Biography:
In a crystal-clear soprano, Mary Ramsey sings, "A day when love came/ Came easy like what's lost now found," while around her surges the energy of one of America's best-loved musical ensembles. The words are from "Rainy Day," which opens Love Among the Ruins, the new album from 10,000 Maniacs - and the song burns with the fire of a band reborn.

Since the early 1980s, 10,000 Maniacs have crafted smart, subtle songs with shimmering melodies and affecting lyrics. Over the course of an EP, six studio albums and a live collection, guitarist Robert Buck, keyboardist Dennis Drew, bassist Steven Gustafson, drummer Jerome Augustyniak and vocalist Natalie Merchant fused funk and folk, edgy guitar and atmospheric keyboards. The band achieved a gentle yet insistent signature sound, delighting critics and fans at home and abroad. When Merchant departed for a solo career in 1993, 10,000 Maniacs sought both to continue their legacy and blaze new trails. They found their answer, figuratively, in their own backyard.

Guitarist John Lombardo, one of the first Maniacs, had departed in 1986 to form a more acoustic-leaning duo. As John and Mary, Lombardo and singer-violist Mary Ramsey (whose work has appeared on records by Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg and the Goo Goo Dolls) released two celebrated CDs - and kept closely in touch with 10,000 Maniacs. Buck and Augustyniak played on the pair's recordings; Mary graced the band's last two albums.

"John and I sort of saw ourselves as cousins of the band," Ramsey says. "We toured with them and were always very close. In 1994 I went to Europe to support their MTV Unplugged album. When I returned, John suggested we go down and jam with the band. It felt really natural, and we all thought, 'Let's go for it.' Our playing together took off and it's been going ever since." Attests Drew: "What Mary brings to us is fantastic - not only her singing, but also her status as another real soloist. We have a whole new color and flavor." Lombardo reveals: "I'd played with a lot of people besides Mary after leaving the band, but things never really clicked. This is like coming back to a family situation."

The regrouped 10,000 Maniacs made their debut at a club show in Rochester, N.Y., in March 1995. This was the first of 12 shows in the spring of 1995 they dubbed the "Unscathed" tour. It led them through the northeastern United States to Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Buffalo, N.Y. Of the sextet's performance at Boston's Paradise Club, the Boston Globe reported, "The band showed a sold-out crowd the path to its surprisingly smooth and viable rebirth"

Band Members:
Natalie Merchant - Vocals, Piano
Rob Buck - Acoustic Guitar
Dennis Drew - Piano, Hammond Organ
Steven Gustafson - Acoustic Bass
Jerome Augustyniak - Drums, Percussion

Albums:
The Earth Pressed Flat (1999)
Love Among the Ruins (1997)
MTV Unplugged (1993)
The Weedkiller's Daughter (1993)
Our Time in Eden (1993)
Victory Gardens (1991)
Hope Chest (1990)
Blind Man's Zoo (1989)
In My Tribe (1987)
The Wishing Chair (1985)
Secrets of the I Ching (1983)
Human Conflict Number Five (1982)

Links:
Official 10,000 Maniacs Web Site

The Abyss

10kmaniacs.org

Complete 10,000 Maniacs Discography

10,000 Maniacs at ArtistDirect

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