Squirrel Nut Zippers tour swings into action with 12 U.S. dates

Irreverent swing revivalists the Squirrel Nut Zippers are set to launch their second U.S. tour since reforming in 2007 after a nearly seven-year hiatus. The East Coast tour will come in two waves as the band performs 12 shows over a period of about six weeks.

The first round of dates kicks off tonight (October 23) at State Theatre in Falls Church, VA, and wraps October 30 at Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, TN. The second round picks up December 5 at Southpaw in Brooklyn, NY, and concludes December 9 at Showcase Live in Foxboro, MA. Highlights for both treks include an October 29 gig at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA, and a December 7 concert at Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT.

In addition to the dozen dates set for late 2008, the Zippers also announced the recent completion of the band’s first album since 2000’s “Bedlam Ballroom.” The unnamed project will be a live album, which the band recorded on the road during their 2007 reunion tour.

“Our team of researchers has finished analyzing the data from our most recent concert recordings. The logarithms have been scribed to disc, the fingers printed,” the band wrote in a September statement on the official Zippers MySpace page. “A wonderful and wild night of music captured on tape can soon be released back into the wild to YOU my wild and wooly friends.”

Squirrel Nut Zippers debuted during the swing revival of the ’90s with “The Inevitable” in 1995. But it wasn’t until the following year’s “Hot” that the band broke through to the mainstream with the hit single, “Hell” which peaked at No. 13 on Billboard‘s modern rock chart.

But as the Big Band and swing revival died down in the late ’90s, the Zippers’s momentum also slowed. After a final tour supporting “Bedlam Ballroom” in 2000, the band’s members parted ways to pursue solo careers. It wasn’t until 2006 that the band considered the possibility of regrouping.

“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,'” said original member Chris Phillips in the band’s 2007 reunion announcement, adding, “It feels more positive now than ever.”

Squirrel Nut Zippers itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)