Question: Was The Shins formed before Natalie Merchant left the rock band 10,000 Maniacs?

Context articles: MTV Unplugged (10,000 Maniacs album)
The Shins
Trouble Me
Natalie Merchant
Love Among the Ruins (album)
Evening in Torpor
In My Tribe
Our Time in Eden
Tigerlily
Rob Buck

MTV Unplugged is a 1993 live album by 10,000 Maniacs, recorded for the "MTV Unplugged" series.
 Between the recording and release of the album, vocalist Natalie Merchant left the band to pursue a solo career.
 In addition to the songs released on this album, four takes of "How You've Grown" were recorded, second takes of Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and "Gold Rush Brides", a brief take of "Puff the Magic Dragon" and three other songs with David Byrne as a guest singer: "Let the Mystery Be" (two takes, one of which was released as a B-side to "Few and Far Between" and on ""), Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and "Dallas".
The Shins are an American indie rock band from Albuquerque, New Mexico, formed in 1996.
 The band's current lineup consists of James Mercer (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Jon Sortland (drums), Mark Watrous (guitar), Casey Foubert (guitar), Yuuki Matthews (bass), and Patti King (keyboards).
 The band is based in Portland, Oregon.
"Trouble Me" is a song by the American alternative rock group 10,000 Maniacs and the first single from their 1989 album "Blind Man's Zoo".
 The single was co-written by the band's then-lead singer, Natalie Merchant, as dedication to her father, Anthony Merchant.
 "Trouble Me" charted in the both United States and the United Kingdom, becoming a hit for the band.
 A live version with lead vocalist Mary Ramsey was also included on their 2016 album "Playing Favorites".
Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.
 She joined the American alternative/folk rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.
 She has since released seven studio albums.
Love Among the Ruins (1997) was the first album released by 10,000 Maniacs with their new lead singer, Mary Ramsey, after Natalie Merchant left in 1993.
 The two singles from the album, "More Than This" and "Rainy Day", were not originally intended to be included on the album at all.
 John Lombardo had just written "Rainy Day", which was deemed more radio friendly than the other songs, and the record company insisted that the band record a cover song for inclusion.
 The band chose to credit the songs as group collaborations so that all members would receive equal royalties.
 Ramsey and Lombardo shared the lyric writing.
 Ramsey wrote the music to "All That Never Happens".
 Lombardo wrote "Rainy Day", "Even with My Eyes Closed", "Big Star", "Shining Light" and "Across the Fields".
 Lombardo shared a writing credit with Jerry Augustyniak on "Girl on a Train".
 Rob Buck wrote "Love Among the Ruins", and Dennis Drew wrote "A Room For Everything".
 A live version was also included on their 2016 album "Playing Favorites".
Evening in Torpor was a student-project that Natalie Merchant and Rob Buck from the band 10,000 Maniacs were involved with around the time that 10,000 Maniacs was beginning.
 All of the songs were written by Albert Garzon.
 Natalie contributed vocals to "Daffodils," "Mother's Family Ring," "Crumble Down," and "Bathroom Tile Dance," while Rob contributed guitar to "Rectangles," "Daffodils," "Mother's Family Ring," The Playground," Crumble Down," and "Bathroom Tile Dance."
 The other tracks on the album ("les Cendriers" and "Defense Rap Trip") included no future Maniacs.
 The song "les Cendriers," which translates from French as "ashtrays" is the only reference to the name of the makeshift band.
In My Tribe is an album by the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.
 Released on July 27, 1987, It was their second major-label album and their first to achieve large-scale success.
 John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant's songwriting partner on previous albums, left the band in 1986.
 Merchant began collaborating with the other members of the band, most notably with Rob Buck.
Our Time in Eden is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.
 It was released in 1992 on Elektra Records.
 The release is 10,000 Maniacs' last studio album with the original lead singer, Natalie Merchant.
 The album included her future replacement Mary Ramsey on violin and viola on such tracks as "Stockton Gala Days" and "How You've Grown".
 Singles released from the album were "These Are Days", "Candy Everybody Wants" and "Few and Far Between".
 The brass and woodwind section is covered by the J.B.'s, or James Brown's band.
Tigerlily is an album written, produced, and performed by Natalie Merchant, released on June 20, 1995 (see 1995 in music).
 It is her first solo album after splitting from the 10,000 Maniacs.
 Some reviews of the album praised Merchant's confessional writing style while others criticized the same for undue sentimentality.
Robert Norman "Rob" Buck (August 1, 1958 – December 19, 2000) was a founding member and guitarist of the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs from 1981 until his death from liver disease in 2000.
 Some of his compositions with Natalie Merchant are among the most popular songs recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, including "What's the Matter Here", "Hey Jack Kerouac", "You Happy Puppet" and "These Are Days".