Reese Campbell: Piano, Organ, Accordion, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals ~ Paul Liuzzo: Electric Guitars, Vocals ~ John McGuire: Drums ~ Dan Warmbrodt: Bass, Vocals
Influences
Reese Campbell was co-founder of The New Dylans. Partnering with childhood pal and brilliant songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Jim Reilley, now a sought-after producer, writer and session man in Nashville, the boys roped in friends John Lombardo and Jerome Augustyniak from 10,000 Maniacs to record The New Dylans' 6 song eponymous debut Ep in 1986, which, much to their surprise, received high praise from Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, who placed it in the top 5 of the Voice's famed year-end "Pazz and Jop" poll, and R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, who called it one of his top 3 fave discs of the year in “Rock Express.” More amazingly still, despite not having a video, The New Dylans were featured on MTV with reviews of the Ep on their shows 120 Minutes and The Cutting Edge with legendary Fleshtones main man Peter Zaremba. Clueless in the face of such unanticipated success, and without a permanent backing band, the stunned pair foundered for a while, eventually inking a deal in the early ‘90s with Minneapolis-based Red House Records, who released two albums, “Warren Piece” and “The American Way.” During this time TND barnstormed the country playing to anyone who would listen (and many who wouldn't), sharing stages with The Band, Townes Van Zandt, Shawn Colvin, The Fleshtones, Superdrag, Syd Straw, The Silos, Steve Forbert and even old pals 10K Maniacs. Both Red House albums earned glowing reviews from Rolling Stone, Musician, Pulse, Spin, Stereo Review, Mojo and Dirty Linen, among others. National radio also took up the New Dylans' cause, featuring live sessions on Ann Arbor's nationally-syndicated Acoustic Cafe, The World Cafe with David Dye, Idiot's Delight with Vin Scelsa, and an interview with Noah Adams on NPR's All Things Considered. Perhaps most bizarrely, The New Dylans forged an unlikely love-fest with ex-Partridge Family imp Danny Bonaduce, who invited the band, whenever in the vicinity, to join his morning zoo on WLUP in Chicago, on one occasion even joining in on bass (which, of course, he never actually played for the Partridges) for a spirited live-in-studio version of “Smoke On The Water” -- somehow simultaneously the apex & nadir of The New Dylans' strange path into critically-acclaimed obscurity.
(Love & props to my lifelong only-child brother, Jim Reilley, unofficial New Dylans historian, for supplying the guts of this bio, as he did most of TND's best material. --RC)
Paul Liuzzo, with his brother, Mark, Mike Young and John Lombardo, was a founding member of 10,000 Maniacs precursor "The Mills" in early-80's Jamestown, NY, and has continued to be one of the Southern Tier's premier bassists, playing alongside Chautauqua Music Hall o' Famers Bill Ward & Stan Barton among countless others. Paul has gamely taken on the challenge posed by a 50% increase in strings to play electric guitar for "The American People."
John McGuire and Dan Warmbrodt have been synching up for so long that they are occasionally confused with Chang & Eng. They are not in fact conjoined, but have earned a stellar reputation as one of the region's tightest rhythm sections. They teamed with Reese in the mid-1990's hippie blues-pop project, "Djava," and have been his favorite go-to-guys ever since. (McGuire was also a "New Dylan" -- until he got tired of losing money & wised up...) More recently the duo has anchored bluegrass-jamsters "Big Leg Emma," and TAP is currently sharing John's talents with the fine singer-songwriter Matt Maloof & his "Contraband."
WHAT FOLKS ARE SAYING ABOUT "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE":
"In all Global Attitudes surveys dating back to 2002, the rest of the world has held The American People in higher esteem than it has held America." (Who's gettin' that sweet Muskrat Love now, fellas? --ed.)
-- Pew Global Attitudes Project, 06/24/2005
"The American People will succeed if and only
if broadcasters develop a tough and meaningful code of voluntary ethical
behavior."
-- Greg Knauss, a California programmer and blogger who has created a website which automatically combs Yahoo for and compiles the use (read: abuse) of the phrase "The American People." Thanks & kudos to Greg for a brilliant idea, source and public service.
