by: Anthony Violanti
Long before Natalie Merchant announced her split from 10,000 Maniacs, the intense lead singer stood in stark contrast to other members of the nationally prominent band from Jamestown.
For months -- probably longer -- she had been drifting away from them. Last week's announcement simply made it official.
The differences are striking.
Rob Buck, Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson and Jerome Augustyniak are all five to 10 years older than Merchant. They are family men who still live near Jamestown and show middle-age paunches and receding hairlines.
Merchant, in contrast, is single, lives in Manhattan, wears designer outfits and cultivates an urbane, sexy image.
And the singer's intensity goes beyond her image. Merchant has been an outspoken activist for abortion rights, environmental issues and political causes.
In concerts and everywhere else, Merchant was always center stage.
Buck, Drew, Gustafson and Augustyniak are exceptional musicians, but it was Merchant's voice and songwriting skills that were identified as the essence of the Maniacs.
Now Natalie is gone and the big questions are: What will happen to her career, and are the Maniacs dead?
Opinions differ on how Merchant will fare as a solo artist. But when it comes to the remaining Maniacs, there is consensus.
"I don't think there can be a 10,000 Maniacs without Natalie Merchant," said Mike Meldrum, a veteran of the Buffalo music scene who has watched Merchant and the Maniacs since the band's early days. "Natalie is the heart and soul of that band."
A spokesman for Elektra Records, the band's label, concurred.
"Natalie will definitely be making records, but we don't know yet if the other Maniacs will continue as a band," the spokesman said. One thing is certain, he added: Merchant will no longer be recording with the Maniacs.
He called the breakup amicable.
"She was pretty much the 10,000 Maniacs, and now she wants to be on her own. We have no idea what's going to happen to the band, or what their plans are."
The last 10,000 Maniacs record to be released is scheduled to come out in October; it's an audio version of the group's Unplugged appearance on MTV. Also, the Maniacs just released a new single, Few and Far Between.
Drew and the other band members had grown weary of the record business, according to a recent interview. The Maniacs did not release a record for three years until Our Time in Eden. Although they came back strong, Drew earlier indicated he wanted more time off.
"We have no plans to go back in the studio and keep on trying to be the next hot thing," the keyboardist said.
Drew, along with Gustafson, plans to purchase a radio station in Jamestown.
"It's something we wanted to do for a long time," Gustafson said.
No one would comment on whether the band would consider replacing Merchant.
Mary Ramsey, who currently records and tours with former Maniac John Lombardo as the duo John & Mary, might be considered. Ramsey, who was unavailable to comment, toured with the Maniacs this year, playing violin and singing backup.
Sources told The Buffalo News that Rob Buck and Augustyniak might have toured with John & Mary this fall, but apparently those plans fell through. Sources indicate that Buck may sign a solo record deal.
Ramsey and Lombardo are building their own successful career, touring in support of their latest album, The Weedkiller's Daughter. Both Buck and Augustyniak performed on that record.
As for Merchant, she said she had been thinking about leaving the group for the past two years.
Merchant said in a prepared statement that she left the Maniacs because of "a desire for change and a need for growth."
Rock history is littered with big-name artists who left their original groups and never attained great success afterward. Martha Reeves of the Vandellas, Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas, Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane and David Ruffin of the Temptations never reached the same heights as solo artists.
Others, such as Diana Ross and Janis Joplin, became even bigger stars on their own.
What about Merchant?
"She'll put out a solo album and be bigger than ever," said Artie Kwitchoff, a local music promoter. "I think the rest of the Maniacs are just going to have to sit back and decide if they want to keep the band alive. They're really talented musicians, but it's going to be practically impossible without Natalie."
Marty Boratin, of New World Record in Buffalo, has followed the Maniacs throughout their careers and is one of the few who thinks Merchant will have a tough time without the band.
"I think Natalie will have a serious career slump," Boratin said. "I always thought that John Lombardo was the person who really made that band. I never bought the idea that she was the driving force behind the Maniacs."
The Maniacs were usually portrayed as Merchant and four other musicians.
"That's a stereotype and very superficial," Dennis Drew said in a recent interview with The News. "Natalie can be eccentric and aloof, but the real story of this band for the past year was that we were closer than ever before."
That closeness produced the most success in the band's 12-year history. The Maniacs' Our Time in Eden, the group's first album in three years, came out last fall and has sold close to 1.2 million copies.
The album brought with it a string of hit singles, including These Are Days and Candy Everybody Wants. 10,000 Maniacs played at President Clinton's inaugural, appeared at the Hollywood Bowl benefit with Paul McCartney and was featured on MTV's Unplugged. The group just concluded a successful world tour.
The Maniacs are one of the most successful music groups ever to come out of Western New York. In the past decade the band was known for such albums as In My Tribe, Blind Man's Zoo and The Wishing Chair. They were pioneers in the alternative music movement and became college radio favorites.
Merchant started out with the band at 16. In those days she was shy and reticent, surrounded by five older men. Over the years her image evolved from shy kid to hippie waif to sophisticated performer and powerful songwriter.
"I think it was a natural process that the older I got, the more I demanded attention and power," Merchant, now in her late 20s, told Rolling Stone.
"She's really grown up, and we watched it happen," Augustyniak said.
Said a source close to the band: "Natalie has been with these guys since she was a kid. She just wants to try living her own life. She's not an easy person to get along with, and they've had some problems. I think they all knew it was time to get away from each other."
Regardless of the reason, Merchant is finally ready to leave the Maniacs nest.
"I think it was inevitable," said Meldrum. "I think you'll see the other guys go off and play with other bands. Maybe they'll join up with John & Mary. Who knows?
"No matter what happens, it's the end of an era."