HISTORY / COMMENTARY: The Hawg Band was the first band I had that traveled and with which I stayed for days at a time out of town. Our first trip was to Mobile where we played at a place called the Stork Club. It was not a great place but we were so glad to be 'on the road' that we had a great time. The last night, last set we were all ready to get paid, having checked out of the motel to avoid the cost of another night, I went to the bar to get money for the week and the bartender said the manager went to the bank and would be right back. We played the last song and tore down the equipment and loaded it in the trailer. All five of us were riding in my '56 Olds 98 and pulling a huge trailer. The manager, Marvin Broadus, was still not back and we still had no money. It was 4 A.M. and we were very tired and wired. The bartender tried everything he could to get us to leave but we didn't even have money for gas so we stayed and waited. He finally called the owner who turned out to be a member of the Mobile mafia. He came to the club at 5 A.M. with two big guys who were carrying guns and told us to get out. We were scared to death, except for Louis who never seemed to be scared of anything, but we refused to leave without the little bit we had coming after a week long bar tab. He finally gave us $400 and told us to get out. After paying for the motel for 4 nights and other expenses there was about $7 left for each of us. I should have taken that experience as a sign of how life would be on the road but it took another 5 years and an oil embargo to settle me down to a house gig at Bama Lanes' Keglers Kove.

This band played the Beach House in Biloxi (before there were casinos), Hattiesburg, Miss. at the Stoned Toad, New Orleans-Bourbon Street at the Ivanhoe, Daytona Beach, West Palm Beach, all over the Gulf coast, Pensacola at the Nite Owl, L.S.U., F.S.U., U.A., A.U., and a thousand other college fraternity and sorority houses around the southeast. We were really tight and had some unusually good three part harmony. The Sheehan brothers have always played together well and it was easy to sound good with that solid base.