They were joined shortly thereafter by bona fide bassist Joseph F. McCarthy Jr. and Dennis moved from bass to guitar, his forte.
Jim Dennis left amid rising tension in the wake of his expanding creative influence over Birdbrain's sound.
They rented a good deal of choice vintage gear, hired producer Tim Patalan[1] and got mixing and post-production work from Jack Joseph Puig at Electric Lady Studios (NY), as well as mastering with Howie Weinberg.
With a disappointing performance from manager Barbone, and Ammo having problems with illness, and no record distribution in place Benway refused to tour.
Barbone began working secretly to secure trademarks for Ammo and to develop a paper trail to create the appearance that Benway had resigned.
This business maneuvering ran to artistic matters when Barbone recruited her former client for the tour, metal drummer Lance Cole, who can be seen "stick-synching" to Benway's tracks in the video for "Youth of America".
The ensuing tour was cut short by low morale over Benway's banishment and Ammo's continuing problems with medical issues, as well as alcohol and drug addiction.
Thus all three of them, Benway, Ammo and Barbone, sat in the audience while Paula Cole, who swept the awards that year, attributed her success to her drummers influence.