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After the first New Dylans split, Reese Campbell returned home to Warren, PA and formed a new band Djava which was very popular locally. He later decided to extend his education and pursue a non-music career. Reese Campbell later formed The Billups (alternately known as The Hopheads) with 10,000 Maniac alum John Lombardo and Scott Miller. In 2007 Campbell formed a new band called “The American People” featuring Dan Warmbrodt, John McGuire and Paul Liuzzo, later changing their name to “Modified Nouns”. Comprised of a library clerk, an English teacher and a postal carrier, The Modified Nouns were a trio from NW PA unified by words and music. The ModNouns wrote and performed an eclectic mix of original pop-rock tunes, tied together by a common thread of infectious melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Their album “This Was Recorded By Modified Nouns” was released independently in Spring 2014 and is still available on iTunes.
About Modified Nouns (from pop. Lit.):
Reese Campbell (Vocals/Keys/Guitar/Dewey Decimal System) was co-founder of The New Dylans with childhood pal and current Nashville cat Jim Reilley. TND recorded an eponymous EP in 1986 which ranked #5 in Robert Christgau’s annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop list and two albums in the mid-90s for Red House Records which received glowing reviews from Rolling Stone, Spin, and Musician, among many others. Radio play included featured performances on World Cafe, All Things Considered, and Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight. On national tours, TND had the pleasure of sharing the stage with such disparate artists as The Band, 10,000 Maniacs, The Fleshtones, Superdrag, Townes Van Zant, Steve Forbert, Shawn Colvin, Peter Case and Syd Straw. Reese is the principal songwriter and lead vocalist for ModNouns.
Dan Warmbrodt (Bass/Vocals/Red Pen Rage) and John McGuire (Drums/Utility Termination Notices) have been synching up for so long they are occasionally confused with Chang & Eng. They are in fact conjoined only by their uncanny ability to lock together as the tightest rhythm section anywhere. Dan and John were the original anchors of popular bluegrass jam band Big Leg Emma and previously teamed with Reese in the hippie-blues project Djava featuring Cindy Haight. Dan also contributes his own accomplished songwriting and lead and harmony vocals to ModNouns.
You can listen the Modified Nouns album here. You can watch a video of “So Long” on YouTube as well!
Long before the New Dylans, Reese Campbell was an accomplished keyboard/piano player. In 1979 at Warren Area High School in Warren, PA, Reese was accompanist for several songs performed by the usually all a cappella choir. That choir in 1979 went to Europe to perform their spring concert for crowds in Austria and Switzerland. This was the first of many trips William Brocklebank made overseas with his choirs. A vinyl LP of their music was created and the songs Reese played on can be heard here! He was already great at playing piano, even at age 18. A YouTube version of the whole LP is available as well.