Band took a break from touring

The band played a handful of local concerts in 1991, but largely took a break from touring and Merchant spent most of the year working with homeless youth in Harlem . Merchant then revealed to the other members that she would be leaving 10,000 Maniacs for a solo career in two years’ time, allowing for additional 10,000 Maniacs albums, while also acknowledging the financial implications of her departure. A new album, Our Time in Eden , was released on September 29, 1992. In 1993, the band performed at the MTV Inaugural Ball for President Clinton in January and on MTV Unplugged on April 21. Merchant made her departure from the band public in an interview on MTV on August 5, 1993, saying she “didn’t want art by committee anymore.” The MTV Unplugged album was released on October 26, 1993. “The last 10,000 Maniacs gig (July 28, 1993) was the first time I’d got drunk in nearly two years,” Merchant later recalled. “I laughed a lot and threw lots of flowers out of the hotel window.”