Nearly it time for Veterans Day, I wanted to share info on That’s Why We Stand, a charity compilation CD benefiting Guitars4Vets, which has given out more than 5000 guitars and 50,000 lessons to vets. The album features 15 songs about service, sacrifice and country by some amazing artists. We got a chance to check in with two Minnesota artists on the album (Geoff Elvee and Lehto & Wright) and Joshua Ray Hudson. Here are their answers:
Joshua Ray Hudson
Please tell us about the album That’s Why We Stand and the power of Guitars4vets.
That’s why we Stand is a “labor of love” project album that brought together some of the finest artists and musicians in the world to honor our nation’s Veterans. With New Folk Records, Guitars for Vets, and the sound factory studios heading the cause, it’s a star studded line up that I was so blessed to be a part of. I jumped at the chance to donate my original song “that’s why we stand” but to have it be the lead release and rename the project in honor of it was a true blessing for me and alot of great people.
Guitars for Vets is a light in darkness for many veterans who cannot cope with the realities of their service related issues. Using the healing power of music as a means of therapy, in 2023 Guitars for vets will donate over 50,000 lessons and 5,000 guitars to wounded veterans across this nation. I encourage everyone to research Guitars for Vets organization and see all of the great deeds and hard work that go into insuring our wounded veterans retain dignity and a sense of comradery through musical therapy.
Please tell us about your song That’s Why We Stand.
I wrote “That’s why we stand” after an hour long phone conversation with a veteran friend who was almost in tears over seeing some anti-American activities on television. People were kneeling during the national anthem, burning flags, protesting, etc. He said “if they could only see it through my eyes. I feel like they are spitting in the eyes of all of my fallen brothers and sisters when they do that. The freedoms they enjoy were paid for with sacrifices of soldiers. Those who were badly wounded, and for the ones who don’t come back, that’s why we stand”. I took this conversation to heart. Then I started thinking about my Grandfather Russell Ray Hudson who served in WWII as a light machine gunner. He went into active war on Dday +1, June 7th 1944 near Omaha beach Normandy, France. After being severely wounded by a German sniper, he was found by a recon platoon almost 8 hours after he had been shot. Grandpa never recovered completely, but he lived until 1994 with one lung, a upper body full of shrapnel, and a head full of memories that he didn’t ask for. The man was so deeply disturbed by his war experience that he couldn’t even enjoy Independence day because the fireworks him of gunfire and mortar rounds. If you as a citizen can’t muster enough American pride to stand up, remove your hat, and place your hand over your heart for my Grandpa and millions of other men and women just like him, there’s something wrong with you!
Some have called this song political. This song is not political at all. I don’t care what your politics are. This song is showing you all the reasons why we should stand. Why we should be proud. Why we should all put politics and opinions aside for a moment and appreciate the human beings that help keep us free to express our opinions and practice our politics. It’s very simple. I can write these words to you today in a free country, without fear of persecution from anyone, and that’s why we stand!!
Lehto & Wright:
Building upon a known song and bringing it to new heights is a fun experience for the listener. What made you decide on When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again and to put your own twist on the song?
One of Lehto and Wright’s strengths is taking a traditional piece of music and rearranging it with a modern twist, usually more in the Celtic idiom.
When we were asked to contribute to this project “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again ” seemed like a great choice as it has a well known melody that fits that concept, and it tells a military story. (Lyrically..)
How has music helped you as a veteran?
As a veteran, music played an important role in my life when I was serving as it made me realize what I wanted to spend my life doing. It helped me determine the course for the rest of my professional career.
Geoff Elvee:
Question: Home From Iraq paints a difficult picture with a wonderful beat. Who needs to hear the song most or who did you have in mind when writing it – veterans, families and friends of veterans, politicians, everyone…?
Hello Mostly MN Music. The song was originally brought to me lyrically by my friend and co-writer Rick Misencik. He had a friend’s son who was in an IED attack in Iraq and had returned home to face many problems of not only the injuries but the mental scars that were becoming more apparent as time passed. I also had friends that served in the National Guard during the war that were returning home and having some issues of the same.. The original version of this song was musically composed and lyrically altered by myself to be a harder edged song to really emphasize that the subject matter was not a happy one but one that needed too be heard. For this project a lighter versions was asked for. For whom it was written for is all of the above !! For those vets who need an outlet to express there emotions to what they are internally going through and for those who need to be awoken or given a prospective of what our veterans face on a daily basis not only emotionally but physically.
Mostly Minnesota 