<P> The group became a professional band in 1972 , adding drummer Bennett Vartanian and changing their name to Wildcountry . During this time , the group accepted a position playing at the nearby Canyonland theme park . The park would bring in established stars , such as Jerry Wallace , Bobby Bare , and Narvel Felts , and the band would back them , afterwards performing a one - hour dance set . After a while , with opportunities for the band slimmed , a discouraged Cook took a government job in Anniston , Alabama . Owen was studying English at Jacksonville State University , and Cook had an electronics job . The trio shared at $56 - a-month apartment in Anniston , working to keep the band afloat with night and weekend gigs . The group decided to become professional musicians in 1973 , and began performing at bars throughout the Southeast . In March , the band relocated to Myrtle Beach , South Carolina , performing six nights a week at a club named The Bowery for tips . They made their best money performing cover songs of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Merle Haggard . The group could not secure a record contract and began to self - finance recordings . The group borrowed $4,000 from a Fort Payne bank to record and release their own albums to sell at shows . Vartanian dropped out of the group , and following a rotation of four more drummers , they settled on Rick Scott in 1974 . </P>
<P> The group became a professional band in 1972 , adding drummer Bennett Vartanian and changing their name to Wildcountry . During this time , the group accepted a position playing at the nearby Canyonland theme park . The park would bring in established stars , such as Jerry Wallace , Bobby Bare , and Narvel Felts , and the band would back them , afterwards performing a one - hour dance set . After a while , with opportunities for the band slimmed , a discouraged Cook took a government job in Anniston , Alabama . Owen was studying English at Jacksonville State University , and Cook had an electronics job . The trio shared at $56 - a-month apartment in Anniston , working to keep the band afloat with night and weekend gigs . The group decided to become professional musicians in 1973 , and began performing at bars throughout the Southeast . In March , the band relocated to Myrtle Beach , South Carolina , performing six nights a week at a club named The Bowery for tips . They made their best money performing cover songs of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Merle Haggard . The group could not secure a record contract and began to self - finance recordings . The group borrowed $4,000 from a Fort Payne bank to record and release their own albums to sell at shows . Vartanian dropped out of the group , and following a rotation of four more drummers , they settled on Rick Scott in 1974 . </P>
when did alabama play at the bowery in myrtle beach
when did alabama play at the bowery in myrtle beach
1973
1973