I've never met her, but Natalie Merchant and I were born in the same hospital one day apart. My mom knew her mom.
My second cousin John Lombardo was an on-and-off member of 10,000 Maniacs.
In the late '60s, Rick Nielsen attended a community college in Rockford IL; he dropped out a few classes shy of graduating. In '89 I started teaching there and in 2003, the college gave Rick "credit for life experience" and awarded him an Associate's degree. He gave the commencement address at the graduation ceremony, after which I met him and got a photo with him. Seemed like a nice enough guy. He still lives in Rockford, and he does a lot for the community. A friend of mine knew him in high school and still talks to him when they run into each other at the store.