks for supporting us there - we hope to see you at the Toaster's show on November 21.

Now for some good news...Franciscan University on Saturday was awesome! Swing dancers were coming out of the woodwork - doing crazy flips, dancing east coast, west coast, lindy, you name it! The campus was beautiful and we made a lot of new friends there. The folks that have been dancing to us recently during our college treks (St. Vincent, Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, Franciscan) have been some of the most lively, energetic, and downright fun people you'd ever want to meet. Our responses on these campuses prove that swing is alive and well.

So, now that Mollys is canceled, we gotta see all of you folks at Mr. Small's in Millvale on November 21. Talk about a show. In addition to two other local bands, NSX is opening for a celtic Christian punk/metal band (Flatfoot 56) and a legendary ska group from the west coast (The Toasters). Now that's entertainment.

If you miss this show, you might just have to wait until we play New Years Eve (unless you live in the New York City area - word on the street is that we might be back in December)!

As always, thanks for your support,
Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Hi, folks,

It's just come to my attention that there's been some confusion over when Neon Swing X-perience's regular Molly Brannigans (Mt. Lebanon, PA) swing dance occurs.

We are only doing swing dances there every first and third Wednesday of the month.

Therefore, it is not weekly or bi-weekly as some have thought...and there is no dance tonight.

The next dance at Molly Brannigans is on November 5th. Details on the November dances are below.

Sorry for the confusion. Hope to see you again soon!

_____


Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Molly Brannigan's
8:00 PM
Pittsburgh, PA

www.mollybrannigans.com
412-341-7827


_____


Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Molly Brannigan's
8:00 PM
Pittsburgh, PA

www.mollybrannigans.com
412-341-7827


_____

PS. Thanks to everyone that saw us this past weekend. Sorry we were forced to cut our set a bit short on Friday due to the weather...

Mike Urick
Neon Swing X-perience
www.neonswing.net or www.neonswing.com
www.myspace.com/neonswingxperience

Hi friends,

Just thought I'd write to comment on how much we enjoyed playinig at West Hempfield Middle School on Friday. Exposing Middle Schoolers to vintage-style music was a pleasure to us. We got two standing ovations! Hopefully we were able to inspire a few folks there to join the jazz band and to keep practicing their horns. Music education is alive and well at West Hempfield, and that's great because it's so important that students are able to understand music's importance. We'd love to do more "educational events" like this one so that we can help broaden students' minds to different styles of "pop" music.

This weekend we have two great shows. One starts right after work on Friday (6 PM) at Katz Plaza right outside the Benedum and Byham Theaters in the cultural district of Pittsburgh for the 250th Festival of Lights. You won't want to miss this awesome event! And on Saturday, we're playing for Carnegie Mellon students, alumni, and faculty to headline their homecoming celebration.

We hope to see you there!

Your pal,

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Despite the fact that Ryan played his last official show with us over a week ago (even though he did sit in with us on Saturday for a couple of tunes), NSX had a great weekend! Although we will miss Ryan and wish him the best of luck and safety in the military, as a band Neon Swing is trudging forward.

We did more than just “trudge forward” this past weekend when we returned to two of our favorite venues. On Saturday at Cefalo’s the joint was rockin’ and packed to the point where there were no empty seats! We had a lot of fun returning to Carnegie’s version of a Las Vegas hipster hotspot.

But, Sunday really took the cake. We rolled into beautiful Ligonier, PA in the early afternoon (some of us still perhaps just waking up from the late night before) to a huge crowd at Fort Days. I truly believe that our show at the 250th Anniversary Ft. Ligonier Days festival was quite possibly our best show ever. I’ve been hearing glowing comments from everybody…in fact, I went out to eat in a nearby town a few hours after and heard the next table raving about “some really fun swing band” they heard at Ligonier’s bandstand earlier that day. Of course, they didn’t recognize me as a member of the band without my baby blue zoot suit.

We’re very excited about this week. We’re back at our new home base on Wednesday. Please join us for our swing dance this Wednesday (October 15th) at Molly Brannigan’s in Mt. Lebanon. We’re here every 1st and 3rd Wednesday. Dance lessons are at 8 and we go on at 8:30.

Then on Friday we’re playing a semi-educational set to a group of students at West Hempfield Middle School. This should be an interesting event…and one that we’re a little nervous about. We’re not used to playing for this demographic, but hey…we’ll make it happen.

I think I’ll wear my red zoot suit to this one, though, in case the kids decide to throw tomatoes at the band. I won’t have to dry-clean my suit before the next show because the tomato juice will just blend in!

Peace, love, and swing,

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Well, the last time I wrote I gave a somewhat negative update on the band. Now, I’m proud to gave you a very positive update…with one little piece of bittersweet news.

First of all, swing dancing with Neon Swing X-perience is back on Wednesday nights in a new location!

Better room!

Better part of town!

Better beer!

Same great band (that’s us) and same great swing dance instruction (Chris and Jen from Steel City Ballroom).

And the place: MOLLY BRANNIGAN’S in Mt. Lebannon (www.mollybrannigans.com). Molly’s is located at 660 Washington Road, Pittsburgh. The cover is only $5 and we’ll be taking up the entire back room of the restaurant.

Dance lessons begin at 8 PM, NSX goes on from 8:30 to 11 with one break where Steel City Ballroom will give another short lesson.

And the best part – no longer is it only once a month. You can now swing dance to NSX EVERY FIRST AND THIRD WEDNESDAY starting on October 1!

A big thank you to our regular Wednesday night crowd who braved the rain (and the distance) to come see us at Stone Villa last weekend. We hope to also see you this Tuesday at Bocktown Beer & Grill (www.bocktown.com) which is a brand new venue for us. The venue is in the same parking lot as Target and right next to the Pool City in Robinson. We especially hope that you’ll be able to make it, because it might just be Ryan’s last show with the band for a bit.

After over 4 years as our guitarist, Ryan has (again) decided to part ways with the group. About a year ago, Ryan announced that he was leaving, but had then decided to postpone his decision for a couple of months in order to play with the band throughout our tenth anniversary and see our new CD “Here To Stay” be released. Throughout 2008, though, Ryan has had a busy year with having gotten married in February and now more recently deciding to enlist in the Army. Ryan told me that now is the right time for him to go on hiatus as he may be shipped to boot camp in a matter of days and believes that the band has taken a different “less rockin’” direction where we’re now focusing on more traditional styles of swing and a guitar has been increasingly de-emphasized in NSX’s sound. We wish Ryan the very best of luck...and remember, once an NSX member, always an NSX member!

At this time, our plan is to do most of our shows as a six-piece sans guitar with the possibility of a Ryan or another guitarist sitting in from time-to-time. We have no rush to find a new guitarist right away, but if a guitar player does present him or herself in the near future that has the playing ability, style, and personality that suits the band, then we would love to have that person as our latest addition to the NSX family!

Your friend,
Mike

It’s been a while since I last wrote on our blog. We’ve just been so dang busy this summer…

But, I thought that I’d need to write tonight to tell you some bad news.

With a string of Pittsburgh-area restaurants and bars closing due to the poor economy and ridiculous city drink tax, Sassy Marie’s (under its current ownership) has decided to shut its doors effective immediately.

Meaning that there will be no monthly swing dances hosted by us and Chris Roth from Steel City Ballroom from this point on.

Both SCB and NSX are really saddened by this. Sassy Marie’s was a special place to us and one of the places that gave us a shot at playing a regular dance in Pittsburgh. Sassy Marie’s believed in NSX and we truly appreciated that. There really was nothing like playing there – when we took the stage, I felt like we were in a 1930s speakeasy…just like the place actually was seventy years ago. It just had that vibe. Not only that, though; the owners and staff of Sassy’s were superb to us. Sassy Marie’s was truly a first-class establishment all around and for those of you that never made it, you missed out on a lot of fun. Most of all, though, we’ll miss everyone that came out to support a humble swing band on a Wednesday night in not the nicest section of town. We hope to see those of you that were our regulars at other shows that we have on our schedule.

The day after we heard news of Sassy Marie’s, our other home (Mountaineer Casino in WV) called and said that they were dropping all weekday entertainment. Our show this week and all future Jump Jivin’ Tuesday nights are canceled until further notice.

But, don’t get too depressed…all is not lost! NSX is still partnering with Chris Roth and we’ll be making an announcement very shortly about a replacement venue for our Wednesday night swing dances. And, not only that, but since we’re no longer doing our Tuesdays at Mountaineer they’ve asked us back on weekends! Our first show on a weekend there will be in December. As you’ll recall, NSX started at Mountaineer by playing periodically on weekends – that’s how they knew that they HAD to have us as a more regular band. But, weekends were always so much fun there with the energy of the audience! We can’t wait to see what it’ll be like on a weekend now that the tables are in full swing.

And, of course, we have a bunch of other great shows scheduled that we hope you can check out.

At least for September (and possibly October) you may just have to pop in your copy of “Here To Stay” every other Tuesday and every third Wednesday to get your NSX weekday fix. But fear not! NSX will return to new venues for regularly scheduled weekday dances with a vengeance!

Regretfully (yet optimistically),

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

With (finally) releasing "Here To Stay" and just returning from our recent out-of-state excursion, you'd think that NSX would slow down for the remainder of our Tenth Anniversary.

No way!

2008's only just beginning.

Just this month, WYEP (91.3 FM) has played some tunes off of our new CD "Here To Stay" and we scheduled a bunch of new fall shows.

We're so excited to be asked back to the Diamond Bandstand for Fort Ligonier Days in October and we have an awesome New Years Eve show in store for you this year! We've also just been contacted to open for ska legends (who influenced even the Mighty Mighty Bosstones), the Toasters.

And more big news - Neon Swing X-perience is finally on iTunes! If you're like a lot of people now and prefer your music digitized and downloadable, NSX has stepped out of the 1930s and entered 2008!

And if iTunes isn't your thing, we're also on Napster and a bunch of other sites - and of course, for those (like me) who prefer actually holding a physical copy of a CD in your hands, you can pick up "Here To Stay" at all live shows and from CD Baby.

See you soon!

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Hey, guys...

Check out my awesome blog that I made of all of our ornery behind the scenes shennanigans while we were on tour.

The link is: http://www.andyleer.blogspot.com/.

Mike promises he'll put up some more "musical related" pictures and whatnot of our tour soon.

Andy L.

Hi, all...

We are so excited that we'll be visiting you in your town this week.

But, for those Pittsburghers who were unable to make the CD Release show on Sunday, you can buy "Here To Stay" through CDBaby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/neonswing2) or through the Borders in South Hills and Monroeville, the Barnes & Nobles downtown (near Duquesne University) and Greensburg (coming soon), and Dave's Music Mine in the South Side.

Also, "Here To Stay" is currently available for download on Napster and will soon be available on iTunes and Amazon - check them in a few days.

For all of our non-PA friends, you can pick up "Here To Stay" at our live shows. Consult our schedule for venue location and times, but below are the venues and dates we'll be at!

July 25 - Friday Night Swing Dance Club (Baltimore, MD)

July 26 - Swing House at the former Galapagos Art Space (New York, NY)

July 27 - Central Park Naumberg Band Shell (New York, NY)

July 27 - Arlene's Grocery (New York, NY)

July 29 - Clarendon Ballroom (Arlington, VA)

July 31 - Mar-Va Theater (Pocomoke, MD)

August 1 - Dogfish Head Pub (Rehoboth, DE)

See you there!

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Thank you so very much for your support at our CD Release/Tenth Anniversary Extravaganza last night. It was great to see such familiar faces there – from Rose and Kate (our biggest and longest-run fans) to John, Dave, and Alex (members of the original line-up), to our closest friends and family! Thanks so much, all, for a great ten years.

If you weren’t able to be there…never fear. We highly encourage you to pick up a copy of “Here To Stay” at http://cdbaby.com/cd/neonswing2.

Also, for all of our friends not in the western-PA region – WE’RE COMING TO SEE YOU STARTING TONIGHT!

Our non-PA tour starts tonight with our friends at the Mountaineer Casino in Chester WV and continues to Baltimore, New York City, Arlington VA (DC area), Pocomoke City MD, and Rehoboth DE as well as points in between.

Please join us on our trip – and when you come see us, make sure you snag a copy of “Here To Stay”. You’ll be glad that you did.

See you soon,

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

The good news keeps rolling in for Neon Swing X-perience.

Not only are we so happy to share our new album with you this Sunday – we also have been receiving a little bit of recent media attention. Today alone, we’ve had a full-length article on the band in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and small “preview” blurbs in both the Tribune-Review and City Paper.

And a little birdie tells us that we may be seeing some reviews of the new album in the upcoming days/weeks in some pretty prominent publications. Not only that, but USA Dance’s website is going to do a feature in August on our monthly Sassy Marie’s swing dance – which was a rockin’/swingin’ success last night in case you missed it.

We’ve put a couple of links to some of the recent articles on our website and we hope that you check them out.

As for me…well, I’m going to get some sleep for Sunday’s CD Release/Tenth Anniversary Extravaganza at Club Café. It’s gonna be a HOT time, and I need to rest up to be in tip-top shape! Cause right after that, we’re rollin’ to Baltimore, NYC, coastal Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and all points in between!

Eagerly awaiting Sunday,

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

We can’t wait until July 20th.

I’ve been listening to my promo copy of our new CD “Here To Stay” for a couple of days now and it sounds awesome. We can’t wait to share it with you when we release it at our Tenth Anniversary/CD Release extravaganza at Club Café on July 20th. If you’ve never seen a Neon Swing show, this is the show to see. If you see NSX every time we play…this is the show to see! If you haven’t had the experience of Neon Swing for a while – THIS IS THE SHOW TO SEE!

In other words…July 20th is the show to see.

But, if you can’t wait that long to listen to a track or two off our new CD…well, we have a treat for you.

WDVE has a couple of our original songs from “Here To Stay” up on their site and you can listen to them by following these links:
http://www.dve.com/cc-common/artist_submission/player.html?art=174312, http://www.dve.com/cc-common/artist_submission/player.html?art=174316, http://www.dve.com/cc-common/artist_submission/player.html?art=174320.

Check them out and let us know what you think.

The full CD is available on July 20th at our CD Release show and is included FREE with the small price of admission! What a deal.

We also have two other shows prior to July 20th. Don’t miss us at Stone Villa Wine Cellars in Acme, PA on Saturday from 1-5 and at our monthly Sassy Maries Swing Dance on the North Shore at 8 PM on July 16th.

Thus far, this summer has been a blast. It has been so nice to be welcomed back to Ligonier Tavern (despite the pitch-blackness of the evening – I guess we were going for the big band version of The Doors at that show), Penn Brewery, Mountaineer Casino, and (especially) the Twin Lakes Arts & Heritage Festival where we rocked the capacity crowd through the rain!

Thanks so much for supporting us.

Later, dawgz.

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Well...it looks like NSX is coming into our home stretch for our tenth anniversary and the end of June is when things start heating up.

As I mentioned in the previous blog, we can’t wait to be back at Ligonier Tavern and Penn Brewery this weekend. Playing both of those venues really means a lot to us as a band – we go way back. We were the house band for a time at Ligonier Tavern and used to regularly play at Penn Brewery until 2004.

And to make things even better, we can’t wait to be back at the Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort on the second and fourth Tuesdays in July.

While we hope to see each of you out at these shows, remember that there are twelve great shows to see us at in July. A lot of our biggest supporters live outside of the Pittsburgh area, and we’re very pleased to again be traveling to your town this summer. If you can’t make it to any of our PA shows, make sure you come say hi when we’re in Baltimore (and other points of interest in MD), NYC, the DC area, WV, the east coast shore (with stops in DE and Pocomoke City).

But, make sure that you remember July 20th. That’s when it all goes down at Club Café. Drop in…say hi…celebrate our ten years…and pick up a copy of our new CD “Here To Stay” that comes out that day.

Can’t wait to see you all at a show!

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Looking at our summer schedule, I’m very excited!

We’re doing four public shows at places that mean a lot to us as a band in June.

First, we start off at Stone Villa Wine Cellars where we used to play for jazz festivals in the early days of the band. Stone Villa was one of Joe’s and Tim’s first shows and we consistently played there between 2001 and 2004. But, alas, around this time we shifted to an edgier more rock-like sound that both the venue and band mutually decided didn’t quite fit the setting of the show. But, last year after we came back from the Derby (having once again re-focused our sound towards a more straight ahead swing and vintage-Americana feel), we returned to Stone Villa again for the first time in three years and our four-hour show went over x-tremely well. So well, in fact, that they asked us to return as a regular band this summer. Saturday, June 7th’s show will be our first of four this summer at this wonderful venue near Mt. Pleasant, PA (Acme). It’s a great place with its wonderful homemade wine, beautiful lake, and spacious and rustic outdoor setting. We hope to see you there this summer!

Next, we’re back home at Sassy Marie’s on June 18th. We really can’t say enough about this place. Great food…hip vibe…awesome dancers…nice people...good parking (a rare for Pittsburgh!). Why not come to this show?!?!

Then, we officially start our Tenth Anniversary “Here To Stay” Tour at Ligonier Tavern in historic Ligonier for their 250th Anniversary Celebration (the town’s been around only slightly longer than NSX). It’s great to be back here because we used to be the house band at Ligonier Tavern from 2004-2006 and we always enjoyed the wonderful people that came to see us here. It was always packed and our shows at the Tavern always had an electric feel (particularly that one night during vodka tasting…). We’ll be in Ligonier on June 27th.

The very next night, we return to Penn Brewery on the North Side of Pittsburgh. We played there regularly from 2002-2004 (like Stone Villa until we went for an edgier sound). It’s great to be back at this great venue. It was always packed when we played there (and NSX is fans of good beer which is of course why we really like it here! – by the way have you noticed a trend of us playing at breweries, distilleries, and wineries?). Anyhow, this is our first of two shows at Penn Brewery in 2008 and we’re excited about this show because it focuses on our more acoustic-styled material as we roll to this show sans electric guitar.

And this is just the beginning of our Tenth Anniversary Tour that features stops in Baltimore, Arlington, New York, Delaware, Ocean City, and a bunch of other kick-@$$ places.

PS. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure that July 20th is marked on your calendars. This is our Tenth Anniversary/CD Release Extravaganza at Club Café on the South Side. The doors open at 7 PM and our new album “Here To Stay” is included in the price of admission. This will be an evening full of surprises. And if you only seen one NSX show in ten years, this one better be it!

No doubt, no doubt!

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

The recent months have been great for me personally regarding new albums hitting the shelves. Late in 2007, Mighty Mighty Bosstones came out with a new album. This year, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies put out an amazing set of songs as did Presidents of the United States and Flogging Molly. I also heard rumors that Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Jethro Tull (!) are all in the studio working on new releases! Wow! Throw in Brian Setzer and these artists make up 95% of my personal favorites.

I guess it’s no wonder that it’s about time for Neon Swing X-perience to release our own latest album on July 20th at Club Café on the South Side of Pittsburgh! “Here To Stay”, in my humble (albeit somewhat biased) opinion, sounds unbelievably fantastic. We just finished up mastering this week and dropped it off for duplication on Friday. The band was listening to it on the way to our show in New Castle yesterday and all agreed…our albums in the past were good, but this one really kicks it up a notch! We feel that it certainly holds its own with any major label swing release out there. We can’t wait to share it with you on July 20th.

Speaking of our show this weekend at the Hoyt Center, we had a blast. Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful support. And a special thanks goes out to Dave Walters (of 3 Bricks Shy fame) who sat in for Joe on drums and did a “bang up job” – no pun intended.

We hope to see you all at Sassy Marie’s on Pittsburgh’s North Side this Wednesday. We have a few surprises for you there including some new arrangements of classic NSX tunes and some brand new cover songs that we’ve never played live before. Their website is www.sassymaries.com and dance lessons start at 8 PM.

Just a reminder that Wednesday will be the last time EVER that the “Late To The Party” and “No Turning Back” albums will be available at live shows. We’re doing this to make room for “Here To Stay”. So, if you don’t have a copy of either album, you gotta get yourself to Sassy Marie’s and pick up one (or a few) before it’s too late.

Eagerly awaiting Wednesday,

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

Where’s Neon Swing in May?

Well…we have a lot less shows this month than we did in the first third of 2008 because we’re all tied up practicing new material for our tour and our tenth anniversary show. Some new material on our horizon includes a bunch of covers (“Take the A Train,” anyone?) and a couple of new originals that we’ve been working on.

We’ve also been busy mixing the new CD, which sounds outstanding. Particularly cool are our versions of “Man With The Hex” and “Jump, Jive, & Wail.” So far half of it is mixed and we’re on target for our CD Release Party to coincide with our 10th Anniversary Extravaganza!

By the way, our 10th Anniversary Extravaganza/CD Release Party is shaping up really nicely. On July 20th, we return to Club Café on Pittsburgh’s historic Southside. We’re going to be playing a lot of the songs that really highlight our career. Certainly expect a few surprises at this show. Oh…and the price of admission will include a copy of our new CD “Here To Stay” which will be released that day! The door opens at 7 PM...and YOU’RE invited. We hope to see you there because we are extremely excited about this one. It’s not every day that a band has the opportunity to celebrate its ten year history with some of the best friends that anyone could ask for.

But, in the meantime, we have shows in May (including our monthly stop at Sassy Marie’s) that you’ll want to check out.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience

This past week was truly great for Neon Swing X-perience…filled with a lot of good people, good music, and learning on our part.

It started on Sunday when we opened up for the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans at the Byham Theater. Going into this show, we were a little bit unsure (and nervous) of the response we’d get from the audience. We were thrilled that our set went over extremely well! And we were even more thrilled that we were given the opportunity to play the Byham with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. We learned a lot from the Preservation Hall guys…indeed, we learned about jazz but we learned even more about the importance of class and style. Talking with those guys was a great experience…each member is a musical legend in his own right! All of them were so humble, helpful, and genuine. It’s always been a goal of NSX to do a couple of shows down in New Orleans, and the folks from Preservation Hall said they would give us a hand lining up a couple of performances. It was really refreshing that a group of recognized cream-of-the-crop musicians were so kind to a group of young newcomers like us.

Our week continued on Wednesday when we played for a group of Pittsburgh dancers at our home at Sassy Marie’s. As you know, we love playing for swing dances in our own hometown and are happy that we’re starting to build a regular Wednesday-night crew who come and support the show. We’re at Sassy Marie’s every third Wednesday of the month and hope that you’ll join us there as we continue to get used to the room (the hard floor and high ceiling makes playing the room a bit difficult, but we’ve been becoming more comfortable each month) and the likes and dislikes of the dancers that have been checking out the event.

On a personal note, Steve and I went out to the Viking in McKeesport on Thursday to hang out and hear Spider Rondinelli and the Jazz Giants. I never personally met Spider before, though I’ve been enjoying his music for quite some time. Spider asked me to join him for two songs. This was such an honor for me…and, just like on Sunday, showed me that being a part of the music scene means supporting other musicians. Like the Preservation Hall folks, Spider and his crew certainly have a lot of class.

This week concluded on Saturday at the Hard Rock Café. It was nice to see so many familiar faces that have been coming to shows since 1998. This was our fifth or sixth time at the Hard Rock though we hadn’t played the venue for over a year. It was so cool to return because we could pull out a couple of our edgier numbers. Being back was kind of like a homecoming of sorts. With everyone’s eyes on the band at this type of venue, we were really able to highlight the group’s chemistry together!

As our tenth anniversary progresses, we hope to keep learning. And we aspire to be like our new friends from New Orleans. We thank you for being our friends as well!

NSX hopes to see you out at the Mountaineer Casino tomorrow (Tuesday) for our last scheduled show there. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.

Thanks for an amazing week,

Mike
Neon Swing X-perience