After a few years he again relocated to Santa Cruz, California, where he played with Humans, who toured with Squeeze and opened for Patti Smith and Iggy Pop.

Soon after that, Sandman called him and asked him to take part in a demo session that ended up being the band's second album, Cure for Pain.

In 1999 he made 15 appearances with Morphine, playing along with drummer Conway, shortly before Sandman died while performing in Italy in 1999, ending the band suddenly.

He participated in a formative version of the band Beat Circus in 2002, and joined the Boston group Bourbon Princess for an extended time.

He has also appeared as a session musician on records by Eric Hutchinson, Merrie Amsterburg, Jen Trynin, and James McMurtry.