Michael Stroh, page TK16

As the new lead singer of the 10,000 Maniacs, Mary Ramsey is learning there are a few things she'll have to get used to.

"Sometimes, someone in the audience will shout, 'Where's Natalie?' when we come on stage," Ramsey says by telephone from her Buffalo, N.Y., home.

Natalie, of course, is Natalie Merchant, the group's founding lead singer. Her haunting voice and brainy lyrics -- showcased on hits like What's the Matter Here? and These Are Days -- forged the Jamestown, N.Y., band's international fame and sold 6 million albums.

But when Merchant ditched the band in 1993 to pursue a solo career, some skeptics wondered: Would the 10,000 Maniacs ever sell any more?

After all, remaining band members -- Robert Buck (guitar), Dennis Drew (keyboards), Steven Gustafson (bass) and Jerome Augustyniak (drums) -- while all skilled musicians, still often seemed to disappear behind Merchant's swelling fame.

Elektra, the band's record label, must have thought so too. Soon after Merchant split, Elektra dumped the band.

Last month, however, the group answered back with Love Among the Ruins, its first studio album in five years. Released on the Geffen label, the new album offers ample evidence of Ramsey's own considerable vocal talent. It also debunks the myth that Merchant was the sole ingredient of the group's distinctive musical stew.

The band will give Sacramento audiences a chance to judge for themselves on Sunday at 100.5 FM's ''A Day in the Zone'' in Discovery Park. Gates open at 10 a.m.

In some ways, Ramsey was a logical choice to replace Merchant. She had been friends with band members since 1990, and had tagged along on several tours to sing backup or play viola.

"When you tour with people, you get to know them real well," Ramsey says. ''It's like having five brothers.''

The 33-year-old Ramsey has studied classical music since she was 5, and in college played viola in a philharmonic orchestra. "Music is my drug. I can't escape it," she says.

She learned how to sing in church. "I really liked to sing those old church hymns," she says. "My sister and I used to sit there and try to figure out the harmonies."

The new 10,000 Maniacs lineup includes another familiar face, guitarist John Lombardo. Lombardo was a founding member of the Maniacs, but left the group in 1986, just before the group released In My Tribe, which cemented its superstar status.

Lombardo and Ramsey, who met in Buffalo around 1990, played together in their own folk duo John & Mary. They recorded two albums together that proved critical hits but commercial flops, and they occasionally even opened for the Maniacs in the early '90s.

A year after Merchant left, the remaining 10,000 Maniacs invited Ramsey and Lombardo to Jamestown for a jam session.

"Immediately there was this chemistry," Ramsey says.

The whole gang toured briefly as John & Mary, Rob, Dennis, Steve & Jerry. "Going from playing in front of 12 people to playing in front of 3,000 was a real leap for me," Ramsey says.

After a time, they felt ready to regroup as the 10,000 Maniacs and head into the studio.

The band labored for months to craft Love Among the Ruins.

"'We cut a John & Mary album in like five days," Ramsey says. "I could have had a baby during the time it took to make Love Among the Ruins. In fact, I feel like I had the labor pains."

The band's first single is a cover of Roxy Music's 1982 hit More Than This. Ramsey's lilting voice and a dreamy guitar mix give the song a sweet, mystical vibe that the Merchant-led Maniacs could never have pulled off.

Other songs on the album, such as Rainy Day and Love Among the Ruins, reverberate with vintage Maniacs guitar and vocal harmonies.

At live shows, Ramsey says the band plans to delve into older material, adding that she doesn't mind singing the songs that Merchant made famous.

"These songs are ones the guys wrote and played. It's part of the 10,000 Maniacs aura. I feel lucky to be able to continue that," she says.