A country band performing in an Irish bar in the middle of Los Angeles? Why not? L. A.'s odd pastiche of people means anything goes. Dig deep enough and history shows that Los Angeles was once the mythic Wild West with shootouts and stagecoach races on downtown streets. Before movies and red carpets, ranchos and cattle populated the Hills and the Valley. A few line dancing bars can be found in the outskirts of town, and San Dimas is the home of a yearly rodeo.
Brokedown Cadillac's lead singer, Corrie English, presents herself with Southern charm, a rarity in the Los Angeles area. It makes her that much more watchable. She's an actress who has appeared as a guest star in recognizable shows like Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Without a Trace, NCIS, and CSI Miami. She's even appeared in a few feature films. All and that and she can sing.
These days English's favorite role is performing with Brokedown Cadillac and being a songwriter. She also cowrote the song "Fly Away," which appeared on Sugarland's triple platinum debut album.
English's honey-inflected mezzo voice regales the audience with sincerity and sweetness. When she sings of being angry at a boss and wanting him to kiss her ________, not only does she stop from singing the word, she retracts saying it's not her style. The audience most certainly understands. She give life to mostly female characters in her songs. The women are dreamers, schemers, hopeful, sexy, sweet, frightened, and sometimes nothing but trouble.
She dedicated "Southern Nights" to Andy (Fickler), the director of Race to Witch Mountain, since he put them in that movie as Brokedown Cadillac singing that song. That they still exist in indie status after being on a feature film soundtrack is more of a comment on the state of the music industry than their talent.
Other standout songs include "The Last Picture Show." It's a nod to both Hollywood and small country towns where people can be anything they want to be through film.
The other half of the songwriting team consists of Randy Dunham. That Duham and English hit it off is not surprising. They are both from musical families and super-smart. Both graduated summa cum laude, something that takes real dedication. That same dedication translates well to keeping a band going.
A bit of shame goes to Molly Malone's staff for not clearing the stage of a stray cord which loudly crackled a few times during the performance. Molly Malone's has so many bands playing there in one night that they should be used to preparing the stage. Kudos to the band for being consummate professionals who never missed a beat.
Songs should show off the best parts of a singer's voice whenever possible. A few times, the vocal melody went so low in pitch that English's aforementioned honey-inflected mezzo disappeared. Conversely, another song went a touch too high, causing her to go slightly out of tune briefly because it was over a vocal break. She has a great command of performing her songs, setting the mood and communicating with the audience. Nothing should stand in the way.
English's heart of gold led her to reveal how excited she was to tour Iraq. The troops were were very appreciative and expressed that they sometimes feel forgotten by the people back home they are working so hard to protect. The troops enjoyed her All-American spirit, plus she's cute as a button. A real pro, she can keep singing while taking pictures with them. They took a video camera with them on the trip. It's fun to watch them put on kevlar and rough it. They hope to go back again. Attached is a video of their experiences. For pictures of the show please go to Sean Arenas' page.
God bless the USA. God bless Brokedown Cadillac.
For more information please visit: www.brokedowncadillac.net
They are also on myspace www.myspace.com/brokedowncadillacband
Jeff Legore, Randy Dunham, Corrie English, Don Ian, Danny Reuland
Brokedown Cadillac on tour in the middle of Iraq with Hooters Girls.
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