User talk:Ryanjay

Take The Helm is a rock band formed in Darwin, Australia. The band draws influence from several rock styles based on each members' taste but the band's sound is of a style similar to Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and late 1980's and early 1990's punk rock.

The band was formed by Alex Cameron (guitar and vocals), Michael Gooding (lead guitar) and Ryan Zerbe (drums) in 2003 after the three finished high school. The group started having jam sessions during high school and decided to begin writing original material and play gigs. The group played several gigs around Darwin before Zerbe left at the beginning of 2005 to attend university. Several months later, Luke Shepard and Graeme Gowd joined Take the Helm and the group continued to play and gain popularity in the Darwin music scene.

Gowd eventually left the band to travel interstate and was replaced by Plonker (another Darwin rock band) drummer, Fletcher Bowman. Bowman brought a tight rock drumming style to the band as opposed to Gowd's more frenzied style. Shepard, a skilled guitarist and bassist, added complex bass lines to back Cameron and Gooding’s heavy guitar riffs and solos. Not long after he joined Take the Helm, Bowman left Plonker to devote all his time to Take the Helm.

The band recorded an EP in late 2005 with Colin Simpson at Blackbunny Studios. The EP is due to be released around mid 2006. Cameron and Gooding both moved to Melbourne in February 2006 to attend RMIT. Shepard joined the Royal Australian Air Force and Bowman remained in Darwin where he will undoubtedly continue playing in bands. Cameron and Gooding and are currently looking for a drummer and bassist to restart Take the Helm in Melbourne.