Bands to light up ceremonies

Vocalist Brett Simms of Starewell can’t say enough about athletes with disabilities competing in the Special Olympics Provincial Summer Games held at Servus Place from June 26 to 28.

The threesome from Calgary is the headline act at the opening ceremonies on Friday and it just happens to be Starewell’s first Olympic event. “In short, we feel honoured for lending our helping hand to the Special Olympics and bringing our brand of rock and roll to the event.”

In addition to Starewell, the opening ceremonies has a first-class line-up of entertainment that includes 3rd Street Beat, Edmonton’s premiere hip hop dance studio, and Cumako, an international fusion band that won a songwriting competition dedicated to this year’s theme Heroes in Life.

Dignitaries officially open the event with welcoming speeches. But it’s the spectacular and emotional parade of 1,500 heroic athletes and coaches that is set to capture the hearts of onlookers.

The Calgary based six-piece Cumako competed against 200 other songwriters from across the province to write the Special Olympics theme song. And I Am Me touched the right chord with judges.

“When you listen to the lyrics, they just capture the essence and feel of what athletes are doing for themselves. Everyone will have a tear in their eye with this powerful message,” says Luci Henry, event organizer with RGB Productions.

Upright bass player Mark Johnson penned the song and showed it to his band-mates. “It was inspired by life — that we are all free individuals capable of making our own decisions and if we have a dream we should go for it no matter what our limitations,” says Johnson.

It took over 100 hours to arrange and record for the competition. “We’re perfectionists,” laughs Johnson. I Am Me starts off with African drumming and tribal chanting before it breaks into a march-like pop sound that builds to a climatic point.

While Cumako has spent the last two years refining their world fusion groove, Starewell has chipped away at the rock scene for eight years. They received long awaited recognition with Blurrier, a Top 20 single on the Canadian Rock Charts, and their 2008 album release Broke and Out of Money hit the Top 40. “That’s not bad for an Alberta band,” Simms says.

The trio is very flexible playing anywhere from a local 200-seater pub to a 10,000 fan gathering with Lynyrd Skynyrd. The attraction is simple says Henry. “They’re able to mix it up from new rock to classic rock and they really connect with the audience.”

In addition, 3rd Street Beat is featuring five routines with their infamous fluidly robotic hip-hop grooves.

For more information visit www.stalbertspecialolympics2009.com.