Jon Gilson, sophomore, plays guitar and does vocals. Juniors, Dalton Lapikas and Brandon Carson play guitar. Liam Nassib, junior, plays bass guitar. TJ Olson, a junior percussionist in the Symphonic Band, plays drums. Together, they play in a metal band that they recently names “Along the Watchtower.”

According to Olson, he and Carson have played together in bands in the past, and were “band-hopping” from band to band for quite a while. Eventually, they found Gilson and Lapikas.

“Liam’s always been a good friend of mine,” said Olson. “It just worked.”

The band mostly covers existing songs. They are currently covering “Bullet for my Valentine” songs. However, they also write about half of their own music.

“From being in a band, I’ve learned how to plan things out a lot better. Like, with playing for a gig, we have to make a playlist and set up practice sessions beforehand,” Olson said.

They practice at least once a week, using Olson’s house as home base.

“The best part of being in a band is being able to play music with your friends and just having fun with your musical instrument,” Olson said.