by: Andy Smith
For most fans, the band 10,000 Maniacs consisted of singer Natalie Merchant and a bunch of faceless guys playing behind her. So what happened to the band when Merchant left for a solo career?
Well, 10,000 Maniacs regrouped, with original member John Lombardo returning to the Maniacal fold and singer/violist Mary Ramsey joining as lead singer. The band will be at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence tomorrow night.
"We know it's an uphill climb. A lot of people wrote us off," said bassist Steven Gustafson, speaking by phone from a Boston hotel room. "It's a building process. We have to convince people that we're valid, and that we're good."
The new band released an album, Love Among the Ruins, that doesn't sound radically different from previous Maniacs records. There are still the appealing folk/pop melodies, and Ramsey's clear soprano fits in nicely.
There are differences - Ramsey has a different lyrical slant from Merchant, and her viola provides an additional instrumental element.
"The changes aren't all that radical," Gustafson said. "The ingredients are mostly the same. This is the way we sound - we can't help it."
Gustafson said the band had known Merchant would leave since before recording 1992's Our Time in Eden, her last studio album with the band. (Merchant stayed with the band for a last project, a live record for MTV Unplugged.)
"We didn't make a big deal out of it at the time," he said. "We all just wanted to make the album (Eden) and put on good shows. And then we had the chance to do that ol' cash show Unplugged thing."
He added that the band never considered calling it quits after Merchant left.
The Maniacs formed in the small upstate New York city of Jamestown - where most of the band still lives - in 1981. This very week, Gustafson noted, is the 16th anniversary of the band's first gig.
Lombardo left the band in 1986 to form an acoustic duo with Ramsey, although the two remained close to the rest of the Maniacs. Ramsey played on the band's last two albums. [webmaster's note: John did not leave the band to form a duo with Mary. He left in 1986 and didn't even meet Mary until 1989]
"It's like they're cousins, part of the family," said Gustafson.
So after Merchant left in 1994, it seemed natural for Lombardo, Ramsey and the remaining Maniacs to get together in a Buffalo, N.Y., studio to work on some new tunes.
Shortly after, the new lineup tried a series of club dates, dubbed the "unscathed" tour, before signing with a new record label, Geffen, and hitting the road in earnest.
"This is a huge step for Mary," Gustafson said. "She's got big shoes to fill; she's under a lot of pressure. I feel as though she's doing a wonderful job."
The old Maniacs had platinum albums and played in arenas. The new Maniacs are back to playing in clubs.
"Our budget doesn't allow for some of the hotels we used to stay at, but you do what you have to do," he said. "We'd like to get back to the point where we sell 2 million albums again, but we're not in a foot race with anyone."
Gustafson lives in Jamestown, where the band has a studio. As a matter of fact, he and keyboard player Dennis Drew also own a restaurant next door, although they're trying to sell it.
They don't have much contact with Merchant, who has released her own solo album, Tigerlily.
"We don't live in the same town," Gustafson said. "She has very different friends than 'the boys,' as we used to be called."
But Gustafson said he was happy Merchant had the opportunity to make her solo record, and he praised her ability as a lyricist.
"Natalie was an incredible lyric writer. She wrote constantly. She filled piles of composition books."
Merchant was known for making social comments, both in her songs and sometimes on stage. Lyrics for Love Among the Ruins, written mostly by Ramsey and Lombardo, stick to more personal matters.
"The people in the band still have our causes that we support, and someday we may sing about them," Gustafson said. "But we felt this was not the right time."