by: George A. Fletcher
"There's nothing more disappointing than bringing an idea in and then having the band think it sucks," says 10,000 Maniacs keyboardist Dennis Drew. "And there's almost nothing as thrilling as coming up with an idea and having the band turn it into something that's really cool. We live with these kind of defeats and victories constantly."
Many a musician knows the sting of fellow band member disapproval but for Drew, this example of rejection is more accurately associated with the parting of ways in 1993 between one of the most influential bands of the 1980s and its enigmatic frontwoman, Natalie Merchant.
"It was continual panic," Drew says of Merchant's leaving, "but this whole life is like that. There's a lot of highs and a lot of lows. With Natalie, we knew about (her impending departure) for a long time and we had been aware of the whole situation. We didn't really know what we'd do."
The rebirth of the band came, ironically enough, in the form of former Maniacs guitarist John Lombardo. Lombardo had departed from the group in 1986, prior to the group's major label debut The Wishing Chair, to work with vocalist/violist Mary Ramsey in the acoustic-based duo, John and Mary. [webmaster note: this is wrong - John was still with the band when The Wishing Chair was made. He left just before they made In My Tribe; furthermore, John did not leave the Maniacs to work with Mary; they didn't even meet until 1989] Over time, Drew kept close ties with his former bandmate and his partner, and when Merchant's position vacated, the pair were ready to step in.
"We wanted to get John involved again and he brought Mary in," explains Drew. "We rehearsed for while and came up with a bunch of ideas. It was all very natural and a lot of fun, so ultimately the panic subsided."
For Mary Ramsey, 10,000 Maniacs (which also includes guitarist Robert Buck, bassist Steven Gustafson and drummer Jerome Augustyniak) is what it is because of Merchant. She is quick to point out that she has a great deal of respect for the group's former lead vocalist as both an artist -- and as a person. "We actually toured together (while Ramsey was still on an independent label) and we got along wonderfully," explains Ramsey. "Natalie was thrilled there was another woman on the road. She is an integral part to this story who cannot be ignored. She's a wonderful artist."
It was in March 1995 when the revamped Maniacs debuted in Rochester, New York -- to critical acclaim. Currently signed to Geffen, the latest 10,000 Maniacs' release Love Among The Ruins (and the first recording with Ramsey) was produced at upstate New York's Bearsville Studios.
Though Drew and Ramsey both contribute to the songwriting chores, the artists allowed the process plenty of space to breathe. "I tend to write when I'm home and bored," Drew laughs. "Usually I try to steal songs. I listen to things and file them away and they come out as my own songs. Everybody does that, but I think sometimes you come up with what is sort of a good idea and one that might be the core for a song but you just don't know where to go with it. You start looking through the old formulas to see if there's a way to put a bridge in it or some kind of transition for a chorus. We're such a collaborative band, I can bring in a riff or a walkdown and it will get taken apart and put back together by the band and come out completely different. The method we have is pretty open-ended, which is just fabulous. Even if we only make a tape on a boom box at rehearsal and play it endlessly and make my wife listen to it and play it in the car.
"Making a record is exciting too," adds Drew. "But nothing is better than those first moments when a song comes together, when a song is born."
Of the hoopla surrounding her "new found fame," Ramsey remains philosophical, expressing that she feels as if she were in the "middle of it all."
"I'm in the eye of the storm," she says metaphorically, "which is where I want to be. It's a journey that I'm going to be on forever and what I'm searching for and what is searching for me will meet somewhere along the road. It's an ongoing process.
"This is just one part of my musical journey." Ramsey continues. "10,000 Maniacs is not my identity or my soul. In the end, it will be more of Natalie's identity than it will be mine. It's a good way to express my creativity but it may not be the only thing. I've done a lot of other stuff and besides," she says with a pause, "I just love dabbling."
For these veterans of the rock and roll arena, it seems as if the members have a good handle on rolling with the ebb and flow of popular tastes, keeping the 10,000 Maniacs boat floating towards its ultimate destination, wherever that may be.
Ultimately, Ramsey believes that being in a band is like "bloody Shakespeare," she offers with a laugh. "There's always a tale of tragedy or woe or angst. The thing that I like is that at least we all love the music -- no matter what our personalities are and no matter what politics are involved. Hopefully that is what is keeping us going."