10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was 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.
In My Tribe is an album by 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.
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American alternative rock 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 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993. She has since released seven 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".
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.
Blind Man's Zoo is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. It was released on May 4, 1989, through 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 the J.B.'s, or James Brown's band. 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.
Victory Gardens (1991) is the debut album from John & Mary, recorded in 1990 just six months after the two met in December 1989 and immediately following their signing with Rykodisc. John Lombardo, former member of 10,000 Maniacs and responsible for much of their early music, brought elements of the early Maniacs sound with him. Combined with the classically trained Mary Ramsey's blend of folk and classical influences, the album is considered by some to be heir to the 10,000 Maniacs album The Wishing Chair (1985), critically acclaimed for linking traditional influences with the contemporary new-wave sound.
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 violinist 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 a 1999 album by 10,000 Maniacs. 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 US or the UK.
Playing Favorites is a live album by 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".
