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1- So 10,000 Maniacs have not broken up after Natalie Merchant's
departure ? What it's going to happen without Buck?
No , they didn't broke up, what happened was that Natalie Merchant left the band in 05/08/1993
after twelve and a half years, soon after the Our Time in Eden tour, to pursue on a solo
career. The remaining Maniacs had already been notified by her two years before that.
After some rest they began to tour in 1994 with their friends, the duo John&Mary (John
Lombardo and Mary Ramsey), using the name of John, Mary, Rob, Dennis, Steve and Jerry and
performing John&Mary songs and some of 10.000 Maniacs tunes by John Lombardo and
Steven Gustafson. Meanwhile they were solving the problems due to copyrights, regarding
the use of the name 10.000 Maniacs and the songs done with Natalie Merchant. With those
problems overcome, the invitation for John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey to join the band was
spontaneous. By April/95 they were already performing with the name 10.000 Maniacs. They
signed a contract with Geffen Records for five records in 02/1996 and began the Love Among
the Ruins studio sessions in 06/96 in Athens, releasing the record in 06/17/97.
In 1998, after the contract with Geffen was canceled,
the band decided to produce and release the new album in a independent way .
The record "The Earth Pressed Flat was released on May 18th ,1999, through Bar/None Records.
After Rob Buck's death and a lot of silence ,
the fans began to ask what was going to happen to 10,000 Maniacs. In May/2001 ,
Steve Gustafson broke the silence writing to Green Children ,
the band's mailing list - "To some of us, a future as 10KM without Rob in the world just
wouldn't feel right. Regardless of what's happened in the past, the past is not the answer here.
IMHO, it's time to do the honorable thing. And that is to let Rob take the name with him.
Don't rule out the possibility of a performance (GBHF?) but we're not planning on taking a tour out at the moment.
As always, thank you for your support through the ups and downs of this strange life we call 10,000 Maniacs."
Love,
Steven Gustafson
Up to the questions
2 - Why did Natalie Merchant leave 10.000 Maniacs
?
Her main reason to have quit the band in 08/93 was that she wanted to
grow musically in another senses, and to follow solo career was the only way for that. In
spite of the band's varied musical style, she wanted to sing other styles of songs, that
sometimes didn't blend with the characteristic sound of the band. On the other hand, she
was now composing more songs on her own, something that possibly created some conflict
with the other band members, musical partners (they made the music for some of her lyrics)
for several hits. They also composed, and that was decisive when choosing the songs for a
new CD. During the recordings of Unplugged for MTV in 1992, the band was already
introduced as Natalie and 10.000 Maniacs and she sang, as well as Maniacs' songs, some
country tunes as Dallas, Jolene and Let the Mistery Be with ex-Talking Heads guest David
Byrne. If her style of writing didn't change as much as it can be seen on her first solo
record, Tigerlily, on the other hand during her shows in 96 and 97 she made covers of Son
of Preaching Man (known through Aretha Franklin's version ), Wonderwall (Oasis), Simpathy
for the Devil (Rolling Stones), Fever (known through Peggy Lee's version ) among
others. In 98 she released her great record , "Ophelia" , joined the "Lilith Tour" , did some gigs in Europe and Japan . Her plan to 99 beyond the "Ophelia Tour" is to release a live album. Natalie Merchant describes her departure from 10,000 Maniacs:
"I think the split was as amicable as it could be. I gave the band two years advanced
notice and umm... I did that because it was really well thought out and ummm.... My
reasons for leaving weren't because I was angry with anybody... It was just, I felt that I
needed to.... to grow. I been with the group since I was 17 years old and I looked around
myself and said, 'Puff, I'm thirty.' And I'm surrounded by same people from the same town.
And... and I just think no matter who I was or I was doing, it would be limiting in some
way." -Natalie Merchant, Modern Rock Live .
Up to the questions
3 - Who are John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey
, John&Mary ?
John Lombardo is one of the members of the original
10.000 Maniacs line-up , when the band was formed at the beginning of 1981.
He played rhythm guitar and composed several songs, as well as the music
for some Natalie Merchant lyrics. He played on the first three records,
Human Conflict Number Five, Secrets of The I Ching and The Wishing Chair.
In spite of the last two records being well received by critics, and they
being always on tour, the money that they got was few for everybody, so
they were sometimes helped by their parents or friends. Due to their precarious
situation at that time, John left the band in 1986 after the tour to England
to work as a teacher. The band was successful in the following year with
the "In my Tribe" album . John Lombardo, always close to music
and bands, now in the atmosphere of the university, ended up by meeting
Mary Ramsey, who played classical music in a string trio.
Mary Ramsey, born in 12/25/63 in Washington-DC, began to study violin at five years old.
She also learned viola and piano. After four years in Erie Philarmonic Orchestra, she
formed in 1987 the Lexington String Trio while studying in the University of Buffalo.
During a local party with reading of poetry, music, etc, the performance of the trio got
John Lombardo's attention, who later went to speak with Mary.
The empathy among them was instantaneous. Full of ideas on english folk music , they
created John &Mary, and became a very popular folk duo in Buffalo. With good songs
they began to go exaustively on tour, Mary began to be invited to play viola in recordings
of another bands and they were invited to open for 10.000 Maniacs, during the Hope Chest
/Time Capsule Tour in 1990, and to join the the band as instrumentalists in the main
concert , being anthological the solo performance of Natalie to the piano singing Verdi
Cries with Mary accompanying with the viola. Invited by Natalie Merchant, Mary played in
Our Time in Eden and Unplugged, where she sang Trouble Me in duo with Natalie. She
recorded with Goo Goo Dolls (Superstar Car Wash /93), Billy Bragg (Don't Try this at Home
/ 91), Ani Di Franco (Imperfectly/92 e Puddle Dive /93 ) , Jamie Notarthomas and Jules Shear (Between Us /98 ). With John Lombardo, in
John&Mary,she recorded two albums, Victory Gardens and The Weedkiller's Daughter, good
of reviews and music and precarious on distribution. Rob Buck and Jerry Augustyniak, from
the Maniacs, participated on both recordings as guests. After the departure of Natalie in
1993, the remaining Maniacs started to tour with John and Mary, using the name of The Fat
Guys or John, Mary, Rob, Dennis, Steve and Jerry. Playing the songs of the duo, covers and
some of the old 10kM songs, the gig lasted one year and they were well received. The union
between the two band's was spontaneous, so already as 10.000 Maniacs again, they signed a
contract with Geffen and released the album "Love Among The Ruins" in 97 . In 05/18/99 they released the album "The Earth Pressed Flat" through Bar/None Records . John is now as comfortable in the band as he can be.
Mary, the new vocalist, composer and instrumentalist, has good background and good mood
for not worrying in being confused or compared to Natalie .
Up to the questions
4 - Where do I find 10.000
maniacs cds and tapes on the WEB ?
With a
credit card in one hand , an eye on the ship&handling taxes , a lot
of faith in the mail and by typing ten thousand maniacs in the "search
by bands" space , through the Web
you'll find them at :
CD NOW
CD WORLD
CD UNIVERSE
VINYL TAP - UK / Rarities
Up to the questions
5 - And where do I find John&Mary's
cds to buy on the WEB
?
John&Mary's cds Victory Gardens and
The Weedkiller's Daughter are out of print , a few were available at the
official Maniacs , but they are all gone by now.
We have checked and every now and then some are available on the Web at
auctions .
Check Ebay and look for John
and Mary or 10,000 Maniacs.
We also found "The Weedkillers Daughter" at Amazon Books UK , where you
can do a online order, run...
Up to the questions
6 - Are John e Mary married ? No , John
Lombardo and Mary Ramsey are not married.She got married on 2001 to Salvador Garza , Downy Mildew 's string player .
Up to the questions
7 - What Happened to Buck ? Did Buck leave the band ? Who was the new guy playing
the lead guitar?
Rob Buck died of liver failure at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center in Pittsburgh on December 19th-2000, at 5 pm. He was 42 years old.
His last concert with 10,000 Maniacs was on the November 3th-2000 , with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
On November 6th-2000, he played solo at a campaign rally for Hillary Rodham Clinton at Buffalo State College.
On December 5th-2001 , 10,000 Maniacs
got together one more time. The band played in the "Sounds Like Justice"
benefit concert at The Capitol Event Theatre in Toronto-Ontario, Canada. Jeff Erickson, Buck's former guitar technician
and friend of the others members of the band was on lead guitar.He also plays guitar in Steve and
Dennis's band "Mighty Wallop".
But in 1998 , Rob Buck recorded his part in the Maniacs new album "The Earth
Pressed Flat" and from november/98 till june/99 he was full time dedicated
to his other band , "The
League Of Blind Women" , that's why he doesn't show up in most of 10,000 Maniacs promo
pics and posters released for TEPF. The "League" had already recorded an album
and was making some gigs to promote it , so problems with the Maniacs/League
agenda probably had begun. Jerry Augustyniak was also playing in the "League"
, but he left in September/98 . Anyway , as expected and announced earlier
by the band 10,000 Maniacs, Buck did not play at the November-21th-1998
10,000 Maniacs concert at The Tralf , being replaced in that concert and
since then by friend and Buffalo native Michael Lee Jackson , who also
has a band of his own , called "Animal
Planet" . Buck's comeback to the Maniacs happened at a concert
in Erie - Pa , on July , 8 th, 1999.
Up to the questions
This FAQ will always be under construction, but meanwhile check out the
Myron Belowe Memorial Library, best known as Terry's library, the best
and more complete on the WEB in what regards to 10kManiacs and Natalie
Merchant .
Terry's
MBML:10,000Maniacs / NAM
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