The Hostages were originally formed in Minneapolis in the summer of 1996. After the inevitable false starts, the line-up solidified with Ollie (a.k.a., Brad -- which definitely ain't no rock and roll name!) on vox and harp, Dez on guitar, Rev. Winter on bass, and Bobo on drums. Billy came along later and forced himself into the ranks on the 2nd guitar.
Unfortunately the show started to overshadow the music, and for some reason most people in the crowd missed the tongue-in-cheek humor of the whole thing. People, and especially the press, thought we were serious about it, when in fact the spectacle was quite the opposite.
Frustrated with people only coming to gigs in order to "see the fat man kill himself on stage" Ollie split the band up... then reformed it with new members and a new sound... and split that up after a handful of gigs.
After a 5 year hiatus, four of the former Hostages (Ollie, Dez, Winter and Bobo) found themselves together in some dive-bar shit hole where Billy's current band was playing. The four ex-Hostages, being sufficiently socially lubricated, crashed the stage and stumbled through a drunken version of the song "Go!".
After that shamble of a "performance" everyone agreed that the Hostages should try to book some real gigs, just for fun and without the pressures of "making it" (e.g., recording, touring, signing record deals, laying groupies, snorting free cocaine). And for a case of beer and some guest-list spots, the Hostages are together to continue their fine brand of rock and roll damage.If you happen to run into Jamie from Sell Your Soul Records, you can bet that he probably still has a closet full of the "Grebo 2000" 7 inch records, and he'd probably be more than happy to sell you a copy or 8.
THE ONLY GOOD REVIEW WE EVER GOT:
The Hostages--Grebo 2000 EP
Sell Your Soul 2000
It seems more and more punk rock n' roll today tends to suffer from one of two problems. On the one hand, there are those who cop the sounds of their idols straight-up, offering nothing original or of worth and steering listeners away. Then, you have the groups who try so hard not to slip into that category they wind up making things too fancy. There's actually a sweet spot between those two extremes and it's a magical place. On this Grebo 2000 EP, the Hostages are serving up the porridge that's just right.Side-A of this EP starts with the tune "Go." Coming off like a punk n' roll version of Hunger-era Makers, great vocal sneer on the verses lifts this cut to being something truly special. A similar vibe ensues on "Ain't Got Time (For Your Bullshit [Baby])" which boasts a smokey feeling bass break towards its end.Then, there's the second side's sole salvo "Candyland." Devoid of the sneer found on the flip, this one sounds like the best thing Junk Records never put out. Managing to pull off High Voltage period boogie without being just another AC/DC clone, the Hostages serve up the most complex arrangement of this batch, fueled by tasteful harmonica lines.The superb songwriting found on this Grebo 2000 EP makes it a definite winner. Highly recommended for fans of all the aforementioned styles and bands, as well as some of the acts listed in this 7"er's liner notes such as the Chicken Hawks, Midnight Evils, Short Fuses, and label mates the Coffin Cheaters. Punk rock n' roll with bad intent written all over it--gloriously good.