It almost sounds like an April Fool’s prank to proclaim a new album of 23 tracks from this fun swing revival band that we haven’t heard of in a while, but this is real! They’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of their platinum-selling Hot album with this one, released by the Music Maker Foundation (frontman Jimbo Mathus is a member of the nonprofit’s advisory board and the in-house producer and bandleader at their new recording studio in Fountain, NC.) “The character of Lil’ Tony is based on my grandfather, Tony Malvezzi, who began his life in the early 20th century as a bootlegger and juke joint operator,” says Jimbo, “continuing in his post-World War II life as a big band promoter in hotels and ballrooms such as the Peabody in Memphis and the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. Many of the stories and characters described in ‘Fat City’ are based on his memories of those times.”
Wednesday 4/1: Squirrel Nut Zippers -- Starring in “Fat City”
