SubscribeSquirrel Nut Zippers Reunite, Hopefully For Good
In Music
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the Squirrel Nut Zippers' Wikipedia Page and noticed that it listed the band as currently active. I wondered if it was a mistake. After some quick searching, I found out that the band had booked four shows in the mid-Atlantic region, one of which was right outside of DC at the Birchmere. I booked a ticket immediately because I had wanted to see them since 1998.
For those unfamiliar with the Zippers, they are an eclectic band from Chapel Hill, NC who gained popularity in the late 1990s during the short-lived swing revival. But, to fold the Zippers into the 90s swing fad does not nearly do their talent justice. Wikipedia describes the band like this:
It's their eclectic blend that has kept me listening to their music all this time, despite their disbanding in 2000.
I went to the show this past Tuesday and took note of the set list along with the album(s) where the songs came from:
Club Limbo was a really interesting number to open on. I expected them to come in strong, and they completely surprised me when they went with a slower, melodic tune. It was as if they were bashfully saying, "Hey, remember us? We're back." The slow opening changed when they moved on to Memphis Exorcism, of course.
The Zippers' tunes were of course awesome. To fill out the parts, the Zippers borrowed a couple members of The Old Ceremony, the opening band. However, there are a couple of other things to note about the set list. First, they only played one song from Badlam Bedroom, their final album. The last album was pretty lackluster, and the set list's lack of tracks from it made me wonder if it was the band's tacit agreement that the album was sub-par, for the Zippers, anyway. Also, the band played either three covers or three new tracks during the encore. I tried to take notes about the tracks and find them, but have had limited success.
The new material made me wonder if it was a prelude to new work from the group. I actually hope that it's not, because all three of the tracks lacked the edge and eccentricities of their hits. Regardless, I still have faith that the Zippers can deliver some amazing work. But the set made me anxious. I started wondering if their creativity existed inside a vacuum or if it would continue to flourish.
Another strange vibe I got was between Jimbo Mathus and Katharine Whalen, two of the founding members. The two seemed uncomfortable by each other. Furthermore, I always imagined Katharine Whalen as very passionate, intense vocalist. But, she seemed uncomfortable and indifferent onstage, despite how well she sounded. This guy was at the show and says that the show was different than past Zippers performances:
After the show, I did some research that I should have done beforehand. This article tells the whole saga of the band's 2000 demise. Unbeknownst to me, Mathus and Whalen were married when the Zippers formed, and after the band's breakup, Mathus left Whalen and their newborn child. I would never presume to fully understand the relationship between two people I've never met, but their body language toward each other on the stage suggested a palpable amount of awkwardness between the two.
The article about the band's downfall, written last May as a lead-up to Whalen's solo album, also mentions that the band still owed $30,000 from a settlement with two members who quit the band. The band might play some shows to finally pay their debt off in full, according to Whalen:
The set list had worried me, and after reading the article, I wondered if I had perhaps seen one of the four final performances of the Zippers that served the sole purpose of them paying past debts.
I was feeling kind of grim and depressed about the whole thing, but then I found a glimmer of hope. Chris Phillips, another band member, said this in a press release:
I wasn't totally convinced by this, because it was in a press statement leading up to the tour. You can't exactly say, "Yeah, we're doing this to pay debts. Come see us." However, I found another tidbit that makes me more optimistic. The band did an interview with North Carolina Public Radio last month about the reunion. In it, the band says that the reunion is genuine and that they are going to give it a go. Listen here:
Whalen says in the interview that the band is just touring for the time being and that they will need to see if they can still write together. The band even goes on to say that not having the pressure of a recording company takes an immense burden off of them, part of what led to their demise. More importantly, though, it was the absence of pressure that bred the band's creativity in the first place.
So, will the band be back to produce new material? I, for one, certainly hope so. I would also venture a guess that the 250+ people that packed Birchmere on a cold Tuesday in January hope so, too, along with all those who couldn't make the show.
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the Squirrel Nut Zippers' Wikipedia Page and noticed that it listed the band as currently active. I wondered if it was a mistake. After some quick searching, I found out that the band had booked four shows in the mid-Atlantic region, one of which was right outside of DC at the Birchmere. I booked a ticket immediately because I had wanted to see them since 1998.
For those unfamiliar with the Zippers, they are an eclectic band from Chapel Hill, NC who gained popularity in the late 1990s during the short-lived swing revival. But, to fold the Zippers into the 90s swing fad does not nearly do their talent justice. Wikipedia describes the band like this:
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.
It's their eclectic blend that has kept me listening to their music all this time, despite their disbanding in 2000.
I went to the show this past Tuesday and took note of the set list along with the album(s) where the songs came from:
- Club Limbo, The Inevitable
- Memphis Exorcism, Hot
- Good Enough for Granddad, The Inevitable
- It Ain't You, Hot
- Wash Jones, The Inevitable
- You're Driving Me Crazy, The Inevitable
- Danny Diamond, The Inevitable
- Fat Cat Keeps Getting Fatter, Perennial Favorites Prince Nez, Hot
- La Grippe, Sold Out / The Inevitable
- Put A Lid On It, Hot
- My Drag, Perennial Favorites
- Low Down Man, Perennial Favorites
- Do What, Bedlam Ballroom
- Bad Businessman, Hot
- Hell, Hot
- Ghost Of Stephen Foster
- I Raise Hell, Sold Out, Perennial Favorites
- (3 Covers)
- It's All Over, Perennial Favorites
Club Limbo was a really interesting number to open on. I expected them to come in strong, and they completely surprised me when they went with a slower, melodic tune. It was as if they were bashfully saying, "Hey, remember us? We're back." The slow opening changed when they moved on to Memphis Exorcism, of course.
The Zippers' tunes were of course awesome. To fill out the parts, the Zippers borrowed a couple members of The Old Ceremony, the opening band. However, there are a couple of other things to note about the set list. First, they only played one song from Badlam Bedroom, their final album. The last album was pretty lackluster, and the set list's lack of tracks from it made me wonder if it was the band's tacit agreement that the album was sub-par, for the Zippers, anyway. Also, the band played either three covers or three new tracks during the encore. I tried to take notes about the tracks and find them, but have had limited success.
The new material made me wonder if it was a prelude to new work from the group. I actually hope that it's not, because all three of the tracks lacked the edge and eccentricities of their hits. Regardless, I still have faith that the Zippers can deliver some amazing work. But the set made me anxious. I started wondering if their creativity existed inside a vacuum or if it would continue to flourish.
Another strange vibe I got was between Jimbo Mathus and Katharine Whalen, two of the founding members. The two seemed uncomfortable by each other. Furthermore, I always imagined Katharine Whalen as very passionate, intense vocalist. But, she seemed uncomfortable and indifferent onstage, despite how well she sounded. This guy was at the show and says that the show was different than past Zippers performances:
It was quite a different type of show than what I had seen before - I think some of it was that they are now older and more mellow, a bit out of practice from being on stage, and some of it was that the performance was at the Birchmere.
After the show, I did some research that I should have done beforehand. This article tells the whole saga of the band's 2000 demise. Unbeknownst to me, Mathus and Whalen were married when the Zippers formed, and after the band's breakup, Mathus left Whalen and their newborn child. I would never presume to fully understand the relationship between two people I've never met, but their body language toward each other on the stage suggested a palpable amount of awkwardness between the two.
The article about the band's downfall, written last May as a lead-up to Whalen's solo album, also mentions that the band still owed $30,000 from a settlement with two members who quit the band. The band might play some shows to finally pay their debt off in full, according to Whalen:
We wouldn't be trying to re-form the group to make records and get on the radio," Whalen says. "It would be more about us surviving. The idea would be to do maybe three shows, probably just a couple of corporate gigs for some money. We'll be paying off that settlement for two more years, so it would be cool to play a few nights and just make that go away."
The set list had worried me, and after reading the article, I wondered if I had perhaps seen one of the four final performances of the Zippers that served the sole purpose of them paying past debts.
I was feeling kind of grim and depressed about the whole thing, but then I found a glimmer of hope. Chris Phillips, another band member, said this in a press release:
One day early last year I was just looking out the window when it hit me. I thought, I miss those guys, let's do some shows.
I wasn't totally convinced by this, because it was in a press statement leading up to the tour. You can't exactly say, "Yeah, we're doing this to pay debts. Come see us." However, I found another tidbit that makes me more optimistic. The band did an interview with North Carolina Public Radio last month about the reunion. In it, the band says that the reunion is genuine and that they are going to give it a go. Listen here:
Click here if you can't see the player.
Whalen says in the interview that the band is just touring for the time being and that they will need to see if they can still write together. The band even goes on to say that not having the pressure of a recording company takes an immense burden off of them, part of what led to their demise. More importantly, though, it was the absence of pressure that bred the band's creativity in the first place.
So, will the band be back to produce new material? I, for one, certainly hope so. I would also venture a guess that the 250+ people that packed Birchmere on a cold Tuesday in January hope so, too, along with all those who couldn't make the show.
