A revamped version of the Squirrel Nut Zippers will be heading out for a brief series of concert dates to promote the group's seasonal "Christmas Caravan" CD and to presumably road-test material for a new album to be released in 2000.

Tim Smith (sax), Dave Wright (trombone), and Reese Gray (piano) have joined the Zippers' Jim Mathus (vocals, guitar, tenor banjo, piano), Katherine Whalen (vocals, banjo, ukulele), Je Widenhouse (trumpet), Chris Phillips (drums), and Stu Cole (string bass) in the new lineup.

The group lost vocalist-guitarist Tom Maxwell to a solo career earlier this year, and multi-instrumentalist Ken Mosher followed suit in October (see "Former Squirrel Nut Zippers' Frontman Releases Limited Edition Album").

The SNZ's official Web site reports that the band has just wrapped up recording its fourth LP at New Orleans' Kingsway Studios, although a spokesperson for the band's label, Mammoth, says that recording is halfway completed and the band will return to the studio at home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in January. The CD is expected out in August, which will accommodate the pending birth of Whalen and Mathus' baby, due in April.

In other Squirrel Nut Zippers news, the group's management confirms that a trademark infringement lawsuit launched against the band by the company that manufactures the candy bar that spawned the band's moniker is still pending, though a lawyer for Southern Style Nuts says the case should be settled in a matter of days.

Attorney Dale Sissney told MTV News that an agreement is in place that just requires "crossing the t's and dotting the i's." The suit, quietly launched by the Squirrel Brand Corporation in 1998 and continued when the company was purchased by Southern Style Nuts early this year, caused the cancellation of live dates this past summer and inspired a spate of solo projects. The litigation meant that the band was briefly referred to as the Squirrel Not Zippers; the pending mini-tour will see business as usual.

The trek kicks off in Philadelphia this coming Sunday and includes a December 6 appearance at the kick-off party for the movie "Cradle Will Rock." The band is also booked for a December 8 performance on "Live With Regis & Kathie Lee."

To catch Squirrel Nut Zippers on the road, here's where to go:

  • 12/5 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theater Of The Living Arts
  • 12/7- New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
  • 12/14 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
  • 12/16 - Carrboro, NC @ The Cat's Cradle
  • 12/31 - Seattle, WA @ Stadium Exhibition Center