by: Michael Mehle (page E3)

There's life after Natalie Merchant.

That's the message 10,000 Maniacs hope to send when they make random stops across the country with new singer Mary Ramsey.

"We wanted to get around the country, wanted people to know that we're still here," pianist Dennis Drew said.

For the past decade, 10,000 Maniacs' identity has been linked to Merchant's sweet, pained alto, which propelled such hits as Like the Weather, Eat for Two, Trouble Me and These Are Days.

Merchant's first solo disc, Tigerlily, was released earlier this summer. It's climbed as high as No. 13 on Billboard's albums chart.

Her old bandmates are working on a record deal of their own.

"We don't have anything signed and sealed, but we've been talking to a bunch of people, and we're not worried about it," Drew said.

"We got back together in December of '93, and I think we said, 'Should we keep the name or change it?' And then we all said, 'Why should we change it?'"

Diehard fans should be familiar with the new members.

Ramsey played viola and sang background on the band's MTV Unplugged album. She was photographed with Merchant on the album's cover. Founding member John Lombardo has rejoined the band.

"We weren't really looking for anybody to take Natalie's place. It was just all right there with John and Mary. They were all old friends," Drew said.

The sound remains the same.

"I think that people will forget that Natalie was ever in the band in another year or two. I don't think it will be that big a deal. Anybody who's an alto and sings with us is going to sound like that."

The reconfigured group has begun recording. Drew said the new music will have "the same toe-tapping pop songs." It may sound a bit folkier with the addition of Ramsey on viola, he said.

The group hopes to release the disc by early next year. As for Merchant, the band gives her somewhat grudging support.

"We expected [her to leave] for a long time," he said. "We knew she had a plan to be on her own by the time she was 30. She told us about it, but it was sad when it happened."

Has the band heard her first album?

"I've heard the songs on the radio," Drew said. "But I haven't really gone out and bought it. Because, actually, I wanted to avoid giving an opinion on it, especially if I didn't like it."