BIOGRAPHY

LAURENCE BOND MILLER
singer / songwriter / band leader / multi-instrumentalist / recording engineer / producer / actor

Laurence was born and raised in Ann Arbor Michigan into a musical family, exposed to many types of music during his formative years. Romantic Classical and Modern 20th Century orchestral music with 1950s Classics into 1960s folk and finally drowned in British Invasion, Pop Psychedelia, Free-Form Jazz and New Wave Punk. This variety of influences has been evident throughout his career. Formal training in piano and clarinet during grade school, playing in the concert bands lead him to his teen years where he quickly pursued the new Rock & Roll music. 

1969: Laurence (drums) and his two teen brothers Roger (bass, lead vocals) and Ben (guitar/harmony vocals) formed their first band, SPROTON LAYER playing all original music. By the fall of that year trumpeter Harold Kirtchen was added (brother to Bill Kirtchen of Commander Cody of the Lost Planet Airmen fame / Hot Rod Lincoln). Sproton Layer recorded an album of their material in the summer of 1970 called "With Magnetic Fields Disrupted". This collection fell to deaf ears, gaining zero traction until 1991 when New Alliance Records (subsidy of SST) picked it up and released it in 1991 receiving rave reviews. This collection was then later remastered and rereleased again in 2013 by Germany's World In Sound Records with more strong reviews. This time Sproton Layer reformed in support with select showcase performances in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Boston, and NYC. Note: This year their final backlog of basement recordings called "Press Your Hand and the Whole World Fluctuates" was released on 12XU Records. 

Though primarily a drummer in his youth, Laurence taught himself how to play the guitar. Being left-handed and unable to afford a southpaw model, Laurence learned how to play his brother's right-handed guitar upside down. Unique songwriting began soon after, and recorded on the family's analogue stereo tape recorder.

By 1972, Laurence went back to clarinet and threw himself into composing contemporary orchestral music, free-form jazz, and finally music college. Co-leading several horn based ensembles at this time, with twin brother Ben and older brother Roger, with a focus on improvisation. Multi track sound-on-sound processing allowed Laurence to document his ideas. THE FOURTH WORLD QUARTET was the final culmination of these efforts which found notoriety in it's releases, decades later, on Cuneiform Records in 2021/22. These received rave reviews in Jazzwise and other relevant publications.

His interest in college and the clarinet waned by 1976 though, and Laurence moved back home. There he picked up his guitar and formed an experimental noise band called EMPOOL with his musical brothers and friends. The band had a counterpart arts magazine as well. A vinyl LP called DOES-DO-DID-DONE, taken from their basement tapes, was eventually released on Boston’s label Feeding Tube Records in June 2017. A small pressing run, but it sold out quickly.

It was this whole new idea though which melted into another experimental Ann Arbor band called DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
in 1977. Ron Asheton [of Stooges fame] and Michael Davis [of MC-5 fame] joined the band morphing their sound into Punk.  

D.A.M. were considered Detroit’s first punk band opening up for THE RAMONES, PERE UBU, DEVO, etc. Laurence and his twin brother Ben left their mark on their .A.M.’s first two singles; “You’re Gonna Die b/w Bored” and “November 22nd 1963 b/w Meet The Creeper” released on their manager’s private label IDBI Records. These were later released in FRANCE on Revenge Records (1989) along with other singles and out-takes entitled “Nov. 22nd 1963 / Singles & Rarities”.  There were two other songs recorded during that studio session both penned by Laurence and Ben; Broken Mirrors and Taken For Granite.  They were never mixed or released and the masters have been lost. Laurence and Ben left the group in October 1978 over conflicting creative interests. 

XANADU [X-D.A.M. members] had a 7" 33rpm EP of rehearsals pressed called DAYS OF DIAMONDS in the later part of 1978
as well as an interesting 4-song 7" 33rpm studio EP called ‘BLACK OUT IN THE CITY’.  Black Out in the City was released January 1979 on Black Hole Records. [Both Black Out in the City and Days of Diamonds were re-released as an L.P. on
Detroit's label, THIRD MAN RECORDS in February of 2017.]

In 1978, Laurence met the late Donna Sevakis and by 1979 they were well on their way creating a family together. Despite the ups & downs in their relationship they produced three beautiful daughters; Tara, Ashia, and Brittany. Another child, Brenten, was fostered later in another relationship of Donna's after she and Laurence went their separate ways in 1983.  [Donna's voice is heard on the title cut of XANADU'S "Blackout in the City".]

THE EIGHTIES:
Laurence continued working with his twin brother during the first half of the 80's, co-leading Ann Arbor’s post-punk bands THE SAME BAND, THE OTHER BAND, and NON-FICTION.  NON-FICTION was a well rehearsed power-trio mixing hard pop with the avant-garde and was one of 12 bands picked for Ann Arbor’s 1st compilation LP “Cruzin’ Ann Arbor” 1982. This record featured a song written by Laurence called Walkie-Talkie and received favorable reviews nationwide. In 1984, after reaching local notoriety, co-billing with such bands as DREAM SINDICATE, THE REPLACEMENTS, etc, NON-FICTION released a half-live half-studio double LP cassette called WALKING SIDEWAYS TALKING BACKWARDS. This was  considered by The Detroit Metro Times as “...best local release of the year!..”  All that said, disheartened by local club politics, Nonfiction broke up in Spring 1985.

As a side project during the early 1980's Laurence worked with his twin brother in an experimental band, LOW INCOME ZONE. A short lived group which morphed into two separate bands; RADIO SILENCE and G.K.W. (God Knows Who) acting as a creative release. RADIO SILENCE was Laurence's band, considering themselves punk-jazz. They released a self-titled cassette featuring a "live" set on side A followed by home recordings on side B. Brother Ben played alto saxophone on the production. Laurence also worked with his brother's project avant gaurde project G.K.W (God Knows Who)  with spoken word and clarinet.  G.K.W. released several cassettes over the course of the mid-80's which Laurence participated in under the a.k.a. moniker, Larynx Bond. G.K.W. gained notoriety when recognized by Laurie Anderson in the world of performance art.

Laurence spent the rest of that decade as band leader and chief songwriter for THE EMPTY SET, an offshoot of NON-FICTION.  Networking out of L.A., THE EMPTY SET recorded extensively show-casing in LA., Chicago, Detroit, Boston, NYC, and Toronto.  

In 1986 they released a 4-song 7” EP entitled “Wandering In Wonder”, and again in 1988 their full length LP “Lost In a Ryptide” hailed by Detroit Metro Times as “...a ten-song work of art!...”  Both were on their own label, LALA Records.  During that time Laurence performed many of these songs unplugged on 12-string acoustic guitar as LAURENCE BOND, releasing a handful of self-produced multi-track cassettes, locally in Ann Arbor.

In the fall of 1989, Laurence and his two brothers Ben and Roger formed a recording collective, they called M3.  The Millers Three recorded a wild collection of original compositions and improvisations later released in 1993 on SST’s subsidiary label, New Alliance Records. This selftitled Cd was reviewed in GUITAR PLAYER Magazine in June of that year as “...one of the richest guitar albums to emerge this year…  Later the same year Roger was hailed as “one of 30 most original American guitarist of the ‘80’s…”  

THE NINTIES:
By early 1990 Laurence got sober via AA's divinely inspired 12-Step Program. He then formed his own record label & publishing company; FarFetched Records & Bond Voyage Music, parting ways with THE EMPTY SET in late 1991. 

He had recorded many camp-rock originals in the late '80's in his home studio performing all tracks himself and now felt fit to release these, as his brand new right-brainchild, LARYNX ZILLION'S NOVELTY SHOP. Remaining an obscure local cult phenomena, this group ended up with 5 releases to it's credit that decade;

1) 7” one song picture-disc flexi as a special larboard mix w/postcard included.
2) 9” six song flexi compilation called ‘The Collection’
3) Cassette collection with 2 bonus tracks called ‘The Complete Collection’
4) Transparent yellow 7” Vinyl 345 rpm called "Songs of Recovery [from anything or anyone]"
5) 4-song special mix cassette featuring current members of The Shop, called “Queen of Queens”. This was to be their upcoming preview release pushing their double-length feature "Hotter Than The Dickens!" which didn't see the light of day until spring 2016 after Laurence reformed this millenium’s short-lived ensemble under the same name, LARYNX ZILLION'S NOVELTY SHOP.

Meanwhile, M3’s self-titled collection came out in 1993 on SST’s subsidiary label, New Alliance Records, along with an LP by SPROTON LAYER called “With Magnetic Fields Disrupted”. NOTE: This highly inspired if not somewhat naive collection of original psych-rock from their teen years found later success in a far superior remastered reissue Germany’s WORLD IN SOUND RECORDS in 2013.

It must be noted that for a brief time during Zillion’s reign Laurence returned to his power-pop trio roots with a three piece called GORDON GIGANTIC. Although short lived, GORDON GIGANTIC’S self titled cassette, hit Top 10 on the Ann Arbor ‘zine, AGENDA’s List of “Best of ‘95”. This band featured Tony Archer on drums. This was finally packaged and released on CD for Laurence’s label during the Covid pandemic.

In the summer of 1996, shortly after regrouping LARYNX ZILLION’S NOVELTY SHOP for one last blowout, Miller chose to hang up his electrical performances for a good long time.  As in the mid-80’s, he again paired down to solo acoustic guitar, nervously hooking up with the New Folk revival.  Unplugging the cream of his older crop, mixed with a handful of recent material, LAURENCE BOND MILLER began playing out the local open mics and coffee shop venues in the Detroit/Metro area.  In the fall of that year, Miller recorded 10 originals, titled Laurence w/ a “U” as his first self-produced acoustic release in ten years.  Sadly, today’s Folk audience had a greater need for rehashed 60’s sentiments and politics than the landscape Laurence set out to offer;  Bitingly beautiful introspection, somewhere between Sylvia Plath and Robin Hitchcock… [Many solo recordings of Laurence’s during the 1990’s were eventually mixed and released on his own label during the Covid Pandemic.]

It should also be noted that there was a period in the mid 90's where Laurence put together a mock lounge act called MEZZANINE.  Over time, well into the new millennium, this project evolved into the sophisticated amalgamation VELVETEEN BLUE . “...cross between a bloody "Blue Eyes" and "The King" on bad acid...”  [several CD collections were finally packaged and released on Laurence’s label during the Covid pandemic]

Laurence continued too, writing and recording so-called alternative rock songs in his home studio throughout the 1900’s. Several CD collections were finally packaged and released on his own label during the Covid pandemic.

MISTER LAURENCE and his Play Money Band: By 1998 Laurence reinvented himself, creating a music program for children in the local preschools. He began to perform as a Children’s Entertainer throughout SE Michigan in various family fairs, festivals, book stores, libraries, and birthday parties.

His immediate bonding with the kids stemmed from his own single parenting experience and inspired him to continue. As with all teachers in the preschool community, he had been addressed by his first name, hence Mister Laurence. Over the next 15 years, with the help of his prerecorded backup group, The Play Money Band, "Mister Laurence" single-handedly wrote, recorded, and released over 10 children's CD's, produced award winning children's music video collections, a Community Television Show for kids called Mister Laurence’s Enchanted Green Treefort, as well as a radio personality once a month for several years on WCBN 88.3 with the help of local DeJay Sean Westergaard. Mister Laurence continues to perform solo to this day. [NOTE: In 2009 his wife joined with him on stage playing keyboards and vocals along with her own animatronic drumming bear, producing award winning music videos and two CD collections!]

The Millers Three (M3) got together again in 1999 to record their 2nd CD entitled UNEARTHING. This collection was entirely improvised, and released on Sublingual Records in 2001. They gave one single "live" performance that year in Chicago to an enthusiastic crowd.

THE NEW MILLENNIUM

VELVETEEN BLUE
In 2003 Laurence brought back his tongue n' cheek vision of MEZZANINE, renaming the outfit VELVETEEN BLUE, partly after David Lynch's film Blue Velvet.  Though managing a gig at the prestigious Ann Arbor jazz venue The Fire Fly Club VELVETEEN BLUE quickly transgressed into an existential stand up comic routine and from there, returned to star dust.

Having said that, they did manage a Finalist Award at The 2004 Philo T. Farnsworth Festival for their music video SHOOT THE PIANO MAN. This collection was a mix of both their originals and cover tunes. End of story. NOTE: A comic routine expression of this band idea with saxophonist twin brother Benjamin Miller took place as an opener for Larynx Zillion's debut show at Ann Arbor's Grotto Club in April 2016.

MILLER & KATSUMI
2003 also fave rise to an alternative folk duo when Laurence paired up with good friend Katsumi Nagae. During their 4 year stint they produced a decent "live" CD/DVD from a performance at Ypsilanti's Dreamland Theater. The two recorded several quality tracks over the course of their time together, with an eventual CD collection released during the Covid pandemic. The officially folded in 2007.

FILM
Though children's music remains Miller's main focus, even to this day, the idea of getting into FILM had been in the back of his mind for decades. The itch finally took root in 2004 and continued into 2014.  Laurence produced short experimental narrative films with screenings and awards from various national festivals. Lights Out, Turn a Left and Down the Hall, Mysterio Walks, Nad & Stacey, In Outside, and Park it for Me, Sweetheart to name a few. His last major production was a family friendly musical film called GROWING GRAPES FOR THE FUTURE featuring the Mister Laurence Experience and other ‘miming’ musicians. Hopes were to finish scripting a follow up sequel. That idea was reconfigured into a novelette called AQUALUNG SECRET:  PROJECT DU-PLO. Hopes are for an online publishing in 2027.

BROKEN WARRIORS
It should be added that Laurence began writing faith-based material 2006 to 2011, inspired by his experiences at The Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor. A collection of songs were recorded at home resulting in a collection called Awake in You.

MY BIOGRAPHY
Laurence formed a new band in November of 2007 called MY BIOGRAPHY. Drummer Tony Archer came up with the name, the same cat who drummed and named Gordon Gigantic! My Biography was again a cross between Miller's earlier bands Nonfiction and The Empty Set.  The band folded in 2010 but not after producing a series of recordings as well as a fine community television music video. A CD collection was finally packaged and released on Laurence’s label during the Covid pandemic.

THE COLOR OF WATER
It was around this time too that watercolor painting became a passion of his. Laurence had dabbled in his youth with scribbly two-dimensional designs and color drawings using pencil or pen and always executed under the influence. Now long since sober & clean Miller began to re-render the most inspired of these on a larger scale. In 2010 he began working on a visual audio art film project with his twin brother called THE COLOR OF WATER. Filming the process as he painted using an aerial camera mount, Laurence later edited the raw footage producing a surreal presentation with Benjamin recording textural soundtrack material underneath. 2011 saw the end result of this joint effort with two DVD collections. The two brothers put on an Ann Arbor Art-Show in 2014 at the Burns Park Senior Center. Self taught, Laurence continues to paint today.

THE MISTER LAURENCE EXPERIENCE
2009 was a big year that saw "Mister Laurence" expanding his children's presentation from a solo karaoke styled performer into
a duo with the beauty & brains of Ms. Princess Melinda on keyboards and vocals.  That fall they released their new Cd MARMALINE My Music Machine with a debut performance. Mister Laurence's "expanding experience" began to take hold!

In 2010 a third band member was added making it a full blown kiddie-rock power trio!  OSO the Drumming Bear (animatronic brainchild of Ms. Princess Melinda) hit the scene kicking royal butt in their award winning music video "I'm GLAD
at You!" with a real life debut performance in December of that year.  The band continued to produce wild kid-friendly music videos including; Star Fish, The Sky is in the Sky, How Now Brown Cow?, The Teddy Bear’s Picnic, and Three Blind Mic. They
also created an award winning community television children's variety show called MISTER LAURENCE'S "Enchanted"
GREEN TREE FORT winning 1st Place NATAO Award in the fall of 2010. The group officially broke up as a performing band in fall of 2013. Laurence and Melinda did however complete the production of their full length family-friendly near-zero-budget musical film Growing Grapes for the Future  with an official screening at Ann Arbor's Yellow Room in May 2014 to a full house.

EXPLODED VIEW
Laurence hooked up with twin bother Benjamin Miller in 2014  forming a neo-psych-rock recording project called EXPLODED VIEW. This idea came on the heels of SPROTON LAYER'S come-back-tour of 2013. The two had interest and backing from Germany's WORLD IN SOUND RECORDS which of course fueled their hopes in the matter. Their recording was slow as they lost backing, saved by a good friend Matthew Becker in paying off their studio debt. The project was finally completed around 2018 and is now set for release, fall 2026 on 2128 Records out of Chicago. Meanwhile, their six-song EP CD release 'TRANSPOSING TIME' did hit the Covid streets in August 2020.

LARYNX ZILLION'S NOVELTY SHOP
2016 saw the short lived resurrection of LARYNX ZILLION'S NOVELTY SHOP featuring;
 
LARYNX ZILLION: Vocals, Guitar, and The Mosquito.
VOXXY SOX: Vocals, Hand Percussion, Bubbles, Hula-hoop, and Movement
WILLY THE BARBER: Synth Keyboard
KATSUMI ZOOMI: Bass
Ginger the Giraffe: Band Mascot.

THE NEW SHOP performed in the Detroit Metro area for a good year, then lost their drummer. They regrouped with canned drums [ripped from the original 1990’s master tapes] but this too soon dissolved. They did their best to finish recording the collection they'd started featuring old and new material. This production finally came to fruition, released on bandcamp summer 2020. An EP and CD Single both under the name 'OPEN 24/7'.

LAURENCE MILLER AND THE LOVE MANIACS
Laurence then surprised himself in 2017 while rethinking his roots, and formed an old school hard rock R&B band called LAURENCE MILLER AND THE LOVE MANIACS. Imagine Fats Domino in Chicago Blues format with heavy guitar and a few originals following suit. Though the band died during Covid, their CD Collection called FROM THE TAR PITS OF LOVE was officially released on bandcamp early 2022.

EMPOOL
Laurence reformed this band, originally from the mid-70's, with twin brother Benjamin in late 2017. The complete opposite of
The Love Maniacs dare I say. Reason behind the move was sparked by east coast's Feeding Tube Records releasing a vinyl LP
of original recordings from 1976 on July 27th 2018. "Live" performances went surprisingly well until the pandemic hit. Laurence
was then busy at home digitizing master tapes from yesteryear, remixing/mastering well over 30 CD Collections on his own label and on bandcamp.

TINN PARROW AND HIS CLAPFOLD PLATUNE
It was during the pandemic, too, when Cuneiform Records picked up two batches of vintage recordings from THE FOURTH WORLD QUARTET. A Neo-classical free-form jazz quartet run by The Miller Bros., Jack Waterstone, and Denman Maronie back
in 1975. These collections were released in 2021 and 2022 respecticely, meeting rave reviews and cementing Laurence’s relationship with the label.

Next up was a new recorded collection called MILLER TWINS. Freshly reinterpreted compositions taken from their 1970’s catalog recorded with twin brother Ben. Again, this massive 30 tune collection was then released on Cuneiform in 2022 receiving rave reviews as well.

Laurence was then inspired enough to form a new spazz-jazz whole-tonal Dada-rock ensemble he called Tinn Parrow and his Clapfold Platune. This group features a handful of Detroit Metro players and has already recorded and released a wild 7”
vinyl EP called “Help! I’m in the Phone Book!” During this same time Laurence recorded another studio collection called MY GYMNASIUM MUSEUM employing many of his new bandmates as well as his twin brother Ben. Again, Cuneiform picked this up in 2024 with flying colors. It too was received well in the press community. And again now, over the past year, a recording of his to be called TINN PARROW’S BATS IN THE BELFRY on Cuneiform Records promised for release in 2027!

DEXTER SINESTRA
Breaking News states Laurence has just formed yet another power pop rock trio with x-drummer Tony Archer (of Gordon Gigantic and My Biography fame) along with bassist and harmony vocalist, Lee Martin. A new CD EP called I FOUGHT THE LAW has been recorded and pressed, as the band now begins playing out in the real world in real time. Eyes and Ears peeled to the ground.

From 1969 to 1971 (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Laurence played drums in Sproton Layer, a psychedelic rock quartet with brothers' Roger (Mission Of Burma, Binary System, Alloy Orchestra) and Benjamin (Destroy All Monsters, Nonfiction, degeneration). With all band members still in High School, Sproton Layer opened up for both Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen and Carnal Kitchen (with sax player Andy Mackay). "With Magetic Fields Disrupted" was recorded in 1970 and initially released on New Alliance Records in 1992. The group was described as "Syd Barrett fronting Cream" in the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azzarad. This obscure recording has been remastered and re-released 2011 on the German label WORLD OF SOUND with a 20+ page fold-out.

In 1976, Laurence and twin brother Ben joined with Cary Loren's Destroy All Monsters. In 1977,
as Destroy All Monsters' second incarnation, Ron Asheton (The Stooges) and Michael Davis (The MC5) joined the party, and for the next two years this Ann Arbor/Detroit-based punk band pumped out a haphazard wall of sound opening up for Sonic Rendezvous, Pere Ubu, The Ramones, Devo, Lydia Lunch, Suicide, The Romantics, The Stranglers, and many others. Laurence and Ben left the band late 1978 due to creative differences, but before doing so left their mark on the band's first two singles; “You’re Gonna Die b/w Bored” and “November 22nd 1963 b/w Meet The Creeper". There were two songs recorded during that studio session, both penned by Laurence and Ben, which to this day remain unreleased;  Taken For Granite and Broken Mirrors.

"... While not as well known as the Stooges or the MC5, Destroy All Monsters
were another Ann Arbor band whose influence far outstretched its life as an
active band. Combining art punk, free jazz, garage rock and lead singer
Niagara's histrionics, Destroy All Monsters were the hidden link between
the Velvet Underground and no-wave bands like Sonic Youth..."
Josh Steichmann ANN ARBOR CURRENT Sept. 2004

XANADU, a recording collective made up of x-members of Destroy All Monsters quickly formed, producing a 4-song 7" EP entitled
"Blackout in the City" released in January 1979.

"...Black Out in the City begins with “No Change” as a pre-recorded toddler’s voice counts off “1-2-3-4”, but when the guitar bursts in like a twitching Ronnie Montrose overdosed on diet pills, the riffs come fast and furious and rock out to the max. As well they should, because they’re pushed up in the mix to dwarf everything but the Lou Reed vocals of Larry Miller who deadpans against his guitar riffs behind cool black shades. It really is one of the most unpredictable guitar lines ever as it stops, starts before it then begins all over again but never loses the rhythm for a second, which nearly herky-jerks itself off into a fit. It’s almost like Radio Birdman playing within a hollowed-out Rush exoskeleton -- but minus all the excruciating drum fills, temple bells, crotales and gong-a-gongs. The guitar is searching its pockets for yet another reason to riff on, and suspending disbelief, it manages to in the most incredible way. Miller searches his back pocket -- there’s another one! -- And from his left jeans pocket: another. It’s as though he had so many great ideas for riffs he couldn’t decide so compromised by chucking them all in and be damned with the consequences, which are awesome. Or he’s about to forget how to play guitar permanently by session’s end, so he’s got to get them all out right now. It’s a run on sentence of verbal guitar tersely reigned in against the pre-recorded rhythm guitar and faint drumming, which is bulldozed to the back wall. What did they treat the water supply of Michigan with -- amphetamines?!! Miller’s still singing behind his shades, interrupting his previous guitar line with yet another different one, and never once does it scatter into discord, but it dares to at any moment. Under-recorded handclaps then go neck and neck with an ever-stinging solo that stretches beyond the limits of its capabilities as it reaches out and throttles it out to the horizon of its eternal tangledness far beyond the fade out.

The Seth Man, Book of Seth / Dec 2000

Laurence continued working with his twin brother during the first half of the 80's, co-leading Ann Arbor’s post-punk bands THE SAME BAND, THE OTHER BAND, and NON-FICTION.  NON-FICTION, a well rehearsed power-trio mixing hard pop with the avant-garde, was one of 12 bands picked for Ann Arbor’s 1st compilation LP “Cruzin’ Ann Arbor” (1982).  This featured a song written by Laurence entitled Walkie-Talkie receiving favorable reviews nationwide. 

“...Nonfiction is perhaps the most creative and exciting band in Ann Arbor. An outgrowth of the Same Band, Nonfiction is composed of Ben Miller, his twin brother Larry and former Confessions drummer Bill Frank. Drawing upon influences as rich as Eno, Hendrix, MX-80 Sound and Pere Ubu, the trio has come up with an unusual fusion. In live performance, Nonfiction is simultaneously danceable, intelligent and funny. Though they are the supporting act on the bill, their set should be the musical highlight of the night..."

Bill Brown, The Ann Arbor News / 21 August 1982

In 1984, after reaching local notoriety, co-billing with such bands as The Replacements, Dream Sindicate and Lydia Lunch 8-Eyed Spy,  NON-FICTION released a half-live half-studio double LP cassette called "Walking Sideways, Talking Backwards".

“...best local release of the year!..”

Detroit Metro Times Dec 1984

The band, disheartened by local club politics, disbanded in Spring 1985.
Miller decided to then go solo and began writing and playing out "unplugged". He opened for established local groups RHYTHM CORE and MAP OFTHE WORLD. Without a record label behind him, Miller went at it alone, recording 7 self-produced four-track cassette tapes on his own. Vinyl and CD were beyond affordable (unlike today where one records and burns at home. The collection of these recordings made it to his Solo CD collection "DEMONSTRATION" at the turn of the millennium. This acoustic direction helped fuel the softer side he'd lost during the punk years and a year later for the remainder of that decade, Laurence
continued as band leader songwriter for THE EMPTY SET. Networking out of L.A., this band recorded extensively, showcasing in LA., Chicago, Detroit, Boston, NYC, and Toronto, opening up for such bands as Hoodoo Gurus and NoMan.
In 1986, they released a 4-song 7” EP entitled “Wandering In Wonder”, and again in 1988, their full length LP “Lost In a Ryptide”
Detroit Metro Times [June 1988]

In the fall of 1989, Laurence and his brother, Ben and Roger (Mission of Burma) formed the recording collective M3 and began working on a collection of original compositions and improvisations, eventually released in 1993 on SST’s subsidiary label, New Alliance Records. This was the first time all three brothers worked together since their late 1960's acid rock band, SPROTON LAYER.

"...M3 self-titled debut CD; one of the richest guitar albums to emerge this year…  
Guitar Player Magazine / June 1993