"When I met Lyle Mays, right off the bat we had an incredible rapport," says Metheny. "I had a little momentum going after winning a few jazz magazine polls as 'talent deserving wider recognition' and the previous records I'd made were well received. When I started the band, I was able to pay Lyle $30 a night, and Danny Gottlieb and Mark Egan $25 each. We were earning between $100 and $400 a night. I took the money that I'd saved from working with Gary and from when I had a paper route as a kid and bought a van and Lyle's polyphonic Oberheim synthesizer."

Metheny and company began to tour in May of 1977. They criss-crossed the country in the van taking every gig that came in. Metheny remembers one week when they played in Seattle on a Thursday, Dallas on Sunday, and Quebec City on Tuesday and took filler gigs at points in between. With few breaks, Metheny essentially stayed on tour in the United States and abroad until 1992. "I want to let young people who read this know that I still believe that anyone who has something really strong musically and is willing to go out and play hundreds of gigs for little or no bread has a very good chance of developing an audience on their own terms. I meet a lot of jazz guys who are sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. It didn't work back in the 1970s, and I don't think it works now. You have to get out there to make something happen."