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.