by: A. Tyler Settle; Women's World page 4, 6

It was not rebellion.

And it was not sights set on fame and fortune.

Nor was it an appetite for being in the spotlight.

It was, instead, want of an appropriate means of expression that spurred Natalie Merchant up the stairway of success in the arts world.

Lead vocalist of Jamestown's own 10,000 Maniacs, Ms. Merchant is now known across the globe, as is the rest of the band.

Hailed for her poignant lyrics, stunning stage presence and often-spirited, sometimes-hushed and lulling voice, Ms. Merchant has made quite an impression in the entertainment world.

Actually, the 29-year-old Ms. Merchant says, her first inclinations as an artist were in the realm of visual arts, rather than in the performing arts.

As a youngster growing up in this area, Ms. Merchant studied painting, piano and voice. Later, as a teen, she took painting classes at an arts cooperative in Westfield and at Jamestown Community College, was into sculpting.

"I always thought I'd be a visual artist. I was introverted and shy," Ms. Merchant said. "I always liked singing but I never thought I would do it professionally."

Now, it's hard to imagine music in the 1980s and 90s void of the 10,000 Maniacs.

The Maniacs - Merchant; Steve Gustafson, bass player; Rob Buck, guitarist; Dennis Drew, keyboardist; and Jerome Augustyniak, drummer, - all, except for Augustyniak (but he, according to Ms. Merchant, "has spent enough time here to be an honorary native") call this area home.

The original group which included John Lombardo until several years ago - made their debut in 1981 and the rest is history.

"I think it's a triumph for middle America for us to come from a small town. It proves that decentralization is possible," Ms. Merchant said. She pointed out the perception that most musicians and artists go to New York City or to Los Angeles before making it big. Having spent some time in the ghettos of Harlem, in New York City and in L.A.'s "endless urban sprawls," Ms. Merchant says those atmospheres - while certainly stoking the poet in her - were stifling.

"For so many musicians in New York City, just surviving is so difficult. ... But, a lot of people find a lot of fuel in the city. The pace of the city pushes them. Sometimes I felt like it was a river I was drowning in," she says of her time living in the city.

Now, Ms. Merchant lives in Dutchess County, outside the city but close enough for easy access. She says she prefers the familiarity and sense of community she grew accustomed to after living in the Jamestown area for 21 years.

As for the influence those years of small-town life have on her work, Ms. Merchant said "mainly, it gave me an appreciation for the natural world because that's what I was closest to." She says the majority of the band's latest release, Our Time In Eden, is inspired by that notion. The songs reflect the seasons, in almost a celebration. Also, because Ms. Merchant had been living in New York City and returned to Jamestown to work with the band on the album, "the songs reflect a sort of a homecoming," she said.

"Our (hers and fellow band members') perception of the world has been formed by growing up where we did. It is unusual we all grew up in the same place. It's pretty peculiar, actually," she says.

Happy to call this area home, Ms. Merchant says she treasures many experiences possible only in a rural setting and the powerful feelings evoked.

"I remember, in Westfield, the smell of Concord grapes being harvested in the fall. In Burbank (Calif.), you might be able to smell the oranges on a tree in your front yard ... but (not get) the same rhythms from nature," she said. "When I would walk to school, I remember acorns on the sidewalk and smashing them with my new patent leather shoes. I also remember the smells of the rain in the forest."

Ms. Merchant said the appreciation for music she has may stem from her preteen exposure to a symphony performance at Chautauqua Institution. "I remember, as a kid, going to Chautauqua to hear the symphony and see the ballet. ... It was the most magical experience," she recalls. "I definitely remember the drive back to Jamestown and looking at the sky and feeling exhilarated and peaceful at the same time. I remember appreciating my mother for taking me and recognizing I could appreciate the symphony even at 10."

Going to church as a young girl, Ms. Merchant recalls being quite moved by the music and the mood it induced.

"In church at Saint Peter and Paul, the sound of the hymns and the choirs and the stained glass windows and that entire architectural space being filled up with those sounds, I remember, as a kid, feeling like they were angels," she said.

Ms. Merchant says she has the same kinds of experiences as an adult. Now it is she who takes her mother to performances: operas, ballets and symphonies at the Met in New York City.

On a trip to Brazil last year, she was on the northern part of the coast in "a little, tiny cement building ... and there was this little girl dancing to a cassette the bartender had and he kept playing it over and over and over. I was dancing with her and she couldn't speak English and I didn't speak Portuguese but we were communicating I feel like a made a friend that night." she said.

Communication is another of Ms. Merchant's attractions to music.

She says, though, she is disappointed sometimes in the segregation caused by various kinds of music and the cliches of certain genres. Rap music enthusiasts, for instance, don't always mix with heavy metal listeners, she says.

"I would enjoy seeing it draw more people together."

The Maniacs, though, have seemingly, long drawn people together.

After playing the local circuit following their start in the early '80s, the band toured for a few years then, with a relatively small but dedicated following. A little later, My Mother the War, a cut from the band's own Christian Burial Music release, was picked No. 26 in a Popular English DJ's year-end listeners poll. This was the only American record in the top 50 picks.

The Wishing Chair, released in 1985, was a big hit and then, two years later, In My Tribe put the Maniacs over the top. Blind Man's Zoo, released in 1989, was followed by more touring and then, the 1990 release of Hope Chest, which brought to a larger audience earlier cuts from Human Conflict Number Five (1982) and Secrets of the I Ching (1983). With the fall of 1992 release, Our Time In Eden, came a spurt of recognition. The cuts fill the airwaves from radio stations nationwide. The band members recently have been guests on popular late-night television shows - including Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Also, the Maniacs performed for MTV's New Year's Eve Ball and MTV's Inaugural Ball for President Bill Clinton. In addition, the Fox Network used the song These Are Days from the latest release to promote the show Class of '96.

The band also appeals to educators and parents. In My Tribe and Blind Man's Zoo have received the Parents' Choice Award and an upcoming scholastic project using some Maniacs' work has the potential to reach 6 million students, Ms. Merchant said.

The project involves five Maniacs' songs dealing with social and political issues on cassettes (100,000 have been made), along with dialogue from Ms. Merchant. One song, for instance deals with the Vietnam War and the discussion centers on the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C., orphans of the war, and other related issues.

There are few bands that would be a appropriate for this kind project, Ms. Merchant said, as "for most rock bands, they pride themselves on how degenerate they are." Not the Maniacs, though. "We decided a long time ago, when we were still (performing primarily) in Jamestown, that we would never wear anything on stage that we wouldn't wear out to dinner with our parents," she said.

Many years before she stepped on stage, 12-year-old Natalie Merchant was finding inspiration in the "little pockets of really interesting women, who were very independent and making art" in the area.

This adolescent was hanging around a local puppet theater, a potter's studio and a weaver's loom learning from these women that "it was possible to live in the art world and support yourself as an artist."