GI Jams

Senator John McCain Meets With
GI Jams Founders Denny Randell and Biddy Schippers

As They Welcome
Three Musical Soldiers Home From Iraq

John McCain Meets with GI Jams Founders Randell & Schippers and Army Soldiers Returning From Active Duty In Iraq

When the 3 soldiers who joined GI Jams while deployed on the Iraqi desert finally came home, Denny and Biddy and a major GI Jams sponsor held a coming home celebration for them in Scottsdale, AZ. The Joe Speed Band, as they call themselves, was named after the grandfather of songwriter and lead singer Jeremiah Eaton who supported Jeremiah’s music when he was a growing up.

Just months earlier, having just returned to their base from a mission, they heard about GI Jams from their gunner who read about the project in Stars and Stripes. They were very excited and that night, Christmas Eve 2009, ran into their tent on the Iraqi desert, then home to 2 battalions of American Soldiers, grabbed the old guitars they kept there and recorded a new song into their small computer so they could immediately join GIJams.com and have an original song to post. Cowboy Soldiers (Please Send Me a Beer), written by Jeremiah, soon became very popular on the site and went to number 1 there. Over the remaining months of their deployment, with the support of their commanding officers, they shot video footage at the urging of Randell and Schippers, who then created a music video to go along with their song.

In addition to the immediate attention it received on GIJams.com, the song and video were ultimately included on GI Jams Records very first compilation album released through Rhino Records (Warner Music Group) and the recording and video have since gone on to be widely featured by the print media and on music video networks across the U.S. Songwriting Sergeant Jeremiah Eaton has since become one of the GI Jams musical military artists whose songs have been promoted and administrated world wide by EMI Music, the world’s largest music publisher, one of the many opportunities Randell and Schippers, through their GI Jams company and project, have obtained for these talented members of our military to whom we all owe so much.

Below are pictures from the Scottsdale, AZ homecoming celebration held for the Joe Speed Band members upon their return from Iraq in April 2010, including with Senator McCain, who came to the event in support of GI Jams and to welcome home these soldiers. A major force in putting on the event were Bob Smith, Pres & CEO of Alliance Beverage Distributors and Deanna Clarkson, head of that Cos.’ public relations and publishing divisions. Bob is an army veteran who served in Vietnam. Both he and his company have been major supporters of GI Jams.