DALLAS (Army News Service, June 16, 2011) -- When heavy guitar riffs, strong drumbeats, screams and melodic vocals reverberated through Gilley's here, June 11, music fans and U.S. troops in attendance might not have instantly known that three of the four band-members of "Free Reign" were also professional football players.
"The troops are my heroes," said 6-foot-8-inch, 315-pound singer, front-man and rhythm guitarist Marc Colombo.
Colombo's presence and imposing size might have been a clue that, when he is not "rocking" in the off-season, he blocks NFL defenders as an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys.
Free Reign is a Dallas-based hard rock and metal band that includes guitarist Justin Chapman; rhythm guitarist and Dallas offensive lineman, Marc Colombo; bassist and Dallas lineman, Leonard Davis; and drummer and Miami Dolphin center, Cory Procter.
"Everybody loves sports and everybody loves music," Procter said with enthusiasm, referring to the band's NFL/hard-rock combination.
The band, which is rapidly gaining attention with its new hit song "One Step Away" and new album called "Heavier than Metal," played a United Services Organization show billed as "A night to support our U.S. Troops" in Dallas. Those with a military ID received free admission along with a free CD and T-shirt.
"They talked about the troops a lot during the concert. The crowd was really excited and appreciated the support," said Rich Stone, USO staff member, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.
Free Reign credits numerous hard-rock and metal influences for their sound -- much of which includes no-holds-barred, screaming heavy metal. Included among their influences are Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne. Their music is heavy, yet melodic and lyrical.
"'One Step Away' is more of a hard rock song," said Colombo. "We kind of want to show people that we can create great hard rock songs. That song came out the best in the studio as a good, polished song. The song has a good feel to it. The lyrics can relate with a lot of people and we appreciate the response we've gotten so far."
In addition to playing the free show for troops at Gilley's, Free Reign members also visited troops at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. They had been on R&R;and were on their way back to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The troops recognized Cory Procter and Marc Colombo as football players. They were really touched. They loved those guys. One Soldier -- a huge Cowboy's fan -- showed them a Dallas Cowboy's tattoo," Stone said.
NFL stars Procter and Colombo recounted seeing the troops off with a sense of pride and emotion.
"It was amazing to see the real emotion of the troops' response. I have a soft spot in my heart for them because they really are the true heroes," Colombo said. "For us to be able to go see them before they got deployed was an amazing experience. It was very humbling."
Proctor was impressed with the sacrifice servicemembers make.
"I've always been a patriotic guy and it was an awesome experience. It was amazing to see the troops in person and see them off. They are sacrificing so much -- they are leaving it all behind to go help us for our freedoms," Proctor said. "We hope to help out and give them something to take with them when they are overseas. It's amazing because we look up to them."
(Kris Osborn writes for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology)
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