by: Lori Bernstein (page 44)
Lucille Ball isn't the only famous name to be associated with the quiet village of Jamestown, New York. 10,000 Maniacs, the folk-rock quintet who, to date, have opened for bands like R.E.M. and The Cure, have received nothing short of extraordinary reviews for their second and latest album on Elektra Records, titled In My Tribe.
Lead singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant welcomes the attention, but explains that the LP is a culmination of over six years of hard work. "I think that, in many ways, this is the album we've been trying to make for a long time," she says. "We'd been trying to make a really tight pop album that still had an edge to it, but we weren't ready until now."
The lead-off single, a remake of the Cat Stevens hit Peace Train fared well almost immediately, becoming an honorary video of the month of VH-1. But it's the album's heartfelt lyrics and soothing style that have garnered the type of musical recognition the Maniacs have been searching for.
"The album sounds beautiful to me," says Natalie who coins the ballad Verdi Cries as her personal favorite. "It is one of the first songs I had written alone," she says.
While there's no doubt Natalie's a major force in the band, she's quick to point out that 10,000 Maniacs works best as a unit; though she'd like to go solo in the future, for now, she enjoys collaborating with guitarist Robert Buck, bassist Steven Gustafson, drummer Jerome Augustyniak, all of whom she met in Jamestown at a local radio station in 1981.
After spending endless hours on the tour bus with the band, Natalie smiles and says, "Sometimes I feel like I've been married to them for 25 years. But it's the music that keeps us together. As long as we remain passionate about the music, I think we will keep on doing it."