by: A. Tyler Settle

Never fear, the 10,000 Maniacs are still here.

Well, not here, exactly.

The band is on the last leg of a nationwide tour, slated to wrap up at Chautauqua Institution July 16.

The band, members of which call this area home, remains very much together, their manager, Peter Leak said Thursday afternoon from his offices in New York City.

A local radio station and sources at Chautauqua Institution Thursday announced the band's pending split.

According to the information, the Maniac's breakup would follow the band's sold-out Chautauqua performance.

The local show has long been touted as the last on the tour and the emphasis on the finality of the tour apparently sparked some confusion.

By way of emphasizing the Maniacs' continuing presence as a major musical influence, Leak said the band will play at Madison Square Garden a week after the official tour ends.

The Maniacs' latest release, Our Time In Eden, vaulted the band into the national spotlight. A coast-to-coast tour began in November 1992, continuing until mid-December, when a gig in British Columbia was the last in that round of shows.

The new year found the band performing at President Clinton's Inaugural Ball.

Then, in May, the Maniacs geared up for another round of touring. Beginning with a benefit concert for the Reg Lenna Civic Center, the tour (and only the tour - not the band's presence in the music world) will end at Chautauqua.

Dennis Drew, the Maniac's keyboardist, told a Post-Journal reporter early this year about plans to release a live album, with cuts from this tour's gigs.