The Muffins

Almost completely instrumental, the Muffins’ music was a distinctive mixture of Canterbury progressive, fusion, improvisation plus much more. The group was shaped within the Washington, DC region in the first ’70s by Dave Newhouse (keyboards), Billy Swan (vocals, bass and electric guitar), Tom Scott (woodwinds) and Michael Zentner (electric guitar and violin). Stuart Abramowitz performed drums from August 1975 until July 1976. This group documented the house and studio demonstration recordings heard in the Chronometers Compact disc. Zentner and Abramowitz still left in July 1976. Drummer Paul Sears became a member of another month, placing the stage for the group’s most widely used period. The group released Manna/Mirage in 1978, and immediately after released a limited-edition, live LP known as Atmosphere Fiction. The music group also caused Fred Frith on his single LP, Gravity. Frith created the band’s following LP, 185, in past due 1980. The Muffins disbanded half a year later. In the first ’90s, the music group played at an exclusive party, leading to “Hobart Got Burnt” in the Unsettled Ratings compilation (Cuneiform,1995), and it wasn’t until July 16, 1998, that group emerged together once again — this time around to get a reunion present in Washington, D.C. This reunion lasted, resulting in several concerts with the Muffins on the next many years. Tom Scott, Paul Sears, Billy Swan and Dave Newhouse also strike the studios in 2001.