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In early 1975, while waiting for a call from the Navy to ship out to basic and attend the Armed Forces School of Music with hopes of joining Bob Hope's USO Tour of Southeast Asia, I got a call from a former high school chum named Steve Holland who had moved to Florida. He said he had given up drumming, switched to guitar and gotten a gig with a local band. They needed a sub-drummer for two weeks and Steve got me the gig. They paid my expenses and two weeks fees in advance. We rehearsed in a warehouse, played local clubs 3 nights a week and on weekends opened concerts along the Gulf Coast for Lynyrd Skynyrd who were already well on their way to super-stardom. Ronnie Van Zant was involved with Steve's band producing demos using Lynyrd Skynyrd's recording equipment and introducing them to industry pros and I recall him as a super nice guy. My two weeks with the band was memorable, and they ultimately offered me the seat, but, the Navy had finally called when someone retired or died and I went my own way, the USO tour cancelled due to Viet Nam winding down, but I became featured soloist in The US Navy Steel Band for their Bicentennial Tour of the US in 1976. Based at NSA New Orleans, we often drove to Jacksonville to catch Steve and the boys as they climbed the southern rock ladder and rubbed elbows with Skynyrd,.38 Special and the Allman's. In 1978, when Steve's band went Platinum with their first album, Molly Hatchet, I wondered if I had made the right decision. No regrets, but what a wild ride in "Gator Country".