On Probation, a nine-member band, is building a reputation in the local La Crosse music scene for its energetic live performances and heavy sound.
The group includes Owen Foster, guitar; Aidan Hawkins, guitar; Neil Clyne, bass and trumpet; Jacob Sabir, drums; Josh Craft, guitar; Ben Bakkum, guitar; Josh Horman, bass; Ben Powell, vocals; and Thomas Giere, vocals.
Formed in October 2024, the band draws primarily from rock and grunge, but their sound resists being defined by a single genre. That flexibility comes directly from the members themselves, each bringing their own musical background into the mix.
“We all kind of bring our own thing to the band. There are a lot of different musical influences in what we play,” Hawkins said.
“The cool thing about being a cover band is that we don’t have to stick to one genre,” said Giere.
With so many members contributing ideas, the band sees its size as a creative advantage rather than a limitation.
“I think it’s cool that we have so many members because we all have different influences. It allows us to play a lot of different stuff and do what we want,” said Hawkins.
That openness translates directly into their live shows, which have become the band’s defining feature.
“We’re not as tight as other bands, but we definitely make up for it in the performance,” Hawkins said.
“The music is secondary, we just like putting on a show,” Foster said.
On Probation has performed at venues including the Alpine Inn, the State Room, Cavalier Theater and the Popcorn Tavern. However, the group says its favorite setting is house shows. Less formal, and all about making live music more accessible.
“Preferably house shows, the crowd is better, you can go more crazy,” Clyne said.
In those smaller, packed environments, the band leans fully into its identity. Loud, unpredictable, and centered on crowd energy. Their shows often include mosh pits and moments that blur the line between performance and party.
“It’s going to be a party regardless,” said Foster.
For On Probation, technical perfection isn’t the goal, connection and chaos are.
“We try to not be bad,” Giere said.
“We’re just good at riling people up and acting a fool,” Hawkins said.
This resonates with their audience, many of whom come specifically for the release and intensity of the experience.
“People yearn for the pit,” Hawkins said. “They yearn to get rowdy,” said Giere.
“There are a lot of parallels between the youth of this generation and the youth of the late 1960s. There’s a lot going on in the world that we can’t control, so we use music as a way to express ourselves. I think that’s coming back in a big way,” Hawkins said.
The band’s origin story began not with a formal plan, but with frustration at what they felt was a lack of energy in the local scene.
“Basically, [the band] started because Thomas and I were at a party, and we heard a band play ‘Killing in the Name’ really badly, like an indie version, and we were really pissed off,” said Foster.
That moment pushed them to create the kind of music experience they felt was missing.
“We started it because we didn’t like the bands we were listening to. We were like, ‘We’ve got to do it ourselves,’” Foster said.
The entire group shared similar frustrations, especially with what they saw as an oversaturation of softer indie sounds in college music spaces.
“I’m sick of every college band playing indie. We want to bring back hard rock,” said Clyne.
On Probation got its name from when a few of the members lived in Eagle Hall, the UWL campus dorm, and appealed a wrongfully given alcohol violation.
“We wrote a lot of essays and emailed a lot of people; we appealed it and won the appeal. We didn’t have to pay anything, we didn’t get in trouble, but we remained on probation in the dorm,” said Giere.
Despite the band’s large size, its formation came together more naturally than expected, thanks to a shared interest in making loud, energetic music.
“We kind of lucked out and had connections with a lot of people who wanted to play instruments or already had some experience,” Foster said.
On Probation has also found itself part of a growing and supportive local music community in La Crosse, something the group says has played a key role in its development.
“There are a lot of people involved in music, the culture is pretty healthy here. You go downtown, and a lot of those bars have music venues. They want live music. It’s nice being able to take that opportunity and play,” Foster said.
The band has had support from other La Crosse music talent, who gravitated towards them because they also value performance.
“We’ve got some big influences. We’re tight with Tommy Vote [guitarist in Self-Titled] and he’s played with us before, including at our first show at Popcorn,” said Foster.
They also mentioned Eric Jorgenson as a mentor figure, known locally as the ‘blue jean cowboy’ who is the frontman of the Juiceneck band, and lead guitarist of BT band.
Both influences have impacted On Probation, by offering advice, technical skills and helping the group with networking.
“[They helped] open up a lot of opportunities for gigs with their bands, and that’s really how we got our game,” said Foster.
Since then, On Probation has continued to grow its presence locally, fueled less by polish and more by raw energy, something both the band and their audience seems to crave.
For those interested in keeping up with the band and their upcoming performance dates, be sure to follow On Probation on Instagram.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source theracquet.org ’
