Peter C Lewis says joining Machel Montano and Xtatik taught him that friendship and professional performance were two entirely different things. Lewis recalled that he and Montano were already friends before he joined the band, but his first performance with the group in Tobago quickly showed him how seriously Montano approached stagecraft. According to Lewis, the performers had specific movements and positioning on stage, requiring members to respond to one another and maintain visual symmetry during performances. Lewis said he stood in the wrong place during that first show and immediately recognised from Montano’s reaction that the stage was a working environment where discipline came first. He said the experience helped him understand that entertainment had to be treated as a profession rather than simply a social activity between friends. Lewis later credited the environment around Montano with teaching him important lessons about preparation, rehearsal and execution. He said members would sometimes talk through an entire performance before rehearsing it physically, planning where everyone would move and how the show would unfold before taking the stage.