10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based
alternative rock band, formed in 1981 and
continues to be active with various line-ups.
History
1981-1993
The band
was formed as Still Life in 1981 in Jamestown, New York
, by Dennis Drew
(keyboards), Steve Gustafson (bass),
Chet Cardinale (drums), Robert Buck
(guitar), and Teri Newhouse (Buck's ex-wife and vocalist).
Steve Gustafson invited
Natalie
Merchant, who was 17 at the time, to do some vocals.
John Lombardo who was in a band called 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 Natalie Merchant
became the main singer. Various drummers came and left. The band
changed its name to Burn Victims and then to 10,000 Maniacs after
the low-budget horror movie
Two Thousand Maniacs!.
They performed as 10,000 Maniacs for the first time on September 7,
1981 - Labor Day, with a line-up of Natalie Merchant, John
Lombardo, Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Steve Gustafson, and Tim Edborg
on drums. Tim Edborg left and Bob "Bob O Matic" Wachter was on
drums for most of the 1981 gigs. Tired of playing cover songs -
though oddly enough their first notable American hit was found in
covering Cat Stevens hit "Peace Train" - the band started to write
their own music, usually with Natalie Merchant handling the lyrics
and John Lombardo the music. In February-March 1982, with Jim Foti
on drums, the band recorded an
EP
album called
Human
Conflict Number Five. More gigs followed in 1982. It was
during this time that they lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a short
while at the encouragement of friends who said that many gigs were
available there. The band moved back to Jamestown in November
1982.
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 called The
Stains. Between March and July, the band recorded songs for
a second record,
Secrets of
the I Ching - their debut full-length album, which was
pressed by Mark Records for the band's own label Christian Burial
Music. The record was well-received by critics and it caught the
attention of
John Peel - DJ at Radio
BBC Radio 1 in London. One song, "
My Mother the War" turned out to be a
minor hit in United Kingdom, and it entered the independent singles
chart. During 1983 and 1984, touring was a way of life for the
band, which included gigs in the UK.
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
man
Howard Thompson, 10,000 Maniacs
signed to
Elektra in November 1984.
In the spring of 1985, they recorded their second full-length
album,
The Wishing Chair,
in London at Livingston Studios, with
Joe
Boyd as producer. 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.
Co-founder John Lombardo left the band during a rehearsal on
Monday, July 14, 1986. The remaining five members started the
recordings of a new album in Los Angeles, with
Peter Asher as the producer.
In My Tribe, a more pop-rock oriented
record, was released on Tuesday, July 7, 1987, hit the charts where
it stayed 77 weeks, peaking at #37 and established a large US
audience for the group and was also well received in the UK. The
next album, 1989
Blind Man's
Zoo hit #13 and went Gold further increased the group's
following. In 1990, with the help of John Lombardo, they remastered
their first two records
Human Conflict Number Five
and
Secrets of the I
Ching and released them as a compilation called
Hope
Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983. John Lombardo and
Mary Ramsey, who had formed a folk act
called
John & Mary, opened gigs
for the Maniacs on the Hope Chest Tour in 1990. In 1991, during the
recordings of a new album, Natalie Merchant revealed to the other
members that she would be leaving for a solo career in two years'
time. In 1992,
Our Time in
Eden was released. On Wednesday, April 21, 1993, 10,000
Maniacs recorded
MTV Unplugged and
Natalie Merchant announced her leaving the band on
MTV on Thursday, August 5, 1993. The
MTV Unplugged
album was released in October 1993. The band also played President
Clinton's Inaugural Ball in January 1993, with Merchant a
vociferous supporter of the
Democratic Party.
1994-2001
In late 1993/early 1994, the remaining members of 10,000 Maniacs
(Augustyniak, Buck, Drew, and Gustafson) asked John & Mary to
join the band and continue on. The revamped band began performing
new material almost immediately, initially calling themselves
John & Mary, Rob, Steve, Dennis, & Jerry, before
they were to legally regain control of the name
10,000
Maniacs.
10,000 Maniacs released two albums with Mary Ramsey on vocals. In
1997 they released
Love
Among the Ruins on
Geffen
Records and followed up in 1999 with
The Earth Pressed Flat on
Bar/None.
In
December 1998, lead guitar player Rob Buck took some time off from
the band, moving to Texas
to focus on
a new project called League of
Blind Women. The band 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 Friday, November 3, 2000, 10,000 Maniacs played with the
Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra, in Buffalo, NY. It would be the last concert they
would perform with Rob Buck.
On Tuesday, December 19, 2000, founder and lead guitarist Robert
Buck died of liver failure at the age of 42.
He was buried in
Mission Cemetery in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania
.
The band took a break. Steve Gustafson and Dennis Drew, with
Jeff Erickson - guitar started a band
called
The Mighty Wallop!. Jerry
Augustyniak joined a band called
Only
Humen. On Wednesday, December 5, 2001, a 10,000 Maniacs line-up
comprising Steve Gustafson, Dennis Drew, Jerry Augustyniak, John
Lombardo, and Mary Ramsey played on a benefit concert in Toronto,
with Rob Buck's former guitar technician Jeff Erickson on lead
guitar.
2002-2007
In 2002, Steve Gustafson, Dennis Drew, and Jerry Augustyniak
decided that they wished to continue on with a new lead singer.
John Lombardo showed up at the first band practice, found out that
the band had hired Jeff 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 a
greatest hits show at various festivals. Mary
Ramsey rejoined the current edition of 10,000 Maniacs for several
dates in 2006, playing viola and singing backing vocals.
In Summer 2006, John and Mary formed a folk-rock band called the
Valkyries. John and Mary & the Valkyries are composed of
several longtime Buffalo music scene stalwarts.
On Tuesday 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's "I Hope That I
Don't Fall in Love with You" were among those included.
Oskar Saville left 10,000 Maniacs in late summer 2007 and Mary
Ramsey rejoined the band for occasional shows.
The band's website (which has very little information on it aside
from a "Timeline" of pictures and other information covering the
period 1981-2006) lists the current official lineup as Ramsey,
Erickson, Augustyniak, Drew and Gustafson.
[23103]
2008-Present
The band continues to occasionally play concerts. On October 24,
2009, they performed at a benefit in Buffalo for the Griffis
Sculpture Park in Ashford Hollow, NY. John Lombardo joined his
former bandmates for the show.
Band members
10,000 Maniacs have gone through a variety of musicians throughout
the history of the band. Here is a partial list of the past,
present, and touring musicians:
- Jerry
Augustyniak - Jerry has been the drummer of 10,000
Maniacs since 1983. He's also played with the bands The Stains, Only Humen,
League of Blind Women, The
Michael Lee Jackson Band,
Buffalo Rising, The Damn Straights, etc. He has been the
band's main backing vocalist since 1994.
- Rob Buck - Rob was the
lead guitar player from 1981 to 1999. He co-wrote many of the
band's most popular songs. Rob died December 19, 2000 of liver
failure at the age of 42.
- Duane Calhoun -
Duane played lead guitar for 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 while Rob Buck
was officially in the band, but not performing with them.
- Chet Cardinale -
Chet was an early drummer for the band. He left to pursue a career
in acupuncture.
- Jim Colavito - Jim
played saxophone with the band in 1981.
- Dennis Drew -
Dennis has been the keyboard player in the band since 1981. He's
also played with The Mighty
Wallop!, where he co-wrote much of the band's material, played
keyboards, and had lead and harmony vocal duties.
- Jeff Erickson -
Jeff took over lead guitar after his friend and guitar teacher Rob
Buck died, beginning by playing a short set during the band's only
2001 appearance. The first time he played with the band was
December 12, 1998 on the song "These Are Days", while Buck was away
from the band. Jeff was a lead singer/guitar player in the
short-lived band The Mighty
Wallop!.
- Tim Edborg - Tim
played drums with 10,000 Maniacs in 1981.
- Morgan Fichter -
Morgan was a touring musician with the band in 1992-1993, playing
violin and singing backing vocals. She's also played with Camper Van Beethoven and Phish among others.
- Jim Foti - Jim was the
studio drummer for the band's 1982 EP Human Conflict Number
Five.
- Steve Gustafson
- Steve has been the band's bass player since 1981. He has also
been one of the band's backing vocalists in their live performances
since 1994. He was also the bass player in The Mighty Wallop!.
- Debbie Heverly -
Debbie played piano with the band in 1981.
- Michael Lee
Jackson - Michael replaced Rob Buck as the touring
lead guitar player on December 11, 1998 and stayed in that spot
until the summer of 1999, when Buck returned. Michael has played in
Animal Planet and The Michael Lee Jackson Band.
- Amanda Kramer -
Amanda was a touring musician with 10,000 Maniacs in 1992 and 1993
as a second keyboard player, also lending her harmony vocals to
some of the songs. Occasionally, she'd back Rob up on guitar,
picking up an acoustic on several songs. She was formerly the
Keyboardist for the 80's New Wave band Information Society
- John Lombardo -
John, the band's rhythm guitar player and occasional odd vocalist,
co-wrote most of the early Maniacs songs, but left the band in
1986, right before the band "made it big." He returned in 1994 with
his duo partner Mary Ramsey, and picked up right where he left off
by writing and shaping the band's music. He left the band again in
2002 after the first rehearsal before the "hits" tour.
- Natalie
Merchant - Natalie was the voice of 10,000 Maniacs
from 1981 until she decided to embark on a solo career in 1993. In
her later years with the band, she played piano as well.
- Terry
Newhouse - Born February 19, 1957 in Corry,
Pennsylvania
, Terry was a keyboard player and vocalist in the
band "Still Life", which was the band's name before they began
calling themselves "10,000 Maniacs." At one time, she was
married to Rob Buck. Newhouse died June 8, 2005 at WCA Hospital in Jamestown, New York at the age of 48.
- Mary Ramsey - Mary
opened up shows with John Lombardo as John & Mary in 1990 and
would play viola and sing backing vocals with
the band on a few songs in 1990-1991. She a touring musician with
the band in 1992-1993, playing viola and singing backing vocals.
When Natalie Merchant left the band in 1993, Mary replaced her on
lead vocals and added the viola as a main instrument of the band,
starting with live shows in 1994 and continuing on until 2001.
Oskar Saville replaced her as lead singer in 2002, but Mary agreed
to become a touring musician with the band in 2006, singing backing
vocals and playing viola on select songs. Mary agreed to be the
lead singer for the band again for their final show of 2007 after
Oskar Saville left the band.
- Oskar Saville -
Oskar took over lead vocals from Mary Ramsey in 2002. She
occasionally plays acoustic guitar during live performances. May 8,
2003 was her first live performance with the band. During the song
"Stockton Gala Days", she pulled the band's webmaster (at the time)
Adam Zeitz on stage to share lead vocals. Oskar was the former lead
singer of Rubygrass and also has a solo
career. She left the band in late Summer, 2007 and was replaced by
the woman she replaced, Mary Ramsey.
- Bob "O'Matic" Wachter - An
early drummer for 10,000 Maniacs, Bob never appeared on a Maniacs
album, but was an official member from 1982-1983.
- Max Weinberg -
Best known for his work as the drummer in The E Street Band as well as his drumming
on Late Night with Conan
O'Brien, Max stepped in and was the Maniacs' touring drummer
for Fall 1992 shows, when Jerry Augustyniak was hit by a car and
broke his collarbone.
Discography
Singles
References
External links
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search