1981[]
The band was formed as Still Life in Jamestown, New York, by Dennis Drew (keyboards), Steve Gustafson (bass), Chet Cardinale (drums), Robert Buck (guitar), and Terry 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!.
SEP [7] They performed as 10,000 Maniacs for the first time on 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.
1982[]
FEB - MAR With Jim Foti on drums, the band recorded an EP album called Human Conflict Number Five.
More gigs followed. 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.
NOV The band moved back to Jamestown
1983[]
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.
MAR - 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.
1984[]
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.
NOV With the help of Leak and Elektra Records A & R man Howard Thompson, 10,000 Maniacs signed to Elektra
1985[]
In the spring, 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.
1986[]
JULY [14] Co-founder John Lombardo left the band during a rehearsal on Monday.
The remaining five members started the recordings of a new album in Los Angeles, with Peter Asher as the producer.
1987[]
MAR - APR Recorded their upcoming studio album at The Complex, Los Angeles
JULY [7] In My Tribe, a more pop-rock oriented record, was released, 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 single "Peace Train" is released
1988[]
The single "Like the Weather" is released
The single "What's the Matter Here?" is released
NOV Start recordings sessions for new album at Dreamland Recording Studio, West Hurley, New York
1989[]
MAR Recording sessions for new album finish
MAY [16] The album, Blind Man's Zoo is released and later hit US #13 and went Gold further increased the group's following.
The single "Trouble Me" is released
The single "Eat for Two" is released
1990[]
OCT [1] 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.
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.
1992[]
SEP [29] The album Our Time in Eden is released.
The single "These Are Days" is released
The single "Candy Everybody Wants" is released
1993[]
The band played President Clinton's Inaugural Ball, with Merchant a vociferous supporter of the Democratic Party
The single "Few and Far Between" is released
The single "Everyday is Like Sunday" is released
APR [21] 10,000 Maniacs recorded MTV Unplugged and
The single "Because the Night" is released. It's a cover version and became their highest charting single US #11
AUG [5] Natalie Merchant announced her leaving the band on MTV.
OCT [26] The MTV Unplugged (10,000 Maniacs album) album was released
1994[]
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. T
he 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.
1995[]
1996[]
1997[]
JUNE [17] They release Love Among the Ruins on Geffen Records. The first album with new singer Mary Ramsey
The single "More Than This" is released. Even though it's a cover of Roxy Music, it became one of their biggest hits US #25
10,000 Maniacs guest starred on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series) ("A River of Candycorn Runs Through it") which aired on Halloween. They performed "Rainy Day" with then singer Mary Ramsey
1998[]
DEC 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.
1999[]
Buck returned to the band in the summer
APR [20] The album The Earth Pressed Flat is released on Bar/None Records
2000[]
NOV [3] 10,000 Maniacs played with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, in Buffalo, NY. It would be the last concert they would perform with Rob Buck.
DEC [19] 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.
2001[]
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.
DEC [5] 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 - 2009[]
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.
2003[]
2004[]
JAN [27] 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.
2005[]
2006[]
The album Live Twenty-Five is recorded to commemorate the band's twenty-fifth anniversary and was only sold on tour
2007[]
Oskar Saville left 10,000 Maniacs in late summer 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.
2008[]
The band continues to occasionally play concerts.
2009[]
MAY [26] The live album Extended Versions is released
OCT [24] 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.