10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups. 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 (vocalist and Buck's ex-wife). Gustafson invited Natalie Merchant, who was 17 at the time, to do some vocals. John Lombardo, who was ... See more [+] 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 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!. 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. 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 10,000 Maniacs name. 10,000 Maniacs released two albums with 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, 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 November 3, 2000, 10,000 Maniacs played with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, in Buffalo, NY. It was the last concert they performed with Buck. On December 19, 2000, 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. Gustafson and Drew, with Jeff Erickson started a band called The Mighty Wallop!. Augustyniak joined a band called Only Humen. On December 5, 2001, a 10,000 Maniacs line-up comprising Gustafson, Drew, Augustyniak, Lombardo, and Ramsey played on a benefit concert in Toronto, with Buck's former guitar technician, Erickson, on lead guitar. In 2002, Gustafson, Drew, and Augustyniak decided that they wished to continue 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. Ramsey rejoined the current edition of 10,000 Maniacs for several dates in 2006, playing viola and singing backing vocals. In 2006, John & Mary formed a folk-rock band called the Valkyries. John & Mary & the Valkyries are composed of several longtime Buffalo music scene stalwarts. 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's "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" were among those included. Saville left in 2007 and Mary Ramsey regained the lead vocalist spot. 2008–present: The current edition of the band (Augustyniak, Drew, Erickson, Gustafson and Ramsey) remains active. On October 24, 2009, they performed at a benefit in Buffalo for the Griffis Sculpture Park in Ashford Hollow, New York. The band recorded an "Unkempt" acoustic show in Jamestown on January 16, 2010. Other recent shows include concerts in Chicago, IL; Keystone, CO; Rochester, NY and Clarence, NY. They also played a powerful performance at the popular Mohegan Sun Wolf Den in Uncasville, CT on August 4, 2010. Then later in 2010 played at the famous Oyster Festival in Norwalk, Connecticut. A short tour down the East coast included two sold out shows at City Winery in NYC, Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD and The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. John Lombardo has joined his former band mates on numerous occasions. Buffalo-based singer/songwriter Maria Sebastian has also accompanied the band in 2011 and has been replaced in 2012 by Jamestown-based singer/songwriter Melanie Luciano on acoustic guitar and harmonies. In June 2011 the band released the EP "Triangles" on their 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. In 2012 the band has focused on recording a new full length album at their studio in Jamestown, NY. Release date is scheduled for February 2013.
