The Romaniacs was a Canadian rock band based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Their music combined Eastern European,

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and pop. They made extensive use of costumes and props, including a large map, during their live shows.

History

The Romaniacs formed in 1984. They performed at first in clubs and small venues, telling an invented story of their ethnic history of the band members. The band toured extensively in Canada and the United States.They had a long stint at the Saskatchewan Pavilion at Expo 86 in Vancouver, and that year released their first recording on cassette, entitled Ethno-Fusion. The group also toured Australia in 1988, including a week-long appearance at the Canada Pavilion during the World's Fair in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. That year they released their first album, ''World on Fire''. In 1990 the band contributed the song "Ecstasy of the Martyr" to the compilation album ''Polka Comes to Your Haus''. The Romaniacs disbanded in 1995.

Personnel

* Calvin Cairns (aka Myron Joseph, king romaniac) – violin * Steve Bengtson (aka Steffy Levine) – mandolin and vocals * Scott White – upright bass * William (Billy) Butler – guitar *

Danny Greenspoon Danny Greenspoon is a Canadian music producer, music engineer, guitar player and film composer mainly in the Canadian music industry. Greenspoon is also the President of "The Audio Truck Inc.", a mobile recording studio recording materials for telev ...

(aka Zoltan Flamingo Romaniac) – guitar * Jim Vivian – upright bass * Victor Bateman – upright bass * Ron Thompson – guitar * Richard Baker – guitar

Discography

* ''Ethno-Fusion'' * ''World on Fire''"World on Fire"
''WorldCat'' record * ''The Ecstasy of the Martyr'' (a compilation released only in Japan)

References

Bibliography

Retrieved 10 May 2007.

Retrieved 10 May 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Romaniacs, The Canadian world music groups Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1995