The New Dylans operated as a four-piece folk-rock ensemble whose membership included songwriters and co-founders Jim Reilley and Reese Campbell along with 10,000 Maniacs alumni Jerome Augustyniak and John Lombardo. Warren, Pennsylvania served as the site of the group’s formation, after which the quartet prepared a six-song EP as its inaugural recording. Early momentum arrived through the support of notable admirers that encompassed 10,000 Maniacs’ Natalie Merchant, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, and Village Voice critic Robert Christgau. Two full-length albums subsequently appeared on Red House Records—Warren Piece in 1992 and The American Way in 1996—while selected demos circulated exclusively among fan-club subscribers. Broader exposure arrived via MTV, NPR’s All Things Considered, World Café, and additional radio outlets, prompting a steady increase in listeners; print coverage in numerous periodicals accompanied this growth. Live bills regularly placed the band in support of 10,000 Maniacs, Ani DiFranco, and Shawn Colvin. Reilley departed in 1996 to pursue a solo career and, after delivering a well-received performance at Nashville’s Bluebird Café the next year, decided to relocate there permanently. Within twelve months Curb Music Publishing extended a songwriting agreement, and he tracked his first solo album in the city under the guidance of producer and singer/songwriter Don Henry, whose résumé includes a Grammy plus distinctions from the Nashville Songwriters Association, the Country Music Association, and the Academy of Country Music. Campbell and Lombardo had previously collaborated in the Billups, a band active during the mid-1980s.
