10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four albums that charted in the top 50 in the US: In My Tribe (1987), Blind Man's Zoo (1989), Our Time in Eden (1992), and the live album MTV Unplugged (1993). After the recording (but before the release) of MTV Unplugged, original lead singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant left the band to pursue a solo career, while the remaining members continued the band.
The band was formed as Still Life in 1981 in Jamestown, New York,[2] by Dennis Drew (keyboards), Steven Gustafson (bass), Chet Cardinale (drums), Robert Buck (guitar), and Buck's ex-wife[3] Terri Newhouse (vocals). Gustafson invited Natalie Merchant, who was 17 at the time, to do some vocals. John Lombardo, who was in a band named The Mills (along with brother guitarist/vocalists Mark Liuzzo and Paul Liuzzo and drummer Mike Young) and used to play occasionally with Still Life, was invited to join permanently on guitar and vocals. Newhouse and Cardinale left the band in July, and Merchant became the main singer. Various drummers came and left. The band changed its name to Burn Victims and then to 10,000 Maniacs, inspired by the 1964 low-budget horror movie Two Thousand Maniacs!.[4][5]
They performed as 10,000 Maniacs for the first time on Labor Day, September 7, 1981, with a line-up of Merchant, Lombardo, Buck, Drew, Gustafson, and Tim Edborg on drums. Edborg left and Bob "Bob O Matic" Wachter was on drums for most of the 1981 gigs. Tired of playing cover songs—though their first notable American hit was a cover of the Cat Stevens hit "Peace Train"—the band started to write their own music, usually with Merchant handling the lyrics and Lombardo the music. In March 1982, with Jim Foti on drums, the band recorded an EP album titled Human Conflict Number Five, financed by Drew's mother.[6] More gigs followed in 1982. During this time, they lived in Atlanta, Georgia, for a short period at the encouragement of friends who said that many gigs were available there. Discouraged by the lack of actual gigs, and by having to sell plasma and rake leaves to buy food, the band moved back to Jamestown in November 1982 to regroup.[7]
John Lombardo
At the beginning of 1983, Jerry Augustyniak joined the band as their permanent drummer. The Maniacs met Augustyniak when they played in Buffalo, New York, where he was in a punk band named the Stains. Between March and July, the band recorded songs for a second record, Secrets of the I Ching, their debut album, which was pressed by Mark Records for the band's own label Christian Burial Music. The record was well received by critics and caught the attention of respected BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel in London.[2] One song, "My Mother the War", turned out to be a minor hit in the United Kingdom and entered the independent singles chart. The band toured extensively during 1983 and 1984, and played gigs in the UK.[2]
Peter Leak, an Englishman living in New York City, became interested in the band, made contact and was made their manager. With the help of Leak and Elektra Records A & R (artists and repertoire) man Howard Thompson, 10,000 Maniacs signed to Elektra in November 1984.[2] In the spring of 1985, they recorded their second album, The Wishing Chair, in London at Livingston Studios, with Joe Boyd as producer.[2] Though the album was not a blockbuster hit, its status as the band's major label debut did win it some notice, and it received significant critical acclaim.
Breakthrough success
Frustrated with the lack of success and direction of the band, co-founder Lombardo left 10,000 Maniacs during a rehearsal on July 14, 1986.[2][8] The remaining five members started recording a new album in Los Angeles with Peter Asher as the producer, who had worked extensively with artists such as James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. In My Tribe, a more pop-rock oriented record, was released on July 7, 1987.[2] The album stayed on the charts for 77 weeks, peaking at No.37, and established a large U.S. audience for the group. It was also well received in the UK. The album originally contained the band's cover of "Peace Train", but the song was removed from some subsequent pressings (post-1989) after the song's writer Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) made comments implying he agreed with a death fatwa against author Salman Rushdie.
10,000 Maniacs' next album, 1989's Blind Man's Zoo,[2] hit No.13 and went gold, further increasing the group's following. In May 1989, the British music magazine NME reported that 10,000 Maniacs had won the songwriter category prize at the New York Music Awards.[9] In 1990, with the help of Lombardo, they remastered their first two records, Human Conflict Number Five and Secrets of the I Ching, and released them as a compilation titled Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982–1983.[2] Lombardo and Mary Ramsey, who had formed a folk-rock act named John & Mary, opened gigs for the Maniacs on the Hope Chest Tour in 1990.[10]
The band played a handful of local concerts in 1991, but largely took a break from touring and Merchant spent most of the year working with homeless youth in Harlem. Merchant then revealed to the other members that she would be leaving 10,000 Maniacs for a solo career in two years' time, allowing for additional 10,000 Maniacs albums, while also acknowledging the financial implications of her departure.[11][12] A new album, Our Time in Eden, was released on September 29, 1992.[13] In 1993, the band performed at the MTV Inaugural Ball for President Clinton in January and on MTV Unplugged on April 21. Merchant made her departure from the band public in an interview on MTV on August 5, 1993, saying she "didn't want art by committee anymore."[14] The MTV Unplugged album was released on October 26, 1993.[15] "The last 10,000 Maniacs gig (July 28, 1993) was the first time I'd got drunk in nearly two years," Merchant later recalled. "I laughed a lot and threw lots of flowers out of the hotel window."[16][17][18]
1994–2001
Steve Gustafson
After Merchant's departure, Elektra Records dropped the band while signing Merchant as a solo artist.[11] The remaining members of 10,000 Maniacs (Augustyniak, Buck, Drew and Gustafson) asked John & Mary to join the band. The revamped band began performing new material almost immediately, initially calling themselves John & Mary, Rob, Steve, Dennis, & Jerry; then they were able to legally regain control of the 10,000 Maniacs name. 10,000 Maniacs released two albums with Ramsey on vocals. In 1997, they released Love Among the Ruins with the band on a new label, Geffen Records, from which their cover of the Roxy Music song "More Than This" became a moderate hit, and followed up in 1999 with The Earth Pressed Flat on Bar/None.[19]
In December 1998, Buck took some time off from the band, moving to Texas to focus on a new project named League of Blind Women. 10,000 Maniacs recruited Buffalo-based Michael Lee Jackson of the band Animal Planet to step into the lead guitar role. Buck returned to the band in the summer of 1999. On November 3, 2000, 10,000 Maniacs played with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in Buffalo, New York. It was the last concert they performed with Buck. On December 19, 2000, Buck died of liver failure at the age of 42.[20] He was buried in the Mission Covenant Church Cemetery in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania.
Following Buck's death, 10,000 Maniacs took a break. Gustafson and Drew, with Jeff Erickson, started a band named The Mighty Wallop!. Augustyniak joined a band named Only Humen. On December 5, 2001, a 10,000 Maniacs line-up comprising Gustafson, Drew, Augustyniak, Lombardo and Ramsey played a benefit concert in Toronto, with Buck's former guitar technician, Erickson, on lead guitar.
2002–2007
Dennis Drew
In 2002, Gustafson, Drew, and Augustyniak decided that they wished to continue 10,000 Maniacs with a new lead singer. Lombardo showed up at the first band practice, found out that the band had hired Erickson to play lead guitar and Oskar Saville of the Chicago-based band Rubygrass to sing, and quit the band. This lineup toured sporadically between 2002 and 2006, playing at various festivals.
On January 27, 2004, Elektra/Asylum/Rhino Records released Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings, a two-CD set compilation, with 31 digitally remastered songs, four of them demos and one unreleased. The second disc contained B-sides and outtakes throughout the band's career up to that point, including many covers. Jackson Browne's "These Days" and Tom Waits' "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" were among those included.
In 2006, John & Mary formed a folk-rock band named the Valkyries. John & Mary & the Valkyries are composed of several longtime Buffalo music scene stalwarts. Ramsey rejoined the current edition of the band for several dates in 2006, playing viola and singing backing vocals. Saville left in 2007, and Ramsey regained the lead vocalist spot.
2008–2022
10,000 Maniacs in 2019 in Rochester, Minnesota
The band—consisting of Augustyniak, Drew, Erickson, Gustafson and Ramsey—remains active, playing shows throughout the United States. In June 2011, the band released the EP Triangles on its own label, Ruby Wristwatch Records. The band celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2011 with two sold-out concerts at the Scharmann Theater on the campus of Jamestown Community College. The band spent most of 2012 recording a new album at their studio in Jamestown, New York. In February 2013, they released the album, titled Music from the Motion Picture.
Former drummer Robert Wachter died on March 26, 2013, at the age of 49 due to a long illness.[21][22]
Twice Told Tales, an album of traditional British Isles covers, was released on April 28, 2015, on Cleopatra Records.[23] Founding member John Lombardo was brought back into the fold as creative director and to play guitar on the album and following tour. 10,000 Maniacs released its live album Playing Favorites on June 3, 2016, their first live album with Mary Ramsey on lead vocals.[24][25]
40th anniversary
The band celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2022 with an extensive tour, billed as 10,000 Maniacs featuring Mary Ramsey, to avoid any confusion as to the status of Natalie Merchant in the band.[26] Ramsey acknowledged the legacy of the band, and the band with Merchant, stating "There are still times when I get mistaken for her, and I feel like it's just part of the story. In the beginning it was different, because people obviously wanted to see her — that's an understandable situation. But time has healed things up a bit, the wounds and the expectations."[25] In 2014, Merchant looked back to her time with the band, "I learned so much with 10,000 Maniacs and have great memories being with that band. I'll never forget 1987 when it became so crazy. It was exciting and insane in terms of the schedule. It was so intense I was hospitalized. I look back fondly on that period. But I don't think the world is craving Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs."[27] In 2002, when Merchant was asked if she would ever get back together with the band for a tour, she stated that due to Buck's death they could never again play together as a band.[28]
Keyboardist Dennis Drew reflected on the 40-year history of the band, "You don't grow up thinking you're going to do anything for 40 years. To get to this point, it's amazing. It doesn't feel like 40 years. It's been as natural as everything else. We have families, kids and grand-kids on the way. It's just been our life. You don't retire from this, I don't think. They'll have to take us off the stage on stretchers."[5]
2023–present
In July 2023, 10,000 Maniacs announced that Mary Ramsey and Jeff Erickson will be leaving the band to pursue other interests, and Leigh Nash would be joining the band as their new lead singer. 10,000 Maniacs also announced that Matt Slocum would be joining the band as their new guitarist.[29] Both Nash and Slocum are founding members of the band Sixpence None the Richer.
In January, 2024, 10,000 Maniacs announced on their Facebook page that Leigh and Matt had left to devote time to Sixpence None the Richer, and that Mary Ramsey had returned as lead singer. Joe Rozler will be joining them on guitar.[30]
Band members
Current
Dennis Drew– keyboards, backing vocals, rare occasional lead vocals (1981–present)
Steve Gustafson– bass, guitar, backing vocals, rare occasional lead vocals (1981–present)
John Lombardo– guitar, bass, occasional lead vocals (1981–1986, 1994–2002, 2015–present, touring member other years)
Digital download provided through Reciprocal for $1.50. Studio cover version of a Blondie song from around 1995.[41]
2000
"Rainy Day" (live)
Digital download provided through Reciprocal for $1.50. Live acoustic performance from Fredonia Opera House in 1998.[41]
2000
"Stockton Gala Days" (live)
Digital download provided through Reciprocal for $1.50. Live acoustic performance from Fredonia Opera House in 1998.[41]
2000
"Rainy Day" (live)
Digital download provided through Reciprocal for $1.50. Live acoustic performance from Fredonia Opera House in 1998.[41]
2013
"Sweetest Gift"
Digital download provided through PledgeMusic to those who supported the pledge for Music from the Motion Picture. The song was recorded for the album but was not included.
2013
Music from the Motion Picture Alternate Mixes
Digital download provided through PledgeMusic during the drive to support Music from the Motion Picture for $45. All songs from the original album provided with alternate mixes.[42]
2013
Music from the Motion Picture Sing-A-Long Mixes
Digital download provided through PledgeMusic during the drive to support Music from the Motion Picture for $30. All songs from the original album except for "Chautauqua Moon" provided in a karaoke format with limited backing vocals.[42]
2015
Twice Told Tales Alt/Early Mixes/Takes
Digital download provided through PledgeMusic during the drive to support Twice Told Tales exclusively available in the producer package. All songs from the original album except for "Lady Mary Ramsey", "The Song of Wandering Aengus", "Bonny May", "Greenwood Sidey", and "Lady Mary Ramsay II."
In My Tribe is the third studio album from the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Released on July 27, 1987, by Elektra Records, it was their second major-label album and their first to achieve large-scale success. John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant's songwriting partner on previous albums, had left the band in 1986, and In My Tribe saw Merchant begin to collaborate with the other members of the band, most notably with Rob Buck.
Robert Norman Buck was an American guitarist and founding member of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Some of his compositions with Natalie Merchant are among the most popular songs recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, including "What's the Matter Here", "Hey Jack Kerouac", "You Happy Puppet" and "These Are Days".
John & Mary is a United States–based folk rock duo featuring John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey both members of alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.
The Wishing Chair is the first major-label album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1985 by Elektra Records. Recorded in London, the album did not achieve the commercial success some of their later releases would receive, but received mostly favorable reviews and brought the band more visibility than had their previous independent releases. A live concert video of "Scorpio Rising" was produced and received a moderate amount of airplay on MTV.
Blind Man's Zoo is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. It was released on May 4, 1989, by Elektra Records. The album contains songs addressing social issues and current events, which occurred during and before the production of the album. The track "Trouble Me" was written as a dedication to the father of the band's lead singer Natalie Merchant.
Our Time in Eden is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. It was released in 1992 on Elektra Records. The release is 10,000 Maniacs' last studio album with original lead singer Natalie Merchant. The album included her future replacement Mary Ramsey on violin and viola on such tracks as "Stockton Gala Days" and "How You've Grown". Singles released from the album were "These Are Days", "Candy Everybody Wants" and "Few and Far Between". The brass and woodwind section is covered by James Brown's band the J.B.'s. The album had the working title African Violet Society.
Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982–1983, also known as just Hope Chest, is a compilation album of songs by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1990 by Elektra Records. It compiles tracks from their early releases Human Conflict Number Five (1982) and Secrets of the I Ching (1983). All tracks on the album are remixed from their original versions.
John Lombardo is one of the founding members of the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs and one of the band's most influential members, writing much of its early material, also being its oldest member in age. He is also a member of folk rock duo John & Mary.
Mary Ramsey is a member of folk rock duo John & Mary and lead singer and violist for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Ramsey has also worked with other well-known artists such as Jackson Browne, Goo Goo Dolls, Billy Bragg, Warren Zevon, Alex Chilton and Ani DiFranco.
Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings of 10,000 Maniacs is a compilation album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 2004. It includes their biggest hits, B-sides and unreleased recordings from the Natalie Merchant era. Despite the album's title, the collection does not include "A Campfire Song" from In My Tribe (1987).
Secrets of the I Ching is the first album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1983 by Mark Records. While the album also contained the band's own Christian Burial Music imprint, the label itself was fictitious.
Human Conflict Number Five is the debut EP by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1982 by Mark Records. While the EP also contained the band's own Christian Burial Music imprint, the label itself was fictitious.
MTV Unplugged is a 1993 live album and video by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, recorded for the MTV Unplugged series. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and spawned the hit single "Because the Night", a cover of the song written by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen. Between the recording and release of the album, vocalist Natalie Merchant left the band to pursue a solo career.
Love Among the Ruins (1997) is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs and the first to feature new lead singer Mary Ramsey, following Natalie Merchant's departure in 1993.
The Earth Pressed Flat is the seventh album by 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1999. The album contains nine songs that had been written for, but not used in, the band's previous album, Love Among the Ruins: "The Earth Pressed Flat", "Once a City", "On & On ", "Somebody's Heaven", "Cabaret", "Beyond the Blue", "Smallest Step", "Time Turns" and "Hidden in My Heart". "Beyond the Blue" and "Time Turns" had been released on the single "More Than This", but were re-recorded for this album.
Steven E. "Steve" Gustafson is the bass guitarist for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. He, Dennis Drew and John Lombardo are the only remaining founding members of the group. Drummer Jerome Augustyniak has been with the band since 1982. Singer Mary Ramsey has been working with the band since 1992 and has been the band's lead singer since 1994. Guitarist Jeff Erickson, former tech for Robert Buck, has been playing lead guitar with the band since 2001.
Music from the Motion Picture is an album by 10,000 Maniacs. The album, their first full-length in 14 years, contains eleven original songs. This album is the first to feature guitarist Jeff Erickson since he took over for Robert Buck following his death in 2000, and the first Maniacs album to feature Mary Ramsey without her longtime music partner, John Lombardo. In addition to his guitar efforts, Erickson provides the first male lead vocals on a Maniacs song since John Lombardo's vocal on the Human Conflict Number Five album of 1982. As with 1999's The Earth Pressed Flat and the following 2015 album Twice Told Tales, the album did not chart in either the United States or the United Kingdom.
"Like the Weather" was the second single released from 10,000 Maniacs' 1987 album In My Tribe, following "Peace Train". A live version with lead vocalist Mary Ramsey was also included on their 2016 album Playing Favorites.
Twice Told Tales is the ninth studio album by Jamestown, New York band 10,000 Maniacs. It is an album that consists of many traditional folk songs from the British Isles. For this album, they team up with producer Armand John Petri, who had worked with the band since 1991, as well as producing their 1999 album The Earth Pressed Flat. Coming back into the fold was founding member John Lombardo, who had supplied the band with a cassette full of songs he loved, as well as putting together the arrangements. The band funded the project through the online direct-to-fan music platform PledgeMusic. The funding drive ran from May 2014 to March 2015. Early promotion of the project included a concert held at the Reg Lenna Center For The Arts in Jamestown, which was also streamed online. The album was released through Cleopatra Records on April 10, 2015.
Playing Favorites is a live album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs released in 2016. The album was recorded on September 13, 2014, at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, New York. This is their first live album with current lead vocalist Mary Ramsey and also marks the return of founding member John Lombardo who contributes lead vocals on "My Mother the War".
References
1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2023). "10,000 Maniacs". AllMusic. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
Top 100 peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdfed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p.277.
1 2 3 "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2012. Note: User needs to enter "10000 MANIACS" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
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