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 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.
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first seven albums before leaving to begin her solo career in 1993. She has since released nine studio albums as a solo artist.
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".
Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in 1976. They were part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement and are acknowledged by bands such as Metallica and Megadeth as a significant early influence.
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.
Bonfire is a German hard rock/heavy metal band, founded by Hans Ziller in Ingolstadt in 1972. In 1986, based on the advice of the record company and the management, the band changed its name to Bonfire. Original founder Ziller is still in the band and is the only one who has the rights to the Bonfire name.
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. 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.
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.
The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, is a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. An important grouping in the genre, it has contained or been associated with a large proportion of major English folk performers in its long and fluid history.
Jerome Stanley Augustyniak is the drummer for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Augustyniak joined the band in March 1983, two years after the group formed. Augustyniak continues to perform with the band who tour extensively. As a member of 10,000 Maniacs, he is also a member of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.
Dennis Arnold Drew is the keyboardist for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. He has been with the band since its inception in 1981 and is one of three founding members along with Steve Gustafson and John Lombardo in the current band lineup. Drew also spent 17 years (2004-2021) as the general manager of WRFA-LP, a community radio station in Jamestown, New York. He previously had a stint at WNAE-AM in nearby city Warren, PA, before the band's beginning.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore punk bands, elements of rhythm and blues music - including harmonica - also remained an occasional element of their work.
Jeff Scott Soto is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–07.
Head East is an American rock band from Illinois. The band was formed by singer John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the band while John, Roger, and Larry were studying at the University of Illinois, Steve was at Eastern Illinois University 45 miles away and Danny was not in college. As of 2024, Roger Boyd is the only remaining original member: Piper left in 1972; Larry Boyd left in 1974; Schlitt took a break for part of 1973–74 before leaving in 1980; and Huston took a break for part of 1973–74 before leaving in 1983. Mike Somerville (guitar) and Dan Birney (bass) replaced Piper and Larry Boyd during the band's 1970s heyday, while the entire lineup has gone through numerous changes since the 1980s.
Robert Wayne Gustafson is an American musician, best known as the former guitarist of the New Jersey-based thrash metal band Overkill from 1982 until his split with the band in 1990. He was also the rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Vio-lence from 2020 until 2022.
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.
