The Escorts evolved into the Allman Joys, the brothers' first successful band. After a successful summer run locally, they hit the road in fall 1965 for a series of performances throughout the Southeast; their first show outside Daytona was at the Stork Club in Mobile, Alabama, where they were booked for 22 weeks straight. Afterwards, they were booked at the Sahara Club in nearby Pensacola, Florida, for several weeks. Allman later regarded Pensacola as "a real turning point in my life", as it was where he learned how to capture audiences and about stage presence. He also received his first Vox keyboard there, and learned how to play it over the ensuing tour. By the following summer, they were able to book time at a studio in Nashville, where they recorded several songs, aided by a plethora of drugs. These recordings were later released as "Early Allman" in 1973, to Allman's dismay. He soon grew tired of performing covers and began writing original compositions. They settled in St. Louis, Missouri for a time, where in the spring of 1967 they began performing alongside Johnny Sandlin and Paul Hornsby, among others, under various names. They considered disbanding, but Bill McEuen, manager of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, convinced the band to relocate to Los Angeles, giving them the funds to do so.