In 2016, Mathus and Phillips reunited the band with a new lineup to tour in support of the 20th anniversary of their highest-selling album, Hot.

The band was founded by James "Jimbo" Mathus, formerly of Metal Flake Mother and Johnny Vomit & The Dry Heaves, and his then-wife Katharine Whalen in Carrboro, North Carolina, with Tom Maxwell, Chris Phillips, Don Raleigh, and Ken Mosher.

The band was influenced by Johnny Ace, Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, Raymond Scott, Fats Waller, and Tom Waits.

[citation needed] In early 2007, the band's official website announced tour dates with a lineup consisting of Jimbo Mathus, Katharine Whalen, Chris Phillips, Je Widenhouse, Stuart Cole, Hank West, and Will Dawson.

In late February 2009, Phillips sent an email announcing a forthcoming live album titled You Are My Radio, recorded in Brooklyn in December 2008.

Following renewed interest at the approach of the 20th Anniversary of Hot, Mathus began assembling a revival band, focusing on musicians in the New Orleans area.

They began touring in June 2016, with the initial line-up including Mathus, Dr. Sick (fiddle, vocals), Ingrid Lucia (vocals), Kris Tokarski (piano), Charlie Halloran (trombone), Dave Boswell (trumpet), Hank West (saxophone), Tamara Nicolai (upright bass) and Kevin O’Donnell (drums), with original Zippers drummer Chris Phillips managing, and Alex Holeman as road manager.

[7] The band has continued to tour; the studio album Beasts of Burgundy was released on March 23, 2018 through their own label Southern Broadcasting.