Jamestown

Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to... begin her solo career in 1993. Natalie Merchant was born October 26, 1963, in Jamestown, New York, the third of four children of Anthony and Ann Merchant. Her paternal grandfather, who played the accordion, mandolin and guitar, emigrated to the United States from Sicily; his surname was "Mercante" before it was Anglicized. Her maternal grandfather, a cartoonist, piano tuner and member of a barbershop quartet, was Irish. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and her mother later remarried. When Merchant was a child, her mother listened to music and encouraged her children to study music, but she wouldn't allow TV after Natalie was 12. "I was taken to the symphony a lot because my mother loved classical music. But I was dragged to see Styx when I was 12. We had to drive 100 miles to Buffalo, New York. Someone threw up next to me and people were smoking pot. It was terrifying. I remember Styx had a white piano which rose out of the stage.
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Robert N. "Rob" Buck was a founding member and guitarist of 10,000 Maniacs from 1981 until his death from liver disease in 2000. Some of his... compositions with Natalie Merchant are among the most popular songs recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, including "What's the Matter Here", "Hey Jack Kerouac", "You Happy Puppet" and "These Are Days". Buck also played in the short-lived Texas-based superstar-band League of Blind Women, writing much of the band's material. In 2000, while on tour in upstate New York, he was rushed to the hospital when it was discovered he was suffering from acute liver disease. He was transferred to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for treatment where his condition soon worsened despite the efforts of the leading transplant teams at the facility.
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Laura Kightlinger is an American actress, comedian and writer. Kightlinger was born and raised in Jamestown, New York. in 1969 . She graduated from... Southwestern High School in 1982 and attended Emerson College between 1982 and 1986. After touring as a stand-up comic, Kightlinger got her break writing for the television sitcom Roseanne. She later wrote for Dennis Miller Live and for the 20th season of Saturday Night Live, on which she was also a featured performer and cast member. Among the celebrities she impersonated were Brooke Shields, Marcia Clark, Paula Poundstone, Mary Hart, and Connie Chung. Kightlinger worked as a writer and consulting producer on the sitcom Will & Grace. She performed a recurring guest role on the series as Sheila, a nurse at a fertility clinic. Kightlinger was a correspondent on The Daily Show in 1998. She appeared regularly on the HBO sitcom Lucky Louie. She was a writer and cast member on Roseanne’s short-lived sketch comedy series Saturday Night Special on Fox.
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Nickolas Gene "Nick" Carter is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, entertainer and actor. He is best known as a member of the pop group... Backstreet Boys. He went on to release a solo album called Now Or Never during their hiatus. He has made occasional television appearances and starred in his own reality show, House of Carters. He gained fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a teen idol. He is also the older brother of singer Aaron Carter. Carter was born in Jamestown, New York, where his parents, Jane Elizabeth and Robert Gene Carter,. owned a bar called the Yankee Rebel. Several years later, the family moved to Ruskin, Florida and managed a retirement home, Garden Villa Retirement Home, where they added his younger siblings to their family. His siblings are B.J. ; Leslie Carter Ashton ; and twins Aaron Carter and Angel Carter . Robert G. Carter has a daughter, Virginia Carter , from a previous marriage. Carter's parents divorced in 2003. His father remarried to Ginger R.
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Jud Strunk was an American singer, songwriter and comedian. Born Justin Strunk, Jr. in Jamestown, New York, he was raised in Buffalo, New York,... where as a small boy his showmanship became evident. After he learned to play the banjo, Strunk began entertaining locals and went on to wide recognition after appearances on national television network shows such as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1973, he wrote and recorded the song "A Daisy a Day," which made the Billboard Top 20 on both the country and pop music charts. He also wrote and recorded three humorous songs that made it into the country music charts, and he toured with the Andy Williams Road Show. One of these songs, which continues to be played on the Dr. Demento show, is "The Biggest Parakeets in Town," a tongue-in-cheek story of a woman who is a bird fancier. Its central joke is the unspoken pun of "parakeets/pair o'tits" used in the title and carried throughout the song. Other lesser singles, such as "Next Door Neighbor's Kid" and the patriotic "My Country," appeared on various Billboard surveys.
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Dennis Drew is the keyboardist for the band 10,000 Maniacs. He has been with the band since its inception in 1981 and is one of only two remaining... founding members of the band. Drew is also general manager of WRFA-LP, a low-power nonprofit radio station in Jamestown, New York. In 2011, Drew is expected to perform on a new album and a 30-city 30th anniversary tour. He is currently married to Kerry Drew and has two children, Emily and Dennis . He also has a dog named Jackson.
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Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to... begin her solo career in 1993. Natalie Merchant was born October 26, 1963, in Jamestown, New York, the third of four children of Anthony and Ann Merchant. Her paternal grandfather, who played the accordion, mandolin and guitar, emigrated to the United States from Sicily; his surname was "Mercante" before it was Anglicized. Her maternal grandfather, a cartoonist, piano tuner and member of a barbershop quartet, was Irish. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and her mother later remarried. When Merchant was a child, her mother listened to music and encouraged her children to study music, but she wouldn't allow TV after Natalie was 12. "I was taken to the symphony a lot because my mother loved classical music. But I was dragged to see Styx when I was 12. We had to drive 100 miles to Buffalo, New York. Someone threw up next to me and people were smoking pot. It was terrifying. I remember Styx had a white piano which rose out of the stage.
more

Robert N. "Rob" Buck was a founding member and guitarist of 10,000 Maniacs from 1981 until his death from liver disease in 2000. Some of his... compositions with Natalie Merchant are among the most popular songs recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, including "What's the Matter Here", "Hey Jack Kerouac", "You Happy Puppet" and "These Are Days". Buck also played in the short-lived Texas-based superstar-band League of Blind Women, writing much of the band's material. In 2000, while on tour in upstate New York, he was rushed to the hospital when it was discovered he was suffering from acute liver disease. He was transferred to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for treatment where his condition soon worsened despite the efforts of the leading transplant teams at the facility.
more

Laura Kightlinger is an American actress, comedian and writer. Kightlinger was born and raised in Jamestown, New York. in 1969. She graduated from... Southwestern High School in 1982 and attended Emerson College between 1982 and 1986. After touring as a stand-up comic, Kightlinger got her break writing for the television sitcom Roseanne. She later wrote for Dennis Miller Live and for the 20th season of Saturday Night Live, on which she was also a featured performer and cast member. Among the celebrities she impersonated were Brooke Shields, Marcia Clark, Paula Poundstone, Mary Hart, and Connie Chung. Kightlinger worked as a writer and consulting producer on the sitcom Will & Grace. She performed a recurring guest role on the series as Sheila, a nurse at a fertility clinic. Kightlinger was a correspondent on The Daily Show in 1998. She appeared regularly on the HBO sitcom Lucky Louie. She was a writer and cast member on Roseanne’s short-lived sketch comedy series Saturday Night Special on Fox.
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Nickolas Gene "Nick" Carter is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, entertainer and actor. He is best known as a member of the pop group... Backstreet Boys. He went on to release a solo album called Now Or Never during their hiatus. He has made occasional television appearances and starred in his own reality show, House of Carters. He gained fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a teen idol. He is also the older brother of singer Aaron Carter. Carter was born in Jamestown, New York, where his parents, Jane Elizabeth and Robert Gene Carter,. owned a bar called the Yankee Rebel. Several years later, the family moved to Ruskin, Florida and managed a retirement home, Garden Villa Retirement Home, where they added his younger siblings to their family. His siblings are B.J. ; Leslie Carter Ashton ; and twins Aaron Carter and Angel Carter . Robert G. Carter has a daughter, Virginia Carter , from a previous marriage. Carter's parents divorced in 2003. His father remarried to Ginger R.
more

Jud Strunk was an American singer, songwriter and comedian. Born Justin Strunk, Jr. in Jamestown, New York, he was raised in Buffalo, New York,... where as a small boy his showmanship became evident. After he learned to play the banjo, Strunk began entertaining locals and went on to wide recognition after appearances on national television network shows such as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1973, he wrote and recorded the song "A Daisy a Day," which made the Billboard Top 20 on both the country and pop music charts. He also wrote and recorded three humorous songs that made it into the country music charts, and he toured with the Andy Williams Road Show. One of these songs, which continues to be played on the Dr. Demento show, is "The Biggest Parakeets in Town," a tongue-in-cheek story of a woman who is a bird fancier. Its central joke is the unspoken pun of "parakeets/pair o'tits" used in the title and carried throughout the song. Other lesser singles, such as "Next Door Neighbor's Kid" and the patriotic "My Country," appeared on various Billboard surveys.
more

Dennis Drew is the keyboardist for the band 10,000 Maniacs. He has been with the band since its inception in 1981 and is one of only two remaining... founding members of the band. Drew is also general manager of WRFA-LP, a low-power nonprofit radio station in Jamestown, New York. In 2011, Drew is expected to perform on a new album and a 30-city 30th anniversary tour. He is currently married to Kerry Drew and has two children, Emily and Dennis . He also has a dog named Jackson.
more