God Bless the USA

Hello all! So, I have been getting a lot of questions about why we chose to go and visit the troops in the Middle East, and so I just wanted to tell you a bit about that.... I have a bunch of family in the military, as does the rest of the band. Both of my grandfathers fought in World War II, my dad's uncle lost an eye in the Battle of Normandy, my dad spent a year in Vietnam, and my dad's brother was in the service as well, my mom's brother is a doctor in the Navy, and my sister is engaged to a Navy man, and that doesn't count the numerous friends of mine, or the family and friends the rest of the band has in the military.... I am always thinking about what it must be like over there, being away from home, in such an uncertain and isolated environment, and myself and the band, we really wanted to find a way to say thank you.... we were thrilled at the chance to go over for the Thanksgiving holiday and say thank you in person. It makes me so emotional just thinking about all these guys sacrifice for us - they are essentially giving up their freedom to protect ours. It is freaking amazing and I cannot even put into words the admiration, respect, and love I feel for these men and women. I will be writing more about what the experience was like and sharing stories, pictures, and video that I took from the trip, but for right now I just want to say to all those we had the honor the meet, and also to those we didn't get to, to all of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines- thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I also want to give a big thanks to Christine Lakin and Andrew Roy - it was really these two that made this opportunity possible, and we are eternally grateful! The tour flew by and we were not ready to leave - in that desolate, dusty desert, those guys gave us the trip of a lifetime!! We love you!!!

Party in the USA!

This is a video of one of my favorite moments of the tour. Some guys came to our first show in Baghdad at Camp Stryker and then came back for the second one at Camp Liberty.... our show was at 8pm and they had lawn chairs and near beer out by the time we did our sound check at 4:30! They were so cool, and so when they requested Party in the USA during the show, well, I thought we should make it happen! As a side note, I should mention that there is no alcohol in Iraq, only non-alcoholic beer (well, except for the moonshine I've heard tell of)! So this is a completely sober performance - props to you Gavin, you rocked it!

Good Day for a Long Night at Camp Liberty!

Hey ya'll -I'm going to be posting some videos from the tour, here's the first one, it's from our show at Camp Liberty in Baghdad on the last night!

Pictures from Kuwait & Iraq Tour!

Brokedown MWR Tour of Kuwait & Iraq!

I've created an album with some pictures from our tour! I'll be adding a lot more and some videos as well soon!

The Adventures of Socky!

This is SUCH a cool and touching story so we wanted to share it with ya'll! We had the pleasure to meet Lt. Col. James E. Turnbull (Eric) at Camp Stryker, and he had a strange request - for us to take a picture with a tiny little sock!? Well as it turns out, he has a little girl named Faith, and when he traveled over to Iraq, one of her socks ended up with his things. So, he named the sock "Socky," and now he takes it everywhere he goes, takes pictures with it, and sends stories about Daddy and Socky's adventures back home to Faith! How sweet is that! We are excited to report that Brokedown was included in the Thanksgivng edition, so here it is - "Socky's Thanksgiving!" Eric - thank you for sharing this with us, you are a great dad!!

Socky’s Thanksgiving

Once upon a time…in a hot, dusty country far away from the home in Pennsylvania, one of Faith’s socks spent her days hanging on the wall in front of Daddy’s desk in Iraq.


One day Daddy came in with a question for Socky.

“Socky!” said Daddy “Do you know what day it is today?”

“Sure Daddy, it’s Thursday November 26th 2009. I know because there is a calendar on the wall right next to me. Why do you ask?” inquired Socky.

“Well, you’re right about the date. But did you know it’s Thanksgiving Day?” stated Daddy.

“Thanksgiving? What’s that?” asked Socky.

“It’s a day we celebrate to give thanks for all the wonderful things we have in life” said Daddy.

“What are you thankful for Daddy?” asked Socky.

“Well Socky, I’m thankful for Mommy and Faith and also for being from a great country where we live in freedom.”

“I’m thankful too Daddy. I’m thankful to be able to keep you company here in Iraq,” laughed Socky. “So what are we going to do on Thanksgiving Daddy?”

“Well, we’re going to call home, eat a nice dinner, go to a concert, watch some football…”

“A concert!” yelled Socky, “What concert are we going to see? I love concerts.”

“We’re going to see a modern country band called “BrokeDown Cadillac,” said Daddy.

“That’s sounds like fun Daddy. I’m going to start Thanksgiving by calling home” said Socky.

Socky called home and talked with Mommy, Faith and her twin sock Stripey. Afterwards she searched her IPOD for “BrokeDown Cadillac” songs.



Daddy and Socky then got in the Kia van and drove on the bumpy roads around Victory Base. They stopped at Daddy’s room so he could change clothes. On the way they picked up Socky’s good friend Private Picklepants. He was happy that they invited him to Thanksgiving dinner.After Daddy changed clothes, he along with Socky and Private Picklepants walked to the Camp Stryker Dining Hall.

One thing to note is that Iraq is a bit chilly in November and is also muddy because after it rains the water has nowhere to go. They managed not to get too dirty though.

They arrived at the Dining Hall and went to get their Thanksgiving meal. Inside eating dinner with the service men and women were several “Hooters Girls.” They came to Iraq to visit the troops and spend Thanksgiving with them. It was such a nice gesture and everyone appreciated them making the trip.

They could have easily stayed home with their families, but chose instead to come over and bring some holiday cheer and a bit of America with them.

Everyone enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal and was quite full when they finished eating.

By now it was time to go see the show. Daddy, Socky and Private Picklepants walked over to the concert area and found a great place to stand near the front of the stage. The band “BrokeDown Cadillac” played lots of great songs and the “Hooter’s Girls” danced with the service men. Both the band and the “Hooters Girls” thanked all the troops for their service and told them how proud and thankful everyone in America is for all they are doing over here.




“BrokeDown Cadillac” is a great band” exclaimed Socky “ I really like their music. I must be a “country sock.” she said with a giggle.

When the concert ended, the band and “Hooters Girls” met everyone attending and posed for pictures. They especially liked holding Socky.





Afterwards, Daddy, Socky and Private Picklepants went to watch some football. Since Iraq is eight hours ahead of the East coast, the games didn’t start until late. During half time, Private Picklepants challenged Socky to a pushup contest, but she was tired and wanted to take a nap. Private Picklepants got the hint that it was time to leave, so he thanked Daddy and Socky for such a fun evening and said goodbye.






After Socky woke up from her nap, she and Daddy went to the gym to work off their Thanksgiving dinner. Socky weighed herself on the scale and was happy to see she hadn’t gained any weight. In fact she still didn’t weigh anything.





Daddy and Socky left the gym and talked about all the fun they had on Thanksgiving.

They appreciated “BrokeDown Cadillac” and the “Hooters Girls” coming over to Iraq to spend the holiday with the troops and give them a great show.

“Daddy, I know we couldn’t be home to spend Thanksgiving with Mommy, Faith and Stripey, but I’m thankful for “BrokeDown Cadillac and the “Hooters Girls” who gave up the holiday with their families to be with us. They truly are America’s finest.” exclaimed Socky

“You’re right Socky. We’ll always remember our Thanksgiving in Iraq and how some great Americans made it feel like home.” said Daddy

And with that Daddy and Socky called it a night and the next day went back to work with lots of great memories of Thanksgiving 2009.

THE END

Howdy from Iraq!

Hey there everyone! I am finally getting a little internet service so just wanted to say hello and let everyone know what an amazing time we are having over here! We have had the chance to meet so many awesome men and women and I can't wait to share our experience! I only have a minute here cause we are getting ready to play our last show of the tour, but I wanted to post a little tid-bit from the first show. This is a clip I took from the stage at Camp Buehring in Kuwait! And to those of you that we had the honor to meet this week - I cannot thank you enough for the time you shared with us, we are so proud of you and do not have the words to express our gratitude for what you do. We love you!!!!!

BROKEDOWN CADILLAC TO VISIT TROUPS IN IRAQ!

Hey guys! So, we are extremely excited and honored for the opportunity to go overseas and visit the troops! I have a ton of family who are veterans or are currently serving in the military, as does the rest of the band, and we are always looking for ways to support the troops....so we jumped at the chance to go and perform for them in Iraq over Thanksgiving! We will be joined by 6 Hooters girls, which should be a blast - the guys in the band are certainly excited about those little orange shorts and, ya know, the "hooters." So I have to imagine that the men over there who have barely seen a woman in months will be over the moon! I have to admit I feel a little insecure in that poster - totally surrounded by hottie mamas. I'm thinking I'm gonna need to pack the serious push-up bra..... PS - I got much enjoyment from the fact that one of the girls is named "Sara Hoots" - I cannot wait to meet her and find out if that is her real name - and if it is her real name, did it influence her decision to become a Hooters girl? I need to know these things! A friend of mine was a Hooters girl in college and offered me the use of her old uniform - how funny would that be?? If I actually showed up for the first show in the outfit and just acted totally normal? Hmmm.... Anywho, the girls seem great and we're all super excited. I'll be documenting our trip with my camcorder, so make sure to check back here for updates and scoopage, and, of course, plenty of hooters!

Here's the press release for the tour with some extra info:

DATE: NOVEMBER 16, 2009

FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI/ANGELA VILLANUEVA

BROKEDOWN CADILLAC TO VISIT TROUPS IN IRAQ THANKSGIVING WEEK

Nashville-based country group BROKEDOWN CADILLAC have confirmed plans to perform for the troops during a Thanksgiving week tour of military bases in Iraq. The group—founded in California by singer CORRI ENGLISH and guitarist RANDY DUNHAM—will head overseas this week for the tour, which runs from November 21-30 and they will be joined by a select group of Hooters Girls from around the U.S.

English says, “All of us in the band have close ties to the military, and we're excited and honored for this opportunity. We feel like spending Thanksgiving with our troops, who can't be home with their families, is the best way we can say thank you for all that they do. We hope it is the first of many visits.”

“This outstanding group will have a tremendous impact on the military personnel serving our country,” says David Chavez, President of Pro Sports MVP, the tour’s organizer. “The Hooters Girls and BrokeDown Cadillac are very excited to meet the troops in Iraq, and it will be everyone’s first visit to the region. All of the participants have expressed their passion for our troops overseas and are looking forward to a successful tour and once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

BrokeDown Cadillac: BrokeDown Cadillac is a 5-piece modern country band fronted by Atlanta native Corri English and her partner Randy Dunham. Veterans of stage performance, BrokeDown Cadillac’s live show is electrifying. The band--a tight collection of seasoned players--rarely offer people a chance to sit down with their string of upbeat, original material, commandeering fans to the dance floor. Their self-released debut album Somewhere In America was described by Country Weekly as having an “energetic, instantly likeable sound” (6/22/09). Corri and Randy have written over two dozen songs for this project, five of which have recently been used in the 2009 Disney box office hit film, Race to Witch Mountain, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The two, joined by Danny Reuland on drums, Don Ian on lead guitar and Jeff LeGore on bass, were also included in a performance sequence of the movie, playing in a honky-tonk bar. Check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/brokedowncadillacband

Pro Sports MVP, a Colorado Springs, Colorado based company, is a full-service sports and entertainment marketing firm which develops and implements corporate marketing programs and provides marketing services for over one thousand of the world’s most recognizable celebrities. www.prosportsmvp.com

For more information regarding Brokedown Cadillac contact:

MSO 818.380.0400

Todd Brodginski 818.380.0400 x239 toddb@msopr.com

Angela Villanueva 818.380.0400 x232 avillanueva@msopr.com

Billboard Hot 100 Examiner Part 2

Check out part 2 here!

Country brings us a Brokedown Cadillac Part 2

I wanted to continue today with yesterday's featured artists, Brokedown Cadillac, mainly because they are awesome and also because the Q&A session below goes beyond country music as a genre. Check it out!

Country artist's don't get a lot of mainstream exposure...what's your plan for Brokedown Cadillac? Where do you see it going?

There are those in country music like Reba, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, and Shania who have broken into mainstream quite successfully. Taylor Swift has certainly captured the world's attention. And I believe they all brought something quite interesting to pop radio. All those artists have expertly stayed true to country in their own way, yet still provided plenty of music that your typical pop fan can appreciate and even want to buy. I think Brokedown follows along that tradition of pop country. We have real roots, you're not going to be able to refute that, but all of us come from a variety of tastes that tend toward mainstream music, and in the end, I think a broader spectrum of music fans will want to hear it.

Why country music? Why not another genre?

Randy: No matter what genre of music I've played, I've always found myself listening to country music. My dad raised me on a strict diet of country and western, and even when I was playing in rock bands, I was inevitably tuned to the country station. By the time I started working with Corri, I was so hyped about finally playing country that it just gushed out of me. It felt "right."

Corri: I was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga, so country music was always just music for me. Not really defined, you know. I grew up on it, and when Randy and I started writing, it was just so obvious that we shared a great love of the genre - it came out very naturally in the writing process.

What's been the hardest part about working in the music industry?

In this day and age all of the models are being reshaped. What used to work in the old days, sending in a crappy acoustic demo tape just doesn't cut it. And as the labels seem to be hemorrhaging, the internet is providing a whole new frontier. The down side is that with recording becoming so pervasive with every iMac shipped with Garage Band, there are millions of bands vying for consumers' attention. So what has changed has also stayed the same - a band needs some method for getting into the mainstream's awareness. That is about the most challenging quandary I've experienced to date.

Corri - You have a long list of acting credentials...Why the switch to music? Do you see yourself doing both? What inspired you to do music in the first place? Any musical inspirations? [old school/new school]

I definitely plan on doing both. Even though my acting has been the "real" career thus far, music has always been a huge part of my life, and trust me, anytime I had a break between acting jobs, I was writing and playing music... So it really doesn't even feel like a career switch for me, it just feels like I'm putting more focus on the other side of my career. My dad is definitely my biggest musical influence - he is a musician so I was around music from the time I was born, I literally played with tuning forks when I was a kid, and was on the road with his band while I was growing up. His band played original tunes but also covered the Everly Brother, Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis....I get really nostalgic when I hear "Glory Days" or "I Saw Her Standing There" - those are faves from childhood.

What songs are your favorite to perform/ Why?

Randy: I personally love "Baby's Gonna Start a Fire" because it is a straight up dance song. If we don't see people up dancing, then I measure it as our failure to capture the audience. We have had few shows where no one gets up and starts shaking their ass, but those few where we didn't see that happening, well we knew it was time to step up the game. It's a great barometer.

Corri: I love singing "Scarlett O'Hara." Being from Atlanta, when I read "Gone with the Wind" I fell in love with that character - she is so sassy, I just loved her. And I feel like the song captures that attitude and has a bluesy feel, which is just a lot of fun to dig into during a live show.

How was it working on the set and writing songs for Race to Witch Mountain?

Randy: Working on the set was the best experience of my life. Andy Fickman(the director) let all of our families come on to set, and we got to be little rock stars for a day. Seeing the pride in my mom's eyes practically brings me to tears. It was awesome. As far as writing for the movie, it was just great to see Andy get so excited about the music we were bringing him, and I think at about that time we really needed some enthusiasm because it was still rather new.

Corri: Ditto to what Randy said. Andy Fickman is ridiculously awesome! And to we got to have the most perfect show you could ask for - we had people doing our hair and makeup, a built in crowd who two-stepped to our music, and a track going to we never missed a note! Plus Dwayne Johnson was there so the scenery was nice!

Would you say the movie exposure has increased/changed your fan base?

Absolutely. We were able to expose a lot of folks to our music in a very short period of time, and that exposure has given us many great opportunities- from meeting new fans, to playing really cool shows that we would otherwise not have had the opportunity to play. It's been amazing.

What type of advice would you give aspiring musicians?

Randy: Work hard. Be dedicated. I don't know how anyone can possibly get anywhere musically without those two virtues. Beyond that, try not to hold your breath too long. Sometimes opportunities take a while, but when they come, boy you better be ready to step up to the plate.

Corri: Perseverance is key, not just in music, but in any kind of artistic career. And no matter how tough it gets, you gotta have fun - an audience can feel your energy in your voice, lyrics, stage presence - and if you feel it, they will feel it too, and keep on coming back.

Any concert dates or upcoming shows?

We've been touring Southern California Navy bases over the past 9 months, and we're getting ready to head out on a USO tour, which we are thrilled about. And 2010 will be all about playing the Southeast!

I enjoy listening to Brokedown Cadillac live so here are some more cuts from their album Somewhere in America. [Scarlet O'Hara (Ghost of Dixie) and Love on the Run]. Enjoy!