Natalie who? Mary Ramsey takes over as lead vocalist
by: JAE-HA KIM
Mary Ramsey isn't worried about filling Natalie Merchant's shoes as the new vocalist for 10,000 Maniacs.
"When people ask me what it's like to fill her shoes, I always say, 'It's not so hard. We wear the same size (8),'" Ramsey said. "I think that a lot of people associated Natalie with 10,000 Maniacs and so in many ways, she's irreplaceable. But I don't feel like I'm replacing her. It's more like the Maniacs have made a transition and moved on."
After Merchant - who co-founded the band in 1981 - left to pursue a solo career in 1993, the status of the band was in doubt. Guitarist Robert Buck, keyboardist Dennis Drew, bassist Steve Gustafson and drummer Jerome Augustyniak wanted to continue the Maniacs. But without its most recognizable member and a distinct voice to capture the public's attention, the group didn't know whether anyone would be interested in the remaining 9,999 Maniacs.
The foursome rectified the situation by collaborating with Ramsey - a classically trained violin and viola player who had been a onetime backup singer for the Maniacs - and group co-founding member John Lombardo, who had left the group in 1985. Lombardo and Ramsey had worked together in the past as the duo John & Mary. [webmaster's note: John left the band in 1986]
"This is really kind of an organic story," said Ramsey, 33. "It's not like they just asked me to be their singer. (10,000 Maniacs) invited John and me to Jamestown (N.Y.) and said, 'Let's get together and see what we can come up with.' Immediately, we had this chemistry where we were able to write music together, and it kind of evolved from there. We did some shows as just experiments and the audiences really responded well to them."
After touring briefly together in 1994 as John & Mary, Rob, Dennis, Steve & Jerry, the musicians decided that it was time to resurrect 10,000 Maniacs.
On their latest album, Love Among the Ruins, which will be in stores Tuesday, the group sounds confident and rejuvenated playing music that should please longtime fans. Ramsey's pristine soprano isn't a 180-degree departure from Merchant's singing style, but her phrasing and vocals are less calculatedly precious and, in many ways, more heartfelt.
For its first single sans Merchant, the band has decided to release a cover of Roxy Music's More Than This rather than a new number penned by the members. Asked whether the Maniacs thought that performing a familiar number would be a nice transition for a veteran group with a new singer, Ramsey said the group wasn't quite thatcalculating.
"Well, that makes sense," she said, laughing. "I hadn't really thought of that, but I think that is something. It's just a very romantic, pretty song that we all liked. When we first got together, we spent a lot of time playing songs that we liked and adding weird arrangements to them and just enjoying the process of 'jamming,' for lack of a better word. And somebody said, 'Let's try (More Than This).' It all just came about really naturally and easily. So I think maybe we all felt a fondness for that song because it worked for us right away."
The newest Maniac spoke openly about her place in the band during a recent interview from her home in Buffalo, N.Y.
Q: Have you heard from Natalie since recording Ruins?
Ramsey: I haven't heard anything from her directly. There's a mutual friend of ours that she said something to. I think she supports the idea of the group and she believes in it. I think I read somewhere that she wants to create kind of a distance and have everybody do their own thing. But Natalie is also a pretty pro-women woman, and she believes in women doing what they want. So I feel that she understands what I want and what I'm like and how I play, which isn't the same as how she did it.
Q: What does music mean to you?
Ramsey: In my opinion, music is like a muse. That's a somewhat romantic view of it, but it's there and it's magic. Music is something that I think people know and if it's got the right attitude, it's a good thing.
Q: When Natalie quit the group, this could've been the band's big chance to promote one of its own men as the lead vocalist. Why didn't they?
Ramsey: I don't think any of them ever thought they'd sing or really wanted to. It's not the direction they wanted to go in. The way the band has played together all these years with Natalie singing, I think there was just a pocket for a woman's voice.
Q: With John & Mary, you enjoyed success on a small scale. How do the dynamics of being in a brand-name band compare to having been in a comparatively unknown duo?
Ramsey: It's the same thing on a larger scale. I'm really enjoying it. I feel like it's been a very gradual thing. We used to play in small bars and things. And when I played classical music for a while, sometimes I'd play these big symphony halls and other times there'd be like four people. So it's all kind of the same thing for me - the vibe is the same. Weirdly enough, I've heard some people say they're more unnerved by a few people at a show than a lot, so it's all what you feel.
Q: Are any of the band members envious that they've been in the group for many years, yet the press wants to talk primarily to you?
Ramsey: No, because I'm the unknown and people are curious about me. I'm very flattered.
Q: Being with a pack of men most of the time, how often do you feel like it's the boys against the girl?
Ramsey: There's no doubt that when there's a big difference in the ratio between females and males, there's going to be a certain kind of dynamic. But I have a number of sisters and female friends who can spend some time with me when we travel. There are certainly times when you can feel lonely, but guys can feel lonely even when there are a lot of other guys around, too.
Q: When Natalie was the front person, she was often considered the brains behind the band. How is the responsibility shared with you six?
Ramsey: We bounce ideas off each other in a really collaborative way all the time. There is no one person who is "the songwriter," as in some groups. When it comes to writing songs, we take a band approach. As far as melodies, that's what I do. And the lyrics are John's and my department - we work as kind of a team on that. And then we also work on bits ourselves and bring them to band meetings.
People seem to think that if you don't write the lyrics, then you're nothing but a hired hand in a group. But every part makes up the composition. I could write the best melody but if the drum part is missing, we don't have a song worth recording.
Q: Speaking of recording, why did the Maniacs switch from Elektra to Geffen Records?
Ramsey: I don't think any of the band members were disappointed with Elektra or had any problems. It was more of starting a new chapter. A good friend of ours, Jim Powers (label head of Chicago-based Minty Fresh Records, which signed Veruca Salt early on), worked with Geffen (as an artists and repertoire exec). He's the one who signed us to Geffen, and we trusted him.