Jamestown born-and-bred band 10,000 Maniacs first came up in the city’s punk music scene in the early ’80s, playing local bars and small music venues. More than 40 years later, the band’s still going strong, and will perform at 8:15 p.m. tonight in the Amphitheater.
“In the late ’70s, the Ramones played in Jamestown and it ignited this little punk scene and some bands popped up that were really interesting,” said Steven Gustafson, a founding member and the group’s bassist. “They were writing their own songs and there was this cool little scene. The bands couldn’t get into the hip bars in town, so they played old factory bars at night.”
For a while, the group underwent evolutions in both name and lineup as they found their footing in the local scene. Eventually, after sending their music to disc jockeys around the world, they started to receive more attention when John Peel highlighted their music on BBC Radio 1.
From then on, 10,000 Maniacs began playing internationally. Tonight, they’ll make their way home for their fourth appearance at Chautauqua Institution.
“Hometown shows are a different beast, in a way,” Gustafson said — local performances tend to have more energy to them because people are excited to see them return, and because his family can attend.
Gustafson said during tonight’s performance, attendees can expect that the program will include “very gentle, delicate songs to (a) little more rocky things.” He hopes people will leave the show having experienced the healing power of music.
“(Chautauquans) understand how special (music) can be. Music can move you and take you to another space in your head emotionally,” he said. “Our goal, when we’re done with the show, is to see people walking out with smiles on their faces, knowing that they had a good time and maybe danced a little bit (and) smiled at the people next to them.”
Gustafson said he has been coming to Chautauqua since his teenage years and the group later performed at the Institution.
“We played gigs at the College Club at Chautauqua in the early days. Those were always really great fun. Of course, I graduated on that stage in 1975,” he said. “I walked across that stage when I got out of high school. It’s a special place.”
The band has undergone changes in membership over the course of their existence, but Gustafson said despite this, they “just keep forging ahead.”
“We like to play our music but we love to play it for audiences, for our fans. That’s the big motivator,” he said. “We’re not getting rich doing this, but we still all love each other and we still have fun doing it, so we’re going to keep forging ahead for a few years and see what happens.”
