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Squirrel Nut Zippers Wiki Information

The Squirrel Nut Zippers is a band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina by James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, and ukulele), Chris Phillips on drums, Don Raleigh on bass and sideman Ken Mosher.

While the band's eclectic fusion of Delta blues, gypsy jazz, 1930s-era swing, klezmer, and other styles makes them hard to categorize, their unique music found a niche in the late 1990's, when the band met with national recognition and commercial success, sometimes associated with the Swing Revival of the same period.

After a hiatus of several years, the original band members reunited and took to the stage again in 2007, playing select dates around the United States through 2008.

SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS TICKETS

EVENT	DATE	AVAILABILITY
Squirrel Nut Zippers Tickets 3/19	Mar 19, 2025 Wed, 8:00 PM
Squirrel Nut Zippers Tickets 3/20	Mar 20, 2025 Thu, 8:00 PM
Squirrel Nut Zippers Tickets 3/21	Mar 21, 2025 Fri, 7:30 PM
Squirrel Nut Zippers Tickets 3/21	Mar 21, 2025 Fri, 9:30 PM
Squirrel Nut Zippers Tickets 3/22	Mar 22, 2025 Sat, 6:00 PM

History

1990s

The band was founded by Jim "Jimbo" Mathus, formerly of Metalflake Mother and Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, and his then-wife Katharine Whalen in Carrboro, North Carolina along with 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, and the band's name comes from a newspaper account which related the story of a highly intoxicated man who climbed a tree one night, refusing to come down even after authorities arrived. The article's headline read: "Squirrel Nut Zipper." ^[1] ^[2]

The band was initially lumped into the "lounge" movement, along with Combustible Edison, and credited as part of the brief swing music revival of the 1990s. The Zippers' sound incorporates a broad range of music, ranging in influence from Harlem Hot Music, Cab Calloway, Johnny Ace, Delta Blues, Raymond Scott, Fats Waller, Django Reinhardt, Tom Waits, and klezmer. The band's break-through single, "Hell", was distinguished by calypso rhythms, and helped push the band into further association with the "Neo Swing" movement.

Songs from the band's first album, The Inevitable (1995) were played on National Public Radio in the US. Their second album, Hot (1996) was certified platinum (1,000,000 unit shipped) in the Fall of 1997. (The Hot album was also one of the first ECDs - an "enhanced" audio CD containing an interactive presentation created by filmmaker Clay Walker.) In 1997, the band toured with Neil Young.

The band's next studio album, Perennial Favorites (1998) also received critical acclaim. Also released in 1998 was Christmas Caravan , a Christmas-themed album. The band then recorded Bedlam Ballroom in 1999, after touring extensively.

The band performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, on Prairie Home Companion , President Clinton's second inaugural ball, Comedy Central's Viva Variety , and major television shows: The Tonight Show , Late Night with David Letterman , Conan O'Brien and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in 1998. The band had recorded a version of "Under The Sea" which was going to be included on the DVD release of The Little Mermaid , but Disney decided against it. Disney had purchased Mammoth just months prior to this recording. The song was eventually released on the band's greatest hits CD.

2000s

Although the band was largely inactive during the early 2000's while it's members pursued other projects, the Squirrel Nut Zippers' music continued to find an audience through stage, film and television.

Contact was a musical dance play made up of three separate dance pieces set to pre-recorded music. The show used Zippers' music along with the music of other artists. Although many ^[who?]criticized the show Contact for its lack of original music, it was also widely acclaimed and won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical. Movies that have licensed Zippers' songs include Monkeybone , Dead Man on Campus , Flirting with Disaster , Fido , Blast from the Past and the animated feature film Happily N'Ever After licensed the Bedlam Ballroom song "Baby Wants a Diamond Ring". The band performed in a segment on Sesame Street in 2001.

Katharine Whalen has released two solo albums. Jim Mathus toured with Buddy Guy before forming his band Knockdown Society. Je Widenhouse and Reese Gray are recording and touring with Firecracker Jazz Band. Chris Phillips 2 years playing with the Dickies, as well as playing with William Reid from the Jesus and Mary Chain. His current side band The Lamps includes members of the Bangles and The Connells. He also is the composer for the Comedy Central television show "Lil' Bush", and other contemporary films. Jimbo Mathus owns and operates a recording studio outside of Memphis, TN, where he has worked on albums with artists ranging from Elvis Costello to the Hives.

2007 - Present

In early 2007, the band's and MySpace blog announced new tour dates, with a lineup consisting of founding members Jimbo Mathus (guitar, vocals), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, percussion, ukulele), Chris Phillips (drums), Je Widenhouse (trumpet), Stuart Cole (bass), and Will Dawson (piano/guitar/saxophone). With the proclamation "Ladies and Gentlemen... They're Back", the band performed concert dates throughout the United States and Canada in spring and summer of 2007 and thru 2008.

In late February 2009, Chris Phillips sent out an e-mail announcing a forthcoming live album, titled You Are My Radio , recorded in Brooklyn in December 2008. The e-mail included a link to a free download of "Memphis Exorcism" from the album. ^[3] A release date has yet to be announced.

Recently, a portion of their song "Suits Are Picking Up the Bill" can also be heard in a Heinz Ketchup commercial.

The band announced on August 17th that their new live album will now be called Lost At Sea and will be released on October 27th (Southern Broadcasting/MRI). They also announced their plans for a new studio album in 2010.

Members

James "Jimbo" Mathus — vocals, Guitar, Slide Guitar, Tenor Banjo, Trombone, Piano
Katharine Whalen — Vocals, Banjo, Ukulele
Stuart Cole — Bass
Chris Phillips — Percussion, Contraption Kit, drums
Je Widenhouse — Trumpet, Cornet
Will Dawson — Alto Saxophone
Henry Westmoreland — Baritone Saxophone
Robert "Griffanzo" Griffin - Piano(Roland Keyboards)

Former members

Ken Mosher — guitar, saxophone, vocals
Tom Maxwell — vocals, guitar, saxophone, gong
Don Raleigh — bass, gong
Stacy Guess — trumpet
David Wright — trombone
Reese Grey — piano
Tim Smith — alto saxophone
Andrew Bird — violin (Honorary member)

Stacy Guess was forced out two weeks prior to the recording of Hot , in September 1995. He died of a heroin overdose on March 11, 1998. ^[4] Je Widenhouse (formerly of the Sex Police) joined the band in 1995. Don Raleigh departed in the middle of the Perennial Favorites sessions in November 1996. He was replaced by Stuart Cole. In July 1999, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tom Maxwell left the band. In October 1999, songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ken Mosher also quit. In 1999, Reese Gray (piano), Tim Smith (alto saxophone) and David Wright (trombone) joined the band.