by: Jane Stevenson
Natalie Merchant grew up literally able to see Canada from her home on the shores of Lake Erie.
So don't expect the Jamestown, N.Y., native, who now lives on a 10-acre spread outside Woodstock, to head north to write the followup to her hugely successful solo debut Tigerlily.
It's not nearly exotic enough.
"I plan to live outside the United States for most of the writing of the record and I hope that some insights will come to me from that," says Merchant on the phone from Madison, Wis. "I'm going to live in the South Seas for the winter, several parts of Europe, Spain, Portugal. I sort of always took Canada for granted because I could see Canada from my house and Toronto was basically the nearest city of interest so I would go to Toronto quite frequently."
Which doesn't mean there isn't more of Canada she wouldn't like to explore like the "plains provinces" -- as she calls them -- and Nova Scotia.
For now, the vocally-blessed, one-time lead singer-songwriter for popular folk-rockers 10,000 Maniacs plays the Danforth Music Hall tomorrow night after a postponed date in March when her drummer got hepatitis, causing a three week halt in her first solo tour.
"It's a new group of people that I'm travelling with and performing with, so I think it's infused the whole experience with new life. I enjoy myself a lot more on stage," says Merchant of the solo vs. Maniacs road experience.
"I think everybody has this fantasy about rock 'n' roll bands being all the best of friends and living together and working together and loving every minute of each other's company. But basically it's a group of people who collaborate with each other on musical projects and that's the attitude I have with my new group. Everybody knows that at the termination of this tour that we part our ways."
In addition to performing songs from Tigerlily, which has sold a staggering 2.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, Merchant also trots out some Maniacs material and assorted covers. But don't think that means she's on speaking terms just yet with her former bandmates.
"It just would be too uncomfortable at this point. Maybe in the future," says Merchant, who split from the band almost two years ago because she didn't feel "challenged" anymore.
"Maybe after they've released their first record as 10,000 Maniacs without me."
In addition to unloading the Maniacs, Merchant got a new manager, lawyer and accountant. She even read Everything You Need To Know About The Music Business, written by a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer.
"The first time I signed a recording contract I was 19 and I didn't read a page of it and then I had to live by the terms of the contract that I never read and didn't understand for 12 years," explains Merchant, now 32. "So I decided as a mature woman and artist it would probably be to my advantage to read the next contract that I signed because I knew it would safeguard my creative freedom."
Despite its similar Maniacs sound, Tigerlily contains songs about everyone from Merchant's grandparents on My Beloved Wife to her friend River Phoenix on River. So she felt the personal, intimate nature of the album might not lend itself to major sales.
"I'm shocked because I really thought it was a subtle effort. I didn't think it had lots of singles on it; I thought it would appeal to a small amount of people."