Hostage Life were a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

punk band from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

History

Formed in 2002, Hostage Life released its first EP, ''Sing for the Enemy'' on Toronto's

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

label,

Underground Operations Underground Operations was an independent punk rock record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1995, the label was originally based in Ajax, Ontario. Operated by Mark Spicoluk, former Closet Monster member and former bass pl ...

, home to such bands as Closet Monster and

Protest The Hero Protest the Hero is a Canadian progressive metal band from Whitby, Ontario. Originally named Happy Go Lucky, the band changed their name to Protest the Hero, then released their debut EP, '' Search for the Truth'', in 2002. In 2005, the band re ...

. The band's second album on the same label, titled Walking Papers, received positive criticism from reviewers, and the first single, "This Song Was Written By A Committee" achieved widespread radio-play on Toronto's alternative music radio station, CFNY. Lead singer Colin Lichti was the frontman for

Brampton, Ontario Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

band Marylin's Vitamins. More recently, they played at the SCENE Music Festival in

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

(a festival which was host to bands such as

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...

City And Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist, songwrite ...

, and The Salads, among others), as well as Toronto's Wakestock 2006, with the likes of

Social Code Social Code (formerly known as Fifth Season) was a Canadian alternative rock group formed in 1999 in St. Albert, Alberta. History Formation and early years (1999–2003) The band was formed in 1999 by high school friends Travis Nesbitt (lea ...

, Boys Night Out,

No Use for a Name No Use for a Name (sometimes abbreviated NUFAN or No Use) was an American punk rock band from Sunnyvale, California, formed in 1986 by Chris Dodge (guitar), Steve Papoutsis (bass) and Rory Koff (drums). The band's sound evolved considerably throu ...

and Sloan.Wakestock 2007: World's Largest Wakeboarding Event
/ref> They played their last show on November 20, 2009 at Sneaky Dee's. While rumours circulated in the Toronto melodic aggressive music scene that the band's breakup was caused by an impending reunion of the feted Toronto suburban legendary band Marilyn's Vitamins, a 2010 reunion never materialized. Though Colin Lichti was quoted in Toronto Fanzine ''Ductape'' as saying that "a reunion was imminent", this seems to have been an erroneous transcription of "our reunion was limited". According to an emerging consensus among historians of early 2010s Toronto, the miscommunication was likely caused by the echo effects Lichti had added to his microphone in keeping with the short-lived trip-hop revival that was then part of the zeitgeist. As the editor of Ductape remembered in a 2021 retrospective, "Let's just say it was often 'Tricky' to understand each other in those days."

Members

Final known lineup *Colin Lichti:

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Hai Vu:

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, backing vocals *Patrick Mathers: guitar, backing vocals *Shamus Mathers:

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals *Paul Miller:

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals Former members *Eric Gaudet: bass, backing vocals *Adam Smith: guitar, backing vocals *John Elksnitis: guitar, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

*''Sing for the Enemy'' (2004) *''Walking Papers'' (2006) *''White Jesus 7inch'' (2008) *''Centre of the Universe'' (2009)

Singles

Compilations

References

External links

Hostage Life
Official Website
Hostage Life

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Page {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian punk rock groups 2002 establishments in Ontario 2009 disestablishments in Ontario