During this break David First plays in an ensemble formed by avant-jazz legend Cecil Taylor that performed at Carnegie Hall.
Also during this time First studies guitar & jazz theory with renowned instructor Dennis Sandole and analog & computer synthesis through auditing classes at Princeton University.
He befriends a grad-student there who admires his nascent constructions and arranges to allow him unlimited access to the largely abandoned classical electronic music studio and tape machines where, driving up from Philadelphia, he creates his first works for the medium in after-hours sessions.
Mostly they are met with confusion or disdain, but they make one important ally in David Carroll – Philadelphia's punk rock impresario who continues to book them despite the lack of local support.
After more than two years of rehearsing six nights a week in the basement of Bilenky's father's hair salon (Beauty on a Budget) and being met mostly with resistance from the Philadelphia scene- The Notekillers feel physically and emotionally burnt out.
After finishing the recording, they take what is planned to be a six-month break to assess their lives and try to allow First to heal from repetitive stress/carpal tunnel syndrome, an ailment that had nagged him since soon after the band's inception.
During this early period time he led bands & ensembles such as Flatland Oscillators, The World Casio Quartet, and The Koan Pool.
His ensembles included such artists as violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Jane Scarpantoni, Trumpeter Frank London & Saxophonist Ulrich Krieger.
As the 90's began, and up to the present, First continued developing an international reputation, receiving numerous grants, awards and much critical acclaim ("a fascinating artist with a singular technique" in The New York Times, and "a bizarre cross between Hendrix and La Monte Young" in The Village Voice.)
After experimenting with adding beats to his drone music for a couple of years and doing some crossing over into the ambient techno scene, First begins in 1998 recording what he calls his "pop" album - Universary - subtitled "Songs, Drones and Refrains of life" that features Jane Scarpantoni, Shelly Hirsch, Michael Blake, Ulrich Krieger, Roy Campbell, Zeena Parkins, Bob Hoffnar, Tom Chiu, and First on guitar, vocals & programming.
In late 2001 Halkin received a call from an old friend informing him that Thurston Moore mentioned The Notekillers in an article in the winter 2001 issue of Mojo Collections magazine, as part of a mix-tape saying “This is the tape I made for the band when we were starting out” and “we have to find out who these guys are”.
First contacted Moore – who he knew from his time spent in the New York City scene, and tells him that he, in fact, was a member of the band.
First proceeds to go through boxes of cassette and reel-to-reel tapes, listening to tracks he hasn't heard in years in order to compile the best possible archival material for the Ecstatic Peace!
In the winter of 2009 a much sparer set of overdubs is completed and in early 2010 mixing is begun by sound engineer Yianni Papadopoulos.
Recently the Notekillers contributed a track - Cream Puff War - to a Grateful Dead tribute album TBR in the fall of 2011 by Prophase Records.