What is Squirrel Nut Zippers?

The Squirrel Nut Zippers are a Chapel Hill, North Carolina based Jazz band formed in 1993, who applied punk's DIY aesthetic to early 20th century American popular music. The band's name comes from the Squirrel Brand's Nut Zippers, a peanut and caramel candy for sale since the mid-20s.^[1]

Origins

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 live debut in Chapel Hill a few months later. Stacy Guess (formerly of Pressure Boys and Sex Police)and Tom Maxwell joined later. 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. Unlike such bands as Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the Zippers defied description, incorporating everything from Harlem Hot Music, Cab Calloway, Johnny Ace, Delta Blues, Raymond Scott, Fats Waller, Django Reinhardt, Tom Waits, and klezmer. The song "Hell", a single,^[1] that peaked at number 13, was calypso music in the tradition of 1930s artists such as Lord Executor and The Growler. The band's lyrics sometimes referenced William Faulkner or quoted 2,000 year old Chinese poetry. They opened for President Bill Clinton's inaugural ball in January of 1997.^[1] They still have a strong following and continue to perform at festivals and Clubs around the United States.

Albums

The band's first album, The Inevitable (1995), garnered the attention of National Public Radio, which was the band's first source of widespread acclaim. Their second album, Hot (1996), caught the attention of the modern music scene. It was certified platinum (1,000,000 unit shipped) in the Fall of 1997. The "Hot" album was one of the first ECDs - an "enhanced" audio CD containing an interactive presentation created by filmmaker Clay Walker. Perennial Favorites (1998) also received critical acclaim and achieved substantial sales. The band recorded Bedlam Ballroom in 1999 after touring the previous records extensively. Any new recordings by the band are yet to be released.

Personnel changes

• 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.^[2]
• 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.

Success

• To date, the Zippers catalog has sold in excess of two and a half million units.
• The Squirrel Nut Zippers spent the summer of 1997 outselling the likes of U2 and Aerosmith and touring with Neil Young. They performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 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 performed in a segment on Sesame Street in 2001, playing "Put a Lid on It" in a lounge while teasing Fat Blue.
• 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 Records just months prior to this recording. The song was eventually released on the band's greatest hits CD.
• Maxwell's song "Put A Lid On It" was in a 1999 Intel Super Bowl commercial and features prominently in the musical Contact. Although many criticized the show for its lack of original music, it was also widely acclaimed and won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical.
• The song "Hell" is central to the pilot episode of the Showtime series Dead Like Me, and was the main title of the A&E series Family Plots.
• Movies have licensed the Zippers' catalog extensively, including Dead Man on Campus, Flirting with Disaster, Blast from the Past and most recently the animated feature film Happily N'Ever After licensed the Bedlam Ballroom song "Baby Wants a Diamond Ring". "Hell" is the main title for the Lifetime series Lovespring, International.

Hiatus

The band never broke up, but they took an indefinite hiatus from recording and touring in 2001. In June 2002, Maxwell and Mosher arbitrated against their partners for allegedly entering into a management agreement without their knowledge or consent, and for withholding a share of royalties after their departure. They settled out of court.

Most members have continued their musical careers while the Zippers were on hiatus.

• Tom Maxwell released Samsara in early 2000, and briefly toured with his band The Minor Drag (including Robert Sledge on bass) and Chris Phillips, on loan from the Squirrel Nut Zippers, on drums. http://www.tommaxwell.com/
• Ken Mosher became a bass player in a Pittsboro, North Carolina band called the b-sides and worked as a producer.
• Katharine Whalen has released two solo albums.http://www.katharinewhalen.com/
• Jim Mathus toured with Buddy Guy before re-forming his old band Knockdown Society.http://www.jamesmathus.com/
• Maxwell & Mosher released a rock record called Brother Seeker http://www.brotherseeker.com/BSindex.html and occasionally toured as Maxwell/Mosher, performing the songs they wrote for the Zippers. Their eponymous record is a continuation of the Zippers' musical blue print, though lacks any of the sales that the band was able to achieve.http://www.maxwellmosher.com/ In August, 2006 they teamed up with Rickie Lee Jones to release the anti-GOP song "Have You Had Enough". http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2006/08/rickie-lee-jones-and-guys-from.html
• Don Raleigh has played with several bands, including The Rock Mechanics, The Loose Lunatics, and Jackie O. Pillbox.http://thegeneralstorecafe.com/newsletter_archive/newsletter_2003_07_18.htm
• Je Widenhouse and Reese Gray are recording and touring with Firecracker Jazz Band.http://www.firecrackerjazz.com
• Chris Phillips plays with William Reid from the Jesus and Mary Chain and has recorded with Alejandro Escovedo and numerous others. His current band The Lamps features members of the Bangles and The Connells. He also is the composer for the Comedy Central television show "Lil' Bush".

Reunion

In early 2007, the band's official website and MySpace blog announced new tour dates, with a lineup consisting of founder Jimbo Mathus (guitar, vocals), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, percussion, ukelele), 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. The band's lineup was closer to the original lineup than through previous years, although several members of The Old Ceremony augmented the band during the series of concerts.

After several years of legal problems and tensions between band members[1], the reunion was "surprisingly painless"[2] according to drummer Chris Phillips. The Zippers plan to record a new album after their summer tour, slated for a 2008 release.

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

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)

References in Popular Culture

• On a 2004 episode of The Drew Carey Show called "At Your Cervix", character Oswald wears a Squirrel Nut Zippers t-shirt.
• In The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, people at a party are dancing to a Squirrel Nut Zipper song.

Discography

Albums

• The Inevitable (1995)
• Hot (1996)
• Sold Out (1997)
• Roasted Right (EP, 1997)
• Perennial Favorites (1998)
• Christmas Caravan (1998)
• Bedlam Ballroom (2000)
• The Best of Squirrel Nut Zippers as Chronicled by Shorty Brown (2002)

Singles

• Hell (1997)
• Suits Are Picking Up the Bill (1998)

References

• Milkowski, Bill (2001). Swing It: An Annotated History of Jive, Bob Nikard, ed., and Alison Hagge, ed., New York, New York: Billboard Books, 251-254. ISBN 0-8230-7671-7. 

External links

Band

• Squirrel Nut Zippers
• Squirrel Nut Zippers on MySpace

Band members

• James "Jimbo" Mathus
• Katharine Whalen
• Tom Maxwell
• Maxwell/Mosher
• Andrew Bird

Related

• News & Observer article—May 14, 2006
• Clay Walker, Squirrel Nut Zippers filmmaker
• Squirrel Nut Zippers fansite