Since they were starting up in a basement, and knowing that the Beatles got their start in a sweaty, cavernous club in Liverpool, the boys decided to call themselves The Cellar Dwellers. The original band comprised Schreiber sophomores Doug Wood and Paul Brokaw, Schreiber, junior Paul Leary, and Manhasset High sophomore Steve Witherspoon on drums.
Between classes, homework, exams and after-school activities, the budding musicians practiced, and practiced, and practiced with tremendous enthusiasm, commitment and drive. Along the way, they discovered they had great camaraderie and a lot more talent than they initially thought. They felt ready to emerge from the basement. They decided they needed a manager to help them find a job, so they recruited good friend Butch Haude, a Schreiber junior, who quickly arranged the band’s first gig -- a dance at John Philip Sousa junior high school.