Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

, North Carolina, by James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar),

Katharine Whalen Katharine Whalen is a musician, singer, and songwriter originally from Greenville, North Carolina. She contributed vocals, banjo, and ukulele as a member of the Chapel Hill jazz band Squirrel Nut Zippers, a group that she founded in 1993 with then- ...

(vocals, banjo, ukulele), Chris Phillips (drums), Don Raleigh (bass guitar), and Ken Mosher. The band's music is a fusion of

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane Gr ...

, 1930s–era swing,

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

, and other styles. They found commercial success during the

swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the ...

of the late 1990s with their 1996 single "Hell", written by Tom Maxwell. After a hiatus of several years, the original band members reunited and performed in 2007, playing in the U.S. and Canada. In 2016, Mathus and Phillips reunited the band with a new lineup to tour in support of the 20th anniversary of their highest selling album, ''Hot''. The Squirrel Nut Zippers continue to tour, and released their new album ''Beasts of Burgundy'' in March 2018, and singles "Mardi Gras for Christmas" and "Alone at Christmas" in November 2018.

History

Swing revival

The band was founded by James "Jimbo" Mathus, formerly of Metal Flake Mother and Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, and his then-wife Katharine Whalen in

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census.

, North Carolina, with Tom Maxwell, Chris Phillips, Don Raleigh, and Ken Mosher. The group made its debut in Chapel Hill a few months later. Stacy Guess (formerly of Pressure Boys) joined shortly after. "Nut Zippers" is a southern term for a variety of old bootleg moonshine. The band's name comes from a newspaper story about an intoxicated man who climbed a tree and refused to come down even after police arrived. The headline was "Squirrel Nut Zipper." It is also the name of a caramel and peanut candy dating back to 1890. The band is credited for contributing to the

that occurred during the 1990s. The band was influenced by

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid 1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted gunsh ...

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

, and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

. The breakthrough single "Hell", with its calypso rhythm, more closely aligned the band with the neo-swing movement. The Zippers's debut album, '' The Inevitable'' (1995), received airplay on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, and its second album, ''

Hot Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places * Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

'' (1996), was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

. ''Hot'' was also one of the first enhanced CDs, containing an interactive presentation created by filmmaker

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

. In support of the album, the band toured with rock singer

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

. ''

Perennial Favorites ''Perennial Favorites'' is an album by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, released in 1998. The album peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200. It achieved gold status. Production The album was recorded at Ken Mosher's ...

'' (1998) followed, then ''

Christmas Caravan ''Christmas Caravan'' is a Christmas album by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers that was released in 1998 by Mammoth Records. Track listing # "Winter Weather" ( Ted Shapiro) – 2:24 # "Indian Giver" ( Jimbo Mathus) – 3:37 # "A Jo ...

'' and ''

Bedlam Ballroom ''Bedlam Ballroom'' is a studio album by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, released in 2000. It followed several major personnel changes. The album reflects a stylistic shift, with the band incorporating a broader ranges of styles, ins ...

''. The Squirrel Nut Zippers performed at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta and at President Clinton's second inaugural ball. Their numerous appearances included such notables as the radio show ''

Prairie Home Companion Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

'' and on television shows ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'', ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'', '' Conan O'Brien'', and ''

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...

''.

Zippers unzipped

By the early 2000s, the Zippers were inactive. Mathus and Katharine Whalen had divorced, and the band members went their separate ways. Whalen released her debut album, ''Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad.'' Mathus toured and recorded extensively with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

and has released 18 solo records on various labels, and under various names, while keeping a hand in numerous other projects. Je Widenhouse and Reese Gray recorded and toured with Firecracker Jazz Band. Chris Phillips spent two years with the Dickies and William Reid from the

Jesus and Mary Chain Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

. His band The Lamps included members of the Bangles and

The Connells ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Reunions

In early 2007, the band's official website announced tour dates with a lineup consisting of Jimbo Mathus, Katharine Whalen, Chris Phillips, Je Widenhouse, Stuart Cole, and Will Dawson. With the proclamation "Ladies and Gentlemen...They're Back," the band performed concert dates throughout the U.S. and Canada in the spring and summer of 2007 and through 2008. In late February 2009, Phillips sent an e-mail announcing a forthcoming live album called ''You Are My Radio'', recorded in Brooklyn in December 2008. The album title was later changed to ''Lost at Sea'' and was released on October 27 through Southern Broadcasting/MRI. They also announced plans for a studio album in 2010. The band taped a performance for NPR's ''Mountain Stage'', which aired in mid-November. Following renewed interest at the approach of the 20th Anniversary of ''Hot'', Mathus began assembling a revival band, focusing on musicians in the New Orleans area. They began touring in June 2016, with the initial line-up including Mathus, Dr. Sick (fiddle, vocals), Ingrid Lucia (vocals), Kris Tokarski (piano), Charlie Halloran (trombone), Dave Boswell (trumpet), Henry Westmoreland (saxophone), Tamara Nicolai (upright bass) and Kevin O’Donnell (drums), with original Zippers drummer Chris Phillips managing, and Alex Holeman as road manager. The band has continued to tour; a new studio album, ''Beasts of Burgundy'' was released March 23, 2018 via their own label Southern Broadcasting. Performers on the album include Mathus (guitar, vocals), Dr. Sick (fiddle, banjo, various instruments, vocals), Cella Blue (vocals), Vanessa Niemann (vocals), Tamar A. Korn (vocals), Dave Boswell (trumpet), Kevin Louis (trumpet),

Aurora Nealand Aurora Nealand is an American multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, clarinet, accordion, voice), sound-artist and composer based in New Orleans, LA and New York City. Early life and education Nealand lived an early life as all mortals have done ...

(clarinet), Charlie Halloran (trombone), Colin Myers (trombone), Henry Westmoreland (tenor and baritone saxophone), Kris Tokarski (piano), Leslie P. Martin (piano), Tamara Nicolai (upright bass), Neilson Bernard III (drums) and Chris Phillips (percussion).

Discography

Studio albums

* '' The Inevitable'' (1995) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000) * ''Beasts of Burgundy'' (2018) * ''Lost Songs Of Doc Souchon'' (2020)

Live albums

* ''Lost at Sea'' (2009)

EPs

* ''

Sold Out "Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal ga ...

'' (1997) * ''

Roasted Right ''Roasted Right'' is the debut recording by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, first released as a 7" in 1994, and subsequently re-released with an additional track as an Extended play, EP in 1997.The Best of Squirrel Nut Zippers as Chronicled by Shorty Brown'' (2002)

Singles

Soundtracks

As of 2021, music performed by the Squirrel Nut Zippers has appeared in 25 films or television shows.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1993 establishments in North Carolina 2000 disestablishments in North Carolina 2006 establishments in North Carolina American jazz ensembles American swing musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups from North Carolina Musical groups from Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups reestablished in 2016 Swing revival ensembles Jazz musicians from North Carolina Mammoth Records artists Hollywood Records artists