While most rock musicians got into their chosen field for a host of reasons – many having to do with attracting members of the opposite sex, as well as the possibility of fame and fortune, Tom Collier put together his band Held Hostage as a way to help military veterans, especially those who had seen combat and were living with the distressing physical, emotional and psychological wounds that often accompany them.
Formed in 1984, the Syracuse, New York-based band was formed by Collier and some of his musician pals as a musical venture that would take a professional approach to their craft and the business side of the music business, but with the overall mandate of using their talents and time to support charitable endeavours that supported military veterans, particularly those who lived through the Vietnam War throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s.
Even before the group, Collier was using his talent to write and record songs to bring awareness to important causes, beginning with the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, hence the eventual name of the band.
As a continuing tribute to those who served then, who served in prior conflicts and those who continue to serve in hostile territory to this day, Held Hostage recently released a new single called Show Me The Way Back Home. As with all endeavours of the band, a significant part of the proceeds from the purchase of singles through various online digital music sources will be donated to veterans’ groups, particularly in support of a project being orchestrated by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 704 to build a memorial wall for the 27 soldiers from Cayuga County who died during the conflict and who never came home.
“My brother was a Vietnam veteran and when he came home, he was spit on. These returning soldiers were told to take their uniforms off before even getting off the plane because they were getting such a negative reaction from people back home. These people were opposed to the war and were taking it out on the soldiers. And all these people did was fight for their country. My brother said, ‘we did what we were told to do, why are they treating us like this?’ And since then I have talked to lots of veterans who said the same thing. Some of them told stories of walking down the road int heir hometown with their uniforms on and having people throw beer bottles at them. It’s just ridiculous what they went through,” said Collier from Syracuse, who said he is always heartened to know that younger audience members are not only enjoying the music of Held Hostage but are learning about their message and learning about the Vietnam war itself and the toll it took on so many thousands of young soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
“Our audience is from 14 to like 80 years old. We did a show a couple of nights ago, and it was an all-ages show, and everyone had a great time and we raised some money for Vietnam veterans, and we know that many young people were surprised to hear about what happened in the way and what happened to many of the soldiers who came back. They had no clue, so to give them some awareness of this is something we’re happy to do.”
Collier wrote both the words and the music for Show Me The Way Back Home and said after years and years of hearing stories about the war in Vietnam and the experiences of veterans during their service overseas and their lives since returning home, once the spark of the idea for the song came to him, it spilled out almost effortlessly.
“One day I just picked up my guitar after talking to some veterans of Vietnam and veterans of other wars and wrote that song in probably 10 minutes from beginning to end. I just tried to put myself in their place and the words and the music just came to me. With the Vietnam War, there are still soldiers missing in action [MIA] that never came home. There were also a lot of POW {prisoners of war] and each verse tried to talk about that. The opening line is ‘I went from the city to the jungle in less than a day.’ And that’s true. My brother got on a plane in California and he was fighting the Viet Cong in the jungle in less than 24 hours. He was there from 1967 to 1970, right in the thick of it,” he said.
“Not every song I’ve written is about veterans, but I dedicate all them to veterans and every show too. Every time we sell a download, or a CD or t-shirt, we donate money to veterans’ causes. All the songs I write are true to life and can involve anyone in that particular situation. We want people who came back from Vietnam, or who came back from Korea or Iraq or Afghanistan that we love them here.”
Held Hostage is currently comprised of Collier on lead guitar and vocals, lead vocalist Greg Truax, rhythm guitarist Scott Gregg, Joe Reppert on bass and drummer Ian Evans. For bigger shows and very special occasions, an ‘all-star’ lineup will be compiled for Held Hostage. At any one time, it can include drummer Carl Canedy from The Rods, Giorgio Mongelli (Ethan Brosh), Freddy Villano (Quiet Riot, Dee Snider’s Widowmaker) and Mike Santarsiero (Totally Lost Cause.)
For the recording of the single, legendary rock vocalist Joe Lynn Turner sang lead vocals, the former Rainbow and Deep Purple frontman adding a gravitas to an already important and kick-ass rock music project.
“It started off with a conversation with my manager, John Pettigras from Artist Event Management, who thought it was a great song. He said we needed to get a great producer and we needed to get a great singer because we needed to do this right. He said he knew Carl Canedy of the Rods and he was also producer for The Rods, who are my favourite band, so we brought him in. And not only did he produce the track, but he played on it as well,” Collier said.
“And then John said to me, ‘I really think we should talk to Joe Lynn Turner.’ I thought he was kidding me, but John felt this was something Joe would really get behind because he’s a great guy who has done a lot of stuff for veterans too. And two phone calls later Joe was singing with us. We had to wait until he got back from touring in Europe, but when he walked in, he just nailed it. And even at the end of the song, if you listen, you’ll hear some of the classic Joe Lynn Turner ad libs, so that when you hear it, you know for sure it’s Joe Lynn Turner.”
Since reforming the band in 2015 after a break raising a kid as a single dad, Collier and Held Hostage released a well-received CD entitled Fallen Brothers, which garnered lots of airplay in 2016. Held Hostage is now a full time going concern, playing throughout the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and occasionally beyond, proof positive that if your heart and your talent are in the right place, success can come your way. Good motives, lead to good results, and Collier said the bigger the band gets, the more shows they do and the more CDs and merch they sell, they more able they are to help various veterans causes. They have had a chance to open for metal legends Manowar back in the day, and more recently went on tour with former Manowar and The Dictators guitarist Ross the Boss.
After a prestigious opening slot for the supergroup Metal Allegiance at the 2019 NAMM event in California this coming January, Collier said the band will be touring throughout the US, with hopes of coming north of the border.
“I have always lived by the motto that when you give something, you do it freely, you don’t expect anything in return. You’re giving something because you truly want to and that’s what we have always done as a band. And it’s been quite the recipe for success for us, because the more success we get as a band, the more people we can help. And we would like to come to Canada and maybe help veterans up there too. I have lots of friends and relatives in Canada,” he said.
“Listen, I help people because we are able to help them and because we want to help them. Even if we came off a stint where we had just played seven nights in a row, if someone called and said their family home burned down and they have no insurance, we would come back and do a free concert to help raise thousands of dollars for them. Or maybe someone’s child needs help with medical costs, we will help raise that money. I am just very excited to be able to help people, doing what I love to do, which is making music.”
For more information on Held Hostage and Show Me The Way Back Home, visit https://www.heldhostageband.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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