It’s almost as if I can tell a 20 something “for a year in the ‘90s we were all into [random music thing]” and it’s plausible no matter what it is.
Swing? Gregorian chant? Lounge jazz?
I saw G Love a few times in the early 2000s, saw them open for Jack Johnson at the TLA or Electric Factory in Philly and for John Mayer at the 9:30 club in DC
We had Big Head Todd and the Monsters opened by POTUSA…I was on the set-up/take-down team and had so much fun I was ready to quit school and tour with the band.
Mine too! I didn't know who he was and kept thinking his name was Glove. But the guy I was dating at the time wanted to go to the concert so I had to go too.
I remember listening to that song and not knowing what the hell a Wawa was, and then I finally made it out to Philly/New Jersey and I was like oh, it's like the east coast version of a Plaid Pantry but with a deli and gas.
I saw G. Love and Special in 2003 or 2004. They played about an hour later than the venue usually runs and finished off the set with Pussy Song. It was a good time. Very chill.
It's swing music which emerged in the late 1920s/early 1930s, but really became popular in the mid-1930s continuing into the 40s. I wouldn't give OP too much grief on this.
I’m amazed I had to scroll down this far to see this comment. Music from the 20s was totally different, and everybody I knew back in the day (in high school, so it’s not like we were sophisticated music snobs) knew that this was 1940s swing music.
Are most people this ignorant? Do they just not read headlines? Or is this just a comment section full of bots?
I was a kid living in Chapel Hill NC in the 90s, and there was some optimism that bands like Squirrel Nut Zippers, Ben Folds, and Superchunk, among others, would make "The Next Seattle." Delusional in retrospect, but there was definitely a very vibrant feeling being there in that era.
In the early 00s I had a studio gig to track some banjo parts and the bassist was Ken Mosher from Squirrel Nut Zippers. Wild to think their label got bought out by Disney.
For the Hardcore scene y’all’s university triangle was honestly our Mecca in 90’s & early aughts. Maybe later but that’s far as I went. Undying, Prayer for Cleansing, Between the Buried & Me…
I lived in Raleigh drum 97-99 and there was a crazy good scene in The Triangle. Seemed like there were good bands playing just about every night. I agree “next Seattle “ was a stretch but it was a great scene nonetheless and very diverse sonically.
As a middle schooler from LA, I was obsessed with the Chapel Hill music scene in the 90s! Specifically Superchunk and Archers of Loaf. My mom took me to see them at some all ages clubs around Hollywood and Silver Lake. Those were the days.
If I was going to turn a NC town into Seattle, I might pick Asheville instead. But I don't know, I've only been to Chapel Hill once and it seemed nice.
If it's any consolation I remember there was a big push to try to make more St. Louis bands famous in the hopes it'd become another Seattle, too.
I went to UNC in the late 90’s and does this bring back memories. Catching bands at the Local 506 and Cat’s Cradle. My dream job in college was to be able work at either Mammoth or Merge Records. That was a really cool time in Chapel Hill
I ended up living in Chapel Hill not too long ago. It was weird driving by Cat's Cradle and realizing how many acts got their start in there and I'm seeing it way past that heyday.
I don't like much Christmas music but [Christmas Caravan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpnCeio3k0&list=OLAK5uy_kiHjiP35vgHBK6D-XSNtGRakFyxhsyjRI&index=2) is excellent. All but one track are originals and their arrangement of "Sleigh Ride" rips.
SNZ took things a little farther than some of the other swing-revival-era bands - they explored swing and big-band music of course, but also Tin Pan Alley-style stuff and even klezmer and polka-influenced tunes, especially on the Perennial Favorites album. They've always been a favorite of mine from that era.
This and the big band/ska revival was an odd thing that only lasted a few years. I remember signing up for swing dance lessons to impress a girl I was dating at the time in maybe 1999 or 2000. This dance studio sold these date night packages. You showed up and there was like an hour long lesson where you learned the basics and whatever. Then they cleared out the dance floor and it just turned into a dance club with an open bar and everything. They played traditional swing along with some ska and punk infused stuff like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones lol. Weird times for sure. I was pretty into Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Bosstones though.
And I saw the Squirrel Nut Zippers in concert at one point. They opened for an alt rock band called Tonic. It was a fun show.
These guys are actually the band that Brian Setzer and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were coattailing. They were playing Big Band Swing as far back as the 80s in LA - the Brown Derby if I’m remembering correctly, and developed a following. I booked these guys for a 500 Festival Gala in the late 90s. So glad I was able to bring them to Indianapolis.
Used to see them locally here for like $5 in the early days at like a VFW or wherever. I saw them so many times pre-Zoot Suit Riot, all up and down the Willamette Valley.
My parents bought me the Cherry Poppin Daddies cd for my birthday lol I wonder if they realized what the name meant at the time because it didn't hit me until like 10 years ago.
The dude claims it doesn’t mean what it sounds like, and I don’t blame him; I’d claim that to if I had to look another human being in the face and say that my band’s name was Cherry Poppin Daddies.
Big band (swing) is not the same style - Squirrel Nut Zippers were a lounge act, like OP said. I loved swing night at the Masquerade when I was in college on the '90s, but they didn't play SNZ for dancing.
I've seen them twice. Once back in the day with mostly the original lineup and then once about 10 years ago with a newer lineup. Both shows were freaking fantastic.
My local swing band was The Cherry Poppin Daddies, I've probably seen them like 8 times, they actually just jumped onto that swing bandwagon, they were much more of a punk band with a horn section (but harder edged that ska-core) back when I was paying $7 to see them.
Yep, this was me in high school. Weird as hell. Like I'd wear big khaki pants with black & white wingtips, bowling shirts/panel shirts.. whatever you call em, as well as uniform/work shirts with name patches on them over band shirts, ripped up jeans, completely destroyed red Chuck Taylors, ivy caps and the occasional fedora. I'd wear a suit to school every now and then for fun.
I wasn't a ska kid but I loved ska too and I think there was a lot of crossover between those groups. A lot of us were also sorta into punk, but like MXPX, NOFX and stuff like that.
I played the trumpet too and always wanted to be in a ska band so bad, but I didn't try, and I wasn't good enough to be honest! The kids in the jazz combo were the legit musicians. Was amazing how good some of them got. Ahh, nostalgia...
I remember those. Yeah, everyone was banking off this strange vibe including Hollywood. I think it was the same year that Swingers and The Mask came out.
Swing and ballroom dancing were definitely a thing in the late 90s, early 00s for some reason. Fun fact I learned, Squirrel Nut Zippers are actually a kind of nut candy popularized in the 1920s, and the band hands them out at their concerts
Fascinating. Thank you for this. I had no idea [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel\_Nut\_Caramel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_Nut_Caramel)
My sisters did a little swing dance to Prince Nev by SNZ at my brothers wedding in 1999. Feels like yesterday but it’s almost 30 YEARS ago. Somewhere there’s a video clip of that, hope my brother still has it saved somewhere
Just yesterday I saw [this video](https://youtu.be/5W8wXMOjF00?si=Oogdmbscj5t81rjo) on YouTube about how they got together and what happened to them. I thought it was pretty interesting, since I've always liked their stuff, but didn't know much about them.
I'm a fan of Squirrel Nut Zippers. I'm also a big fan of Bridge City Sinners (who other SNZ fans might enjoy), they played Ghost of Stephen Foster this past New Year's Eve and I went wild 😁
Glad to see this mentioned. Hell was played a lot (and rightfully so) but I came across Ghost of Stephen Foster on Spotify recently and man what a great song.
SNZ may have capitalized on the swing revival but they were so much more unique and talented than the rest of the bands during that time. While Big Bad Voodoo & Cherry Poppin Daddies embodied the caricature of soot suit big band, SNZ was this great hot jazz 1920’s style. Being from the south as well, they really had the south steeped in their sound. Plus the songwriting of Jimbo Mathus & Tom Maxwell, they really don’t get the love they deserved.
Saw SNZ last year and they were amazing. The lead singer/band leader was the only original member but he had surrounded him with absolutely bonkers good talent. Before I realized it wasn't the original members I was saying to my wife, "wow, they horns have really improved overnight years!". Catch them if they come your way!
The tv show bondsman has this song in it. Kevin Bacon was fighting a demon and I thought to myself, "This fight seen needs squirrel nut zippers." and about 10 seconds later they bumped into a juke box and it started playing. I was amused.
One of the best insults in the [legendary twitter shoe roast](https://imgur.com/gallery/since-roasts-are-trending-on-imgur-now-allow-me-to-present-please-stop-roasting-goddamned-shoes-twitter-saga-1sRcD) was calling the leopard print keds some “squirrel nut zippers” ass shoes.
In 7th grade, my music teacher asked us who were some popular bands at the time. I raised my hand and proudly declared CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES!
That was a fun ride home from detention.
I think that radio station was in Stranger Things
https://preview.redd.it/67iggwgvveeg1.jpeg?width=223&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b3e9d09a915e1b6355e83a3010c4a5622fb8f47
Don't forget about Richard Cheese, who did lounge covers of popular songs. For no other generation would that have been appealing. But after SNZ and BBVD and Jon "You're So Money and You Don't Even Know It" Favreau, Xennials were down.
Best times. We had a great Swing scene in Vancouver. Lots of local talent (like that in and comer Michael Buble), swing dancing lessons, fin and tonics. Great times. I hope it comes back again.
"Ghost of Stephen Foster" (1998) is a long-time favorite of mine, partially because of the Betty Boop style animation they used for their music video.
https://youtu.be/KJzWGkgFcTU?si=VWWuxgSumwwK6IsB
I took swing dance lessons as recently as 2004-2005, and my city still has a pretty robust swing music scene. Late ‘90s, we had a nightclub that had salsa and swing and was VERY clearly modeled on this video.
I had a sticker with that band name of my cd case in HS. Melissa T. noticed it and said how she loved that band. I had no idea who they were but of course I said “me too” hoping there wasn’t a follow up band related question.
I could not have possibly hated this part any more than I did. Add in the R&B crazy from the early '90s and it was just excruciating to hear it *everywhere*.
Doesn’t seem brief since I started Swing dance classes in 2001 and continued until now! My husband & I break out our swing and disco moves at every wedding we attend :)
1940s. how did you live through this and not know itwas related to WWII when there were a ton of WWII movies that came out and featured this music? did you go to school?
Man I was never more “in the right place an at the right time”. My dad had gotten into swing dancing in 1995 and started teaching it soon after. He made me come with him as he never had enough males. So I learned to dance swing and was into it a lot.
And then the gap ad came out and I cleaned up.
SNZ is a FANTASTIC band that absolutely holds up. Few of the other swing revival bands do, but SNZ does. I still spin "Perennial Favorites." And swing dancing is fun as hell.
I’ve got a vague memory of that flapper-era Charleston remix, the one with the cheeky little “[doop](https://youtu.be/tvLDm8821jQ?si=vObdsLlNsWQq9742)”, being absolutely everywhere in the mid-90s…
it wasn’t really a 90s invention though… back in the 70s, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band were [already ](https://youtu.be/rAvlCGDtzw8)already blending swing with jazz, funk and disco. .
I remember playing Zoot Suit Riot to my parents and got the side eye from them since that sounded like what their parents listened to, it totally threw them off. Then I told them the name of the band.
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox is another good one that’s more recent.
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