Squirrel Nut Zippers

Squirrel Nut Zippers is a U.S. band formed in 1993 as a tongue-in-cheek salute to 1920s and 1930s big band swing music. The band's name comes from a brand of hard candy that has a vaguely walnut flavor.

Squirrel Nut Zippers is a U.S. band formed in 1993 as a tongue-in-cheek salute to 1920s and 1930s big band swing music. The band's name comes from a brand of hard candy that has a vaguely walnut flavor.

The band was founded by Jim Mathus, formerly of Metalflake Mother, and Katharine Whalen after they moved from Chapel Hill, North Carolina to the nearby town Efland. The rest of the band came together soon after, and the group made its live debut in Chapel Hill a few months later. The band formed during the swing music revival of the 1990s. Unlike such bands as Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, who were influenced more by the crisp big band style of the 1940s, Squirrel Nut Zippers follow the more energetic, rougher sounds of the 1920s hot jazz.