10,000 Maniacs

10,000 Maniacs is a rock and roll band from the 1980s and 1990s. The band was formed in 1981 in Jamestown, New York, by Natalie Merchant (vocals), John Lombardo[?] (guitar), Robert Buck[?] (guitar), Steven Gustafson[?] (bass), Dennis Drew[?] (keyboards), and Jerry Augustyniak[?] (drums). The name comes from 2,000 Maniacs[?], a low-budget horror movie.

10,000 Maniacs signed to Elektra Records in 1985 and released The Wishing Chair[?]. Lombardo left the band on July 14, 1986, and the remaining five members released In My Tribe (1987), which hit the charts and established a large audience for the group which was expanded by Blind Man's Zoo[?] (1989). In 1992, Our Time in Eden[?] was released and Merchant revealed she would be leaving for a solo career soon after recording on MTV Unplugged. The remaining quartet added Mary Ramsey[?] (violin, vocals) and regained Lombardo; the pair had been performing as John & Mary[?], a folk act. The first album of the new line-up was Love Among the Ruins[?], which sold respectably. In 2000, Robert Buck, the band's guitarist and songwriter, died of liver failure[?].