[3] Doerr also toured extensively with the band throughout Europe and the US and gave a memorable performance on Austin City Limits[4] before leaving the group in 1986 to pursue other interests.

[5] In 1986, Doerr formed the alternative band Ballad Shambles[6] with long-time collaborator and guitarist Bill Anderson (formerly of The Meat Purveyors), bassist Michael Maye (with whom Doerr appears[7] on the Grammy-nominated "Big Guitars from Texas"[8] in the album credits among those providing "yells, special effects, insanity, hoopla and bat-craziness"), and drummer Stan Moore (formerly of Zakary Thaks).

When Ballad Shambles disbanded in 1988, Doerr and Anderson formed Hand of Glory[6] with bassist Tim Swingle and drummer Mike Navarro.

Hand of Glory released two studio LPs and a single, "Like a Nightmare," recorded live in Berlin on the Skyclad label before disbanding in 1992.

Exhausted by incessant touring, Doerr became temporarily disillusioned with the music scene; he returned to academe, having dropped out of St. Louis University in 1982.