The Band was a band BEFORE they played with Dylan. They had come together, one by one, to back an old rocker called Ronnie Hawkins and then set off in their own right. They made one or two singles and, at the time they were "found" by Dylan, they had a three-month residency playing a club in New Jersey. Not as big-time, perhaps, but a cohesive, experienced and well-honed band before the flood.