10,000 Maniacs at Vail Snow Daze on Saturday, December 20th

Article Contributed by Michelle Roche… | Published on Saturday, December 13, 2014

One of pop music’s most critically acclaimed bands, 10,000 Maniacs, will perform at The Solaris Plaza during the Vail Snow Daze on Saturday, December 20th at 5:30 P.M.  Rusted Root will perform at 7:00 P.M.  This is a FREE show!

For more information:  
http://www.vail.com/events/snowdaze.aspx

For over 30 years, 10,000 Maniacs have won the hearts and ears of music fans around the world selling over 10 million records. The group was founded in the fall of 1981 in Jamestown, NY, by Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson, John Lombardo and Natalie Merchant with the later addition of Jerry Augustyniak in 1983. Together with artists like R.E.M. they helped define “college rock” and the first wave of “alternative rock” bands with their pop-conscious, literate and lush aesthetic.

10,000 Maniacs first gained widespread recognition with 1987’s In My Tribe (Elektra). The record featured the hit singles “Hey Jack Kerouac,” “Like The Weather,””Don’t Talk” and “What’s The Matter Here?” The album went to #37 on the Billboard Magazine Top 200 chart and sold over 2 million copies. Rolling Stone Magazine included the album in their “One Hundred Best Albums of the Eighties.”

The band sold 3 million copies in 1992 with the landmark Our Time In Eden (Elektra), bolstered by alt-rock radio mainstays “These Are Days” and “Candy Everybody Wants

10,000 Maniacs added backing singer/violist Mary Ramsey in 1991.  She performed on the band’s biggest selling record, 1993’s MTV Unplugged (Elektra), which featured the remake of the classic, "Because the Night.”   The CD sold over 4 million copies.

Merchant left the band in 1993 with Ramsey assuming the lead vocalist position.  According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, she “brilliantly rose to the occasion.”  In fact, the band’s top charting single on Billboard was the band’s cover of the Roxy Music song “More Than This,” featuring Ramsey on lead vocals, from their 1997 album Love Among The Ruins (Geffen).

In 2004, Elektra/Asylum/Rhino Records released Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings, a two CD set compilation featuring a broad array of their groundbreaking music including several unreleased tracks.

In 2013, 10,000 Maniacs released Music From The Motion Picture, their first full-length album in 13 years.  The album was completely crowd funded and produced independently by the group themselves. It was hailed as a beautiful affirmation of the band’s classic poetic lyrics and dreamy Americana blend.

Today, the band continues to stir up old memories and make new ones. 10,000 Maniacs are hard at work in the studio recording their new album, Twice Told Tales, another completely crowd-funded album through Pledgemusic.com.  A collection of traditional folk songs from the British Isles, this highly anticipated album is slated for release in 2015 and will be distributed worldwide via Cleopatra Records.

The band continues to tour incessantly in the U.S. and has made many new fans in Mexico, Germany, Japan, Portugal and Brazil with their Pledgemusic campaigns.  Their Pledgemusic campaign has also raised money for Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and The Robert Buck Memorial Scholarship fund in honor of the late guitarist who passed away in 2000.

Band: 

Mary Ramsey- Lead Vocals, Viola

Jerome Augustyniak-Drums

Dennis Drew-Keyboard, Vocals 

Jeff Erickson- Guitar, Vocals

Steven Gustafson- Bass Guitar

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