About X:
Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA's flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a
About X:
Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA's flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation. Featuring vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released on the seminal Dangerhouse label in 1978, followed by seven studio albums released from 1980-1993. Over the years, the band has released several critically acclaimed albums, topped the musical charts with regularity and performed their iconic hits on top television shows such as Letterman and American Bandstand. X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift are ranked by Rolling Stone among the top 500 greatest albums of all time. The band continues to tour with the original line-up fully intact. In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th year anniversary in music with a Grammy Museum exhibit opening, a Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles and being honored at a Los Angeles Dodgers game where Exene threw out the first pitch and John Doe sang the National Anthem.
In 2020, X celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Los Angeles.
In 2019 X reissued and remastered their first four classic albums via their collaboration with Fat Possum Records. Los Angeles (1980), Wild Gift (1981), Under The Big Black Sun (1982) and More Fun In The New World (1983). In addition, the band recently re-entered the recording studio for the first time since 1984.
A collection of original songs, Alphabetland, were recorded with producer Rob Schnapf in two sessions. In Nov 2018 the band joined together to record fresh material for the first time since 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand. Five songs were recorded over the course of two days with producer Rob Schnapf. The first of these new songs is the recorded version of an older X song, “Delta 88 Nightmare,” which previously was only included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of “Los Angeles” in demo form – never as a fully recorded and mixed track. The song was released as a 7″ with the flip side being the newly recorded “Cyrano de Berger's Back,” one of the earliest songs John wrote for the band that became X. This past January 2020 the band re-entered the studio to finish recording the album, again with Rob Schnapf and seven more original tracks were laid down, 11 of the songs appear on this album. It was released via Bandcamp on April 22nd and landed on streaming platforms as of May 1, 2020. Physical release plans are tentatively scheduled for August, 2020.
The band continues to tour with the original line-up: Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake.
About Squirrel Nut Zippers:
The Squirrel Nut Zippers began their musical journey in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the mid 1990’s, as a musician’s escape from the cookie cutter world of modern rock radio at the time. Jimbo Mathus along with wife Katherine Whalen and drummer Chris Phillips formed the band as a casual musical foray playing for friends and family around town. It wasn’t long before the band (which had grown in size) developed a reputation for pioneering a quirky mix of jazz chords, folk music, and punk rock leanings and attracted a national audience.
Outside of the rollicking concerts which were rapidly growing in attendance, NPR was the first significant national media to take notice of the band followed by an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien. With grunge, and alternative rock in full swing back in 1995, the Squirrel Nut Zippers debut album The Inevitable sounded like nothing happening musically at the time. After the bands sophomore release Hot became a surprise commercial success, the group went on to sell more than 3 million albums between 1995 and 2003.
Some highlights of this era include performing on Dick Clarks New years Eve broadcast; playing Carnegie Hall with Tony Bennet; appearing as musical guest on Sesame Street; performing on late night television including Letterman, Leno, Conan; having a custom animated video made by The Simpsons; performing at Bill Clintons Inaugural Presidential Ball; multiple sold out tours, and even getting the keys to the city of Cambridge, MA where the bands namesake candy hails from.
Since those days the Squirrel Nut Zippers have continued to perform to a wide variety of audiences, venues and settings, and have recently released two new studio albums.
Beasts Of Burgundy released in 2018 debuted at #4 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart to critical acclaim: “There is, of course, jazz of various stripes (mainly pre-WWII varieties) on this deliciously wide-ranging comeback, but there’s so much more: sounds, identifiable and not, emanating from mysterious times and places, not the least of which is New Orleans, their home base, a land that, forever and still, has a mind of its own.” – Relix
Lost Songs of Doc Souchon released in 2020 is a combination of newly written Zippers material, along with a few songs from past times like “Animule Ball” which was originally recorded in 1938 by Jelly Roll Morton. In keeping with that time period, the band turned to their longtime friends at Fleischer Studios (home of Betty Boop) to use some of their historic animations for a video for the track. Watch here: https://youtu.be/ser63u9MmYM
The Squirrel Nut Zippers continue to confound audiences with their hybrid stew of Southern roots music, New Orleans Jazz, Vaudeville, Blues and a healthy touch irreverence. Not traditionalists – true originals.
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