Probable Cause
Portland, Oregon
1987 - Present

Members
 

Kenny Bratz ~ Percussion
Greg Dawson ~ Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Craig 'Paisan' Dickson  ~ Bass Guitar, Vocals
Mark McDermott ~ Lead Guitar, Vocals
 

Alumni
 

Joe Casimir ~ Bass Guitar - Vocals
*Brad Lund ~ Percussion
Matthew MacNaughton ~ Bass Guitar - Vocals
*Evan Oulashin ~ Lead Guitar, Vocals
Marvin Slifman ~ Bass Guitar / Vocals
Dana Watson ~ Percussion
 

Sit-ins & Substitutes
 

Robert Carson ~ Lead Guitar - Bass - Vocals
Jon Ditmore ~ Drums
Scotty Franklin ~ Saxophone
Bruce Gifford ~ Drums
Billy Hagen ~ Lead Guitar / Bass / Vocals
Jeff "Mongo" Knapp ~ Percussion
Wilton Merritt ~ Drums - Vocals
Carey Rogers ~ Bass Guitar - Vocals

*  Founding Member
 

Probable Cause plays the kind of high powered fast paced Rock'N'Roll that makes it next to impossible to stay in your seat.  When the band realized that was the direction it was going to take, founding member Greg Dawson Trademarked the phrase "Dance 'til ya Drop!"™.

Probable Cause was formed in 1987 by 3 friends, Greg Dawson, Evan Oulashin and Brad Lund. Dawson and Oulashin had played with some seriously unremarkable bands before hooking up with Brad Lund. Brad had also played with some local bands like the Moxie Brothers Blues band, but probably most notable was Killin Floor with Billy Hagen, Mark Leveritt and Tommy Klobas.

After playing a few very casual gigs, the band brought Matthew MacNaughton on board as their bass player. At this time a formal name for the band hadn't been given much consideration. For the first gig they played as a 4-piece, they went by the name, "The You Get What You Pay For Band".  After their first gig, the need for a less condescending name became apparent and with help from Brad Lund's 'significant other' Shelley Anderson, the band adopted the name Probable Cause.  Soon after, the door to more structured performances and a certain amount of popularity opened.

Unfortunately, as the number of performances grew so did the grind that is dealing with unruly people, physical exhaustion, humping of gear into clubs and back out at 2:00am and crabby band mates.  The rigors of the road took their toll first on Matt [Bass Guitar].  He had a small child at home and several other priorities and had to bow out.  Next was Evan [Lead Guitar / Vocals] who eventually found the physicality and late hours of being in a (mostly) Bar Band were more than he wanted to deal with.  Finally Brad Lund [Percussion] just found himself with too many balls in the air and also had to leave the band. Founding member Greg Dawson is still with the band.

Replacements on Bass have been, Marv Slifman, Joe Casimir and currently and hopefully for quite some time to come Craig 'Paisan' Dickson. On Drums we had Dana Watson for many years and now we have Mr. Ken G. Bratz.  On Lead Guitar the second longest active member of Probable Cause Mr. Mark F. McDermott who is a monster player. There's just something about those players from Jersey.

Probable Cause keeps a pretty active schedule and can be seen all around the Pacific Northwest playing all manner of events like the Portland Rose Festival, Concert in the park (various Portland parks), benefits for various charitable organizations such as the American Cancer Society and Shriners Children's Hospitals and of course at many favorite watering holes.

For performance schedule and more information on Probable Cause go to their web site at:  www.probablecause.com

Special thanks to Trish O'Halloran who sits in with Probable Cause regularly and blows everyone away with her powerful vocals and when she remembers to bring it, her incredible Flute.



Some of the other Pacific Northwest music groups represented in members of this group include:  Earth, Mr. Moon, Jacob's Ladder, The Wheels, Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts, and many other NW bands.

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Last Update:  31 May 2010
Credits:  Greg Dawson
Band # 2660<>