New Dylans

The New Dylans were a four-man folk-rock outfit composed of songwriters and co-founders Jim Reilley and Reese Campbell, and 10,000 Maniacs' Jerome Augustyniak and John Lombardo. The band formed in Warren, PA, and put together an EP of half a dozen tunes for their first release. Thanks to fans like 10,000 Maniacs' Natalie Merchant, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., and the Village Voice's Robert Christgau, success wasn't long in coming. The band put out two CDs on the Red House Records label, Warren Piece in 1992 and The American Way four years later. Members of the group's fan clubs were also privy to a few demos. The fan base grew as the band was featured on television's MTV and radio's All Things Considered, which was aired by NPR, and other programs that included the World Café. Numerous write-ups in magazines followed the group's rise and the New Dylans performed as the opening act for such artists as 10,000 Maniacs, Ani DiFranco, and Shawn Colvin. Reilley left the group in 1996 to go solo and relocated to Nashville the following year after performing a successful set at the city's Bluebird Café helped him make up his mind. Before a year had passed, Curb Music Publishing offered him a writing contract. He also recorded his debut in Nashville with the aid of Don Henry, a producer and singer/songwriter with a Grammy Award to his credit, in addition to honors from the Nashville Songwriters Association, the Country Music Association, and the Academy of Country Music. The New Dylans' Campbell and Lombardo previously worked together in a group known as the Billups, whose heyday occurred around the mid-'80s. ~ Linda Seida, All Music Guide