Zentner and Abramowitz left in July 1976. Drummer Paul Sears joined the next month, setting the stage for the group's most popular period. The group released Manna/Mirage in 1978, and soon after released a limited-edition, live LP called Air Fiction. The band also worked with Fred Frith on his solo LP, Gravity. Frith produced the band's next LP, 185, in late 1980. The Muffins disbanded six months later. In the early '90s, the band played at a private party, resulting in "Hobart Got Burned" on the Unsettled Scores compilation (Cuneiform,1995), and it wasn't until July 16, 1998, that group came together again -- this time for a reunion show in Washington, D.C. This reunion lasted, leading to a number of concerts by the Muffins over the next several years. Tom Scott, Paul Sears, Billy Swan and Dave Newhouse also hit the studios in 2001.