Johnny Cash, and decided to form their own band. Paul Deakin, a friend of Reynolds's and native of Ohio, was chosen as drummer. Completing the original lineup was lead guitarist Ben Peeler, a native of Jackson, Mississippi. They immediately began touring throughout the Miami area, primarily at venues that typically booked rock bands. This was because the band wanted to perform original songs, while most of the country music-themed venues at the time preferred acts that performed cover songs instead. In late 1990, The Mavericks released their self-titled debut album on a local independent label called Y&T Music. Malo wrote every song on the album. Musical career 19921993: From Hell to Paradise Due to the independent album's success throughout the Miami music community, the band was invited to perform for a showcase in Nashville, Tennessee, at which talent scouts for major country music labels were present. One of these labels, MCA Nashville, signed the band in May 1991. According to Colin Larkin in the Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music, the band was signed before they had finished their soundcheck. Peeler was fired from his role as guitarist in October 1991 due to concerns from the other three band members and their then-manager that his playing was not suitable for a country music band. He was replaced by David Lee Holt, a session musician who had also played for Joe Ely and Carlene Carter. After Holt Joined, the band began recording their first MCA album From Hell to Paradise at Miami-based Criteria Studios late in 1991. Malo wrote the title track, which was about his parents emigrating from Cuba to the United States. He co-produced it with guitarists Richard Bennett and Steve Fishell, both of whom also played on the album. The album was released in May 1992 and charted one single a month later: a cover of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'", which the band took to number 74 on Billboard Hot Country Songs. Sandra Schulman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wrote that this album "reflected their Miami roots with social issues of homelessness and immigrant rights shoehorned in with the boot-kicking country ballads". Rating it "B+", Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Some of the group’s writing could use a finer bead, but the Mavericks earn major points for integrating the hillbilly heart of the masters with the consciousness and muscle of the contemporary generation." Holt quit the