10,000 Maniacs (named after the low-budget horror movie 2,000 Maniacs) was formed in Jamestown, NY, in 1981 by singer
Natalie Merchant and guitarist
John Lombardo. Other members of the sextet were
Robert Buck (guitar),
Steven Gustafson (bass),
Dennis Drew (keyboards), and
Jerry Augustyniak (drums). The group gigged extensively and recorded independently before signing with Elektra and making
The Wishing Chair in 1985. Co-founder
Lombardo left the band in 1986, and they continued as a quintet, releasing their second album,
In My Tribe, in 1987. This album broke into the charts, where it stayed 77 weeks, peaking at number 37.
Blind Man's Zoo, the 1989 follow-up, hit number 13 and went gold.
After 1992's
Our Time in Eden had finished its run on the charts,
Merchant announced that she was leaving for a solo career.
MTV Unplugged was released a few months after her departure. The remaining
10,000 Maniacs decided to continue performing, adding the folk-rock duo
John & Mary (original member
Lombardo and violinist/vocalist
Mary Ramsey). The new lineup released
Love Among the Ruins.
Merchant released her first solo album,
Tigerlily, in the summer of 1995 and a follow-up,
Ophelia, in 1998. In 1999, the remaining
Maniacs released
The Earth Pressed Flat on Bar/None. Sadly a year later lead guitarist and founding member
Robert Buck, who co-wrote some of the band's classics like "Hey Jack Kerouac," "What's The Matter Here?," and "These Are Days," died of liver failure. He was 42. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide