User:Ls883/Gutterbirds

Gutterbirds are an alternative rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, formed in 2011. The current lineup consists of Will Ackroyd (lead vocals), Jeremy Collard (drums, vocals), Ben Edwards (guitar, vocals), Mitch Saunders (bass, vocals), and Rion Waddleton (live guitar).

Early beginnings and formation (2010)
Gutterbirds were formed in 2011 by William Ackroyd and Jeremy Collard, who met whilst attending Melton Christian College in Melton, Victoria. After graduating a year apart from each other, the duo had begun communicating via the social networking site Facebook throughout mid-2010. Ackroyd was a big fan of poetry and thus conversed with Collard to review and give feedback on his own pieces over private messages and email. After a few months Ackroyd proposed that they form a band together given Collard's diverse musical surroundings and experience as a developing session drummer. He was formally taught by Mat Irsak and more recently Adrian De Luca, both professional drum tutors – the latter mentor specializing in classical/orchestral composition and currently the head of drums and percussion at Emmaus College in Burwood, Victoria.

Still without a working title, the pair recruited Ben Edwards, a friend of Ackroyd's from Werribee, Victoria who was studying TAFE guitar performance at JMC Academy, who then enlisted the help of schoolmate Jimmy Buysen, an audio engineering student and occasional saxophonist to fill in the bassist position. Edwards' longtime childhood friend, Rion Waddleton, joined up for live guitar. This initial 5-piece lineup is credited to writing the band's initial songs (primarily Collard/Edwards, with an occasional Buysen credit on both official songs and shelved) as well as the genesis of the band title: the band went through a number of short-lived names drawn out of a hat, including Moonbound, Frank Libido, and Vegan Police (a deliberate reference to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) before finally settling on Gutterbirds.

Buysen played for several months, but was unable to remain in the lineup as a result of a need to focus on his studies and irreconcilable creative differences with the rest of the band. However he left on good terms with the rest of the band members eventually leading up to a working partnership where he helped engineer/produce the band's self-titled EP later in October that year. Edwards shares this sentiment: "At least he'll be part of the documentary!"

Searching to occupy this vacant role, the group went through a procession of bassists throughout the year, including Thomas Elliott – a budding film production student, before settling on another childhood friend of Edwards', Mitch Saunders. However, the rest of the band considered Saunders an ideal bassist because of his charismatic appearance and overall approach to group composition.

Gutterbirds EP (2011–12)
The band is set to release their self-titled debut EP in February/March 2012. In anticipation, a 1-minute trailer (filmed by Elliott) depicting its recording process was released onto Vimeo on October 18, 2011. On December 31, a 7-minute instrumental medley of songs from the EP was uploaded onto Collard's personal Soundcloud account as a New Year's gift.

The band intends to promote the EP throughout 2012 with small club and festival performances within Melbourne.

Current

 * Will Ackroyd – lead vocals (2010–present)
 * Jeremy Collard – drums, programming, backing vocals (2010–present)
 * Ben Edwards – guitar, backing vocals (2011–present)
 * Mitch Saunders – bass, guitar, backing vocals (December 2011–present)
 * Rion Waddleton – live guitar (2011–present)

Former

 * Jimmy Buysen – bass, backing vocals (January 2011–July 2011)
 * Thomas Elliott – bass (August 2011–November 2011)

Albums and EPs

 * Gutterbirds EP (2012)

Singles

 * "Roses" (2012)