by: Michael Mehle (Scripps Howard News Service)
There's life after Natalie Merchant.
That's the message 10,000 Maniacs hope to send as they make random stops across the country with new lead 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 The Days.
But now, Merchant's voice can be heard only on her first solo disc, Tigerlily, which has climbed to No. 15 on the Billboard charts.
Meanwhile, her old bandmates, whom she left following a tour in the summer of '93, are still trying to finalize 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 and is photographed with Merchant on the album's cover. Also, 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.
And the sound remains the same, he added.
"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."