The event which drew the first members together to form the original band was the " Battle of the Bands" contest, which was held annually at the Central Ontario Exhibition in Kitchener, Ontario . I was there as a member of a band I had joined in high school called Homegrown, a cover band which played infrequently. After we were done performing, I was approached by Bruce Arnold and Ron Watson, two Kitchener musicians. They wanted to know if the keyboard player, Don Simmons, and I would like to form a band. I was in my last year of high school and was moving to Kitchener anyway, so I readily agreed to join, as did Don. It took quite some time to find a practice hall, but eventually we found a space in the top of a garage on Margaret St. in Kitchener , Ontario . The roof sloped to the walls and the space was so small that you had to crouch down when you moved around or if you weren't careful, you would bang your head on the ceiling.

Our first Soundman/Lightman/Road Manager was a little English guy from Liverpool by the name of Ken Heague. Ken would be a solid member of the band for the next 16 years. He now works for the Indianapolis Colts. (Check out the "Interesting Facts" section for more on Ken).

The original name of the band was "THE HELIX FIELD BAND". Our first gig ever was at Listowel High School . Our first club date was at the Twin Gables in Listowel , Ontario , Canada . Some of the very first songs we ever learned were: "Framed" and "Buff's Bar Blues" (Alex Harvey), "Stealin'" (Uriah Heap), "The Nazz are Blue" (The Yardbirds), and "Radar Love" (Golden Earring).

Mode of transportation: My Honda Civic and a rent-a-van