jim murray left the group not long after they performed at the monterey international pop festival in june 1967. the band began a period of heavy touring on the west coast of the united states where they built up a solid following and featured on many star-studded bills at the avalon ballroom and the fillmore west. sound system pioneer, inventor, and engineer (and famous lsd chemist) owsley stanley regularly recorded concerts at major san francisco venues during this period, and his archive includes many quicksilver messenger service live performances from 1966 and 1967, which were released on his bear recordings label in 2008 and 2009.