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Home , Dennis Drew, Festive Fifty, In My Tribe, Joe Boyd, Like the Weather, Mary Ramsey

Jamestown Community College’s Weeks Gallery presents It was the first song on the first record, and it was the Roof; Roxy Music’s In Every Dream Home a Heart- kind of song. “Skateland.” ... Teri had the keyboard and The revolving drummer’s seat was finally settled into by : The record company said, “Well, you video that embarrasses the band to this day). “Peace certainly the first thing that hit you: the voice. A young ache; The Maytals’ Monkey Man; Eno’s Burning Airlines she could play some things, but I actually knew more Buffalo band vet Jerry Augustyniak, and they put out a know, as far as we’re concerned The Wishing Chair Train” got loads of college radio airplay, but didn’t drive Homegrown Excellence II: 10,000 Maniacs Celebrate 30 Years, Saturday, October 1, 2011. girl (Karen Dotrice? Hayley Mills?) sings knowingly to Give You So Much More; Dandy’s Rudy, A Message To about the keyboard than she did. So I could play more second self-released record, an called Secrets is a failure. We don’t know what we’re going to do. album sales. Then Elektra’s marketing came up with herself, maybe winding a bike down a country road. You; Gang Of Four’s Armalite Rifle; and Barry McGuire’s chords and do a few more things. And she liked being of the I Ching, Drew ran their booking and business out You need a big-deal producer to do this.” And we’re another angle. The tune is lovely—sunny and melodic. But what is up front dancing. Still Life had these two girls dancing Tickets go on sale August 29 at JCC’s FSA bookstore box office, 716·338·1187. Eve of Destruction. Here was a band aiming to be the of his briefcase and his parents’ Jamestown kitchen. In like, oh. We came back [to the States] in ’85, toured, it she’s saying? rebellious jukebox of all that they loved and didn’t see around up front, singing lead vocals and yelling and fact you might say it was the Furniture City’s work ethic toured, toured. It was a really exciting time. We had a Dennis Drew: The song that broke off of that album We anticipate a sold-out concert well before October 1, so please order tickets early! anyone else loving, at least locally. screaming. A lot of screaming. that kept things rolling along. And then, a golden ray of record out and we’re playing everywhere in America. was “” ... They had this great hook, A local post will list your friends recognition. The whole frickin’ country. “Like the weather! Like the weather! Play it before the in order of disappearance Yet they were disparate even among themselves, in Still Life performed most anywhere they could, which weather forecast! They can send people on trips to There are two ticket/package tiers—a pre-concert meet and greet package or traditional ArtParty. The lawn scattered, tins feed birds some ways having come together because they didn’t saw them in some unusual venues. : Lombardo said, “We gotta send one Steve Gustafson: West coast, east coast, in the mid- Hawaii!” They finally had something they could hang A portion baked for absent guests fit in elsewhere, even in this musically eclectic region. to at the BBC.” So we sent him one. And he dle. We completed one tour that was 12,000 miles, 20 their hat on, and it blew up for them and did really, And the mass edition icon Drew loved pop in its myriad forms and was especially Steve Gustafson: We went to group homes. In fact liked “My Mother the War.” And his listeners voted it #26 gigs in 45 days. really well the winter of ’87-’88. And by the summer of Tier 1: The meet and greet package begins in the Weeks Gallery at 6:15 p.m. and includes a God sent comfort, your salvation fond of Broadway show tunes. He and Gustafson, close we did a Saturday afternoon matinee for the Achieve- on his year-end poll. (reading from a hand-written note ’88 we’re playing 15,000-seat sheds. champagne toast, group photograph, premium concert seating, and ArtParty as listed below. But who grants absolution friends since childhood, were both devotees of reggae ment Center. They brought clients in. Natalie and Teri sent by John Peel to the band) “Thank you for brighten- Tensions in the band finally prompted the exit of John For sins that never were committed and the Grateful Dead. , the band’s brilliantly roller-skated around the dining room, and they would all ing 1983 considerably. Have a stirring 1984. John Peel.” Lombardo, just as they were limbering up to record In total the interviews paint a telling picture of pop Only 73 tickets will be sold. Price: $25. inventive lead guitarist, had been an early adopter of drink pop. We would play all of our new songs in front And, of course, we were what ... 26 on his Festive Fifty. the next album. The big-deal producer that Electra success and artistic ambition from the point of view of With those lines from “Tension,” punk, and came from a band called The Obsessions, of that audience. They loved it ... We’d play at the Hotel And U2 was 41! (laughter) wanted was Grammy winner Peter Asher, who’d had its non-plussed Chautauqua County protagonists. It’s introduced herself to the world, and the world to while 17-year-old Natalie Merchant loved Bryan Ferry Franklin, which was a factory bar. It had a back dining a string of hits in the ’70s with Linda Ronstadt, James what it was actually like, in the twilight of the record Tier 2: The traditional ArtParty program includes the 10,000 Maniacs concert and ArtParty. Scharmann 10,000 Maniacs. and Jamaican music. But it was the second guitarist, room with a little stage at one end. It was perfect. We They networked like crazy. A copy of I Ching landed Taylor, and Diana Ross. Asher himself wasn’t sure if it industry, to gain enormous popularity and attention Theatre doors open at 6:45 p.m., Maniacs memorabilia slide show starts at 7:15, and the concert John Lombardo, who’s credited by the rest as having charged a buck. on the desk of Rough Trade Records head Jeff Travis, was a good fit, so he flew in to town to hang out with and, later, to struggle to shepherd both past the band In the three intervening decades it’s been their music’s begins at 7:30. The ArtParty—including JCC’s art faculty exhibition, music by Buffalo’s Band Named the most eclectic and, at times, eccentric tastes. Those who wrote them back to say that he’d love to work with the band. and its figurehead parting ways in 1993. The Maniacs, spare articulation of mystery and the ineffable that has nonetheless included a solid knowledge of British rock, Over time the band got tighter, the music more focused, them, but for all his time being taken up by his new sign- with now their singer, went on to score Sue (a Johnny Cash and country tribute band), hors d’oeuvres, and wine and beer tasting—begins most impressed itself on fans and critics alike. The mix notably the electric folk end of the spectrum. and after a number of cast changes, including Lombar- ing, a young band called . Finally after per- Dennis Drew: We took him to the Grog Shop, which a hit with “More Than This,” and are today an active immediately after. Prices are: general admission, $15; senior citizens and students, $10; and JCC/FSA, of upbeat post-punk jangle and the spooked-out minor do’s joining and Teri and Rob Buck’s leaving, most forming at New York’s Danceteria in Spring 1984, they was down on 2nd Street. Now it’s Mojo’s. He took us touring band with a new album. Merchant has record- chords (and politics) of American folk that forms the Natalie Merchant: When I was about 17 and started of Still Life morphed into 10,000 Maniacs. Eventually snagged a manager who could do something for them, to dinner and bought new socks. He doesn’t travel ed five solo collections, and maintains a busy touring $8. This package does not include the meet and greet. Visit weeksgallery.sunyjcc.edu for information. basis of much of their sound has guaranteed that it’s playing music with John Lombardo ... he gave me Rob returned, and in the summer of 1982 they self- Peter Leak. Leak in turn knew Howard Thompson, a with socks. (laughs) ... The thing about Peter is that schedule as well. Her most recent album, Leave Your still fresh today. But where did it come from? [’s] Liege and Lief. I was so drawn to released their first EP,Human Conflict Number Five, storied A&R man who wanted to take the Maniacs along he’s really, really smart. He was right into technology. Sleep, is an ambitious double set of songs that she and her voice. It’s how I learned about folk opening with the afore-quoted “Tension”. With that, the with him as he began working with the legendary Elektra He said, “I’ll do this, but two things. First of all you adapted from 19th and 20th century poetry about A special matinee concert is scheduled for Sunday, October 2, 2 p.m. Prices are: general Chautauqua County inhabits a region with a culture music. That and the Harry Smith box set (The Anthology next challenge presented itself: getting heard outside label. In the interim Leak flew the band to London, guys have to play on time and in tune, and if you can’t childhood. But for her, in some ways it still all comes admission, $10; area students or senior citizens, $8; and JCC/FSA or children, 12 and under, $5. and history that might partly explain, if only for influ- of American ), which I found at the Prender- of Western New York. After someone told them they’d where they found that because of the Peel show they do it I’ll get someone who will. Second of all, we’re back to the girl on the bike. ences available to anyone with the radar to pick up on gast Library when I was 16, and it completely blew my land a lot of gigs and meet people who could help them already had UK fans. going to experiment. We’re going to use every piece them, and in that regard the Maniacs were always highly mind and changed my life ... I felt like I’d discovered in Atlanta, they relocated there. of equipment, every digital thing, and we’re going to Natalie Merchant: Probably my best memories are Sponsors: Jamestown Community College, JCC Faculty Student Association, JCC Foundation, tuned. These are: two centuries of receptiveness to America when I took those records home and put them Dennis Drew: We still have friends from the Marquee make a digital record. A synclavier. All this stuff. We’re riding my bicycle around town. My grandparents lived spiritual utopias and free thought (try Googling “Burned on my turntable. Steve Gustafson: We slept on the floor. We only got a gig. Dave Craigs and those guys drove all the way from going high-tech the whole way. As long as you’re will- down by WCA Hospital, and I would ride down Winsor JCC Alumni Association, and Arthur R. Gren Company. Over District”), and a surprisingly high per capita of handful of gigs in the few months that we lived there. Newcastle to see us. And one of those places, I think it ing to experiment, let’s do it.” And we said, yeah, let’s Street to go to their house. They were Sicilian immi- musicians of every stripe. The ’70s and ’80s cross-bred For a while a few of them DJ’ed at JCC’s 10-watt radio We did meet some people that would influence our was the Fridge, is where we cried. We hit the stage and do it! grants, and all their friends were from villages prob- musical genres here in ways that might only have career later. We got one gig in Savannah, remember? Weeks Gallery hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 station, WJWK, spinning import punk singles among played the first song and burst into tears. ably within a few miles of each other in Sicily. They occurred in relative isolation, but it was the open-mind- other things. Soon they wanted to try their own hand, That fed us for a month. But we weren’t making much was recorded in Los Angeles with Asher all spoke the same dialect and ate the same food. p.m.; and Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The show runs from October 3 to December 9. The Weeks Gallery edness encouraged by those particular influences in this and in early 1981 formed Still Life, a loose, experimental money, so we bought rakes and raked leaves, and sold Steve Gustafson: Natalie started bawling, and we all and sought-after engineer George Massenburg. Everybody had a garden on Jones and Gifford Av- is closed on all college holidays. particular backwater that produced 10,000 Maniacs. group with both Natalie and Rob’s wife Teri on vocals. our plasma at the blood bank. It was getting kind of started crying. The result was startling, a coalescing of all of 10,000 enue. It was a view into peasant village life transferred depressing, so we decided really the thing to do at Maniac’s enduring themes and urges, wrapped in lux to America. That’s probably the thing that I value the Conducting interviews with Dennis Drew, Steve Gus- Dennis Drew: Rob was sort of our musical mentor. We the end of the year was come home. It was the only Eventually they signed with Elektra, who wanted to get production. Asher’s digital experiment stuttered with most, and how I used to be welcomed into it. It was tafson—the band’s keyboard and bass players—and all loved the way he played guitar, and he was the guy way we could survive. them into the studio with a name producer. The Maniacs Elektra execs, however, who insisted they “didn’t hear my family ... I’d say that’s the thing that I remember Natalie Merchant, for the Weeks Gallery archives, I who was the arbiter. Although he never really told obliged by choosing Joe Boyd, an American who had a single.” The band rummaged through old set lists best about Jamestown. was struck by the sophistication of their influences and anybody what to do. If we couldn’t decide, we’d say, Over the next two years they became expert at touring worked with a number of their idols, such as Fairport and came up with a cover they’d played a couple choices of cover songs when only in their teens and “Rob, what do you think?” He’d say, “Mmm. Yeah, a the nation in their small green bus (“SING OUT WITH Convention, , and . The resulting album, of times for fun, ’ “”. It was STEVE LAFRENIERE early 20s. The Melodians’ Rivers of Babylon; Joy little faster.” ... Teri had a lot of ideas, too. She wrote a JOY” hand-lettered on the side) and playing the bars The Wishing Chair, moved everything briskly along, but recorded, added to the album, and when Tribe was weeksgallery.sunyjcc.edu Division’s She’s Lost Control; ’s Guns On lot of songs. We had “Acid Rain,” a very topical, punky and clubs that made up the emerging indie rock circuit. failed to have the expected commercial impact. finally released, it was pushed as the first single (with a Weeks GAllery, Jamestown Community College NON-PROFIT 525 Falconer Street, PO Box 20 Organization Jamestown, NY 14702-0020 U.S. Postage PAID Return Service Requested JCC HOMEGROWN EXCELLENCE: 10,000 MANIACS CELEBRATE 30 YEARS

EARLY EIGHTIES LINE-UP: John Lombardo, Steve Gustafson, Jerry Augustyniak, Natalie Merchant, Dennis Drew, and Robert Buck

Saturday Night LIve promotional photograph, 1989

The 10,000 Maniacs produced four multi-platinum - In My Tribe, Blind Man’s Zoo, , and MTV Unplugged. As part of the 80s-90s Zeitgeist, they were favored by college radio stations, remained on the charts, toured Europe, played for 80,000 at the notorious Fourth of July Grateful Dead concert (Rich Stadium, Buffalo), and performed at Bill Clinton’s MTV Inaugural Ball where Dennis Miller (MTV host) noted that the Maniacs were “Chelsea Clinton’s favorite band”. They appeared on , The Tonight Show, and Late Night with David Letterman. Magazine called Our TIme in Eden a “gripping new album ...with provocative, unnerving power,” and listed In My Tribe one of the 100 most important releases of the decade. Geffen Records photograph, 1997 Natalie Merchant pursued a solo career in 1993 and Rob Buck died in 2000. Dennis Drew, Steve Gustafson, and Jerry Augustyniak now perform with Jeff Erickson and Mary Ramsey (see new The mid-nineties band with Ramsey (viola/vocals) and Lombardo (guitar) released Love line-up on front cover). They are currently writing and recording new material, receiving excellent Among the Ruins, Geffen Records, 1997. The featured cover of Roxy Music’s “More Than reviews, and are on an extensive tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary. This” went to #24 on the Billboard charts, the highest-charting single in the band’s history.