New York City

New York City serves as an early measure of The Six’s promise. Around 1971, the band booked several shows there; during one performance at a Bowery bar, manager Rod Reyes was outside smoking and saw the group at close range. The city’s importance lies less in a detailed account of its streets than in the way this brief stop brings the band’s emerging identity into focus.

An Early Measure of Recognition

For Eddie Loving, New York was a place that made a musician feel established. That sense of recognition gives the booking weight beyond the shows themselves: the band was beginning to test its standing in a city associated with being somebody.

The Bowery Encounter

While The Six played the Bowery bar, Rod Reyes was outside. He later recalled Billy Dunne as conspicuously suited to the stage: confident in how he played to the crowd, with an emotional quality in his performance. Rod also judged that the band had a strong sound. His account identifies the qualities that made Billy—and the group around him—stand out, without establishing that this particular encounter directly led to a specific career decision.

Place in the Band’s Early Story

The New York shows mark a moment when The Six’s potential could be recognized beyond their immediate circle. Rod’s impression links Billy’s stage presence to the band’s musical promise, while Eddie’s recollection frames the city as a symbol of professional arrival. The episode is brief, but it places New York City among the early settings where the band’s ambition and public identity began to meet.