at the album's 1981 record release party. For this performance, a lineup was assembled consisting of Miller on piano, Lindgren on synthesizer, Swope on guitar, and Rick Scott on electronic organ, with all members doubling on percussion instruments. Miller and Scott had both previously lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they had been bandmates in the short-lived Red Ants. While there had been no intention to play more than the one gig, audience response was so strong that further shows were booked. The ensemble became a significant side project for Miller and Swope, and recorded a six-song eponymous EP (virtually the entire repertoire at the time) for Burma's label Ace of Hearts. Birdsongs opened for Burma at least once, and Burma's drummer Peter Prescott contributed to Birdsongs recordings and performances. When Miller's tinnitus worsened in 1982, the existence of Birdsongs as a quieter alternative was a significant factor in Miller's decision to end Mission of Burma in 1983. In fact, he stopped writing Burma material and began writing more aggressive material for Birdsongs, such as "Shiny Golden Snakes" (which became the lead track of their first full-length album, Magnetic Flip.) After Burma's breakup, Birdsongs became democratized, and Swope, Scott, and especially Lindgren began composing original material. They toured regularly, mostly in the eastern United States and usually at rock music venues. Birdsonds of the Mesozoic opened for bands like Siouxie and the Banshees, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Fall and Prescott's Volcano Suns. Jon Pareles, music critic of The New York Times, gave a positive review to the group's New York City debut, comparing their basic style to the minimalism of Philip Glass delivered with the energy and brevity of rock music: "In fact, most of the music is far more eventful, and less repetitious, than the average pop hit single." They did occasional cover songs, which demonstrated the breadth of their influences: Adaptations of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, the theme songs to two animated television shows (Rocky & Bullwinkle and The Simpsons) and two different versions of Brian Eno's "Sombre Reptiles". After Miller and Swope leave In 1987 Miller left the group he founded to concentrate on his Maximum Electric Piano project, which he had recently begun as a side project to Birdsongs. Miller was replaced by another Ann Arbor expatriate, saxophonist/keyboardist Steve Adams of Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (who had shared many bills with Birdsongs). With Adams