NBC’s Olympics theme song has Vegas touch
The theme song chosen by NBC for the Sochi Winter Olympics has several Las Vegas connections.
Aptly titled “Golden,” the song was written by the alternative electro band, Parade of Lights, which includes drummer Anthony Improgo of Las Vegas.
The band, which has split time working out of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, has opened for the Grammy-winning Las Vegas band Imagine Dragons.
Parade of Lights, out with the current hit “We’re the Kids,” is kicking off a nine-week tour Feb. 20 at Vinyl at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Both the drums and piano sections for “Golden” were tracked and recorded at Vegas View Recording on the campus of the International Academy of Design &Technology Las Vegas.
The band’s label, Astralwerks Records, an imprint of Capitol Records, submitted “Golden” to NBC for consideration. NBC selected “Golden” and has been featuring it in promos for the Games, which open today.
Band members includes Ryan Daly, Michelle Ashley, Randy Schulte and Improgo, who has lived in Las Vegas for six years. His parents live here as well.
Improgo said he and Daly have “been at it since 2006. We’ve been through the wringer writing for others, not necessarily the music we wanted to write.
“Basically,” he said, “when we got burned out on that, we started to write what we wanted to write. The cliché is true: do something from the heart, and it will react.”
WOMEN IN GAMING PANEL
A panel featuring three of the leading women in gaming will be held Feb. 19 at The Mob Museum.
Patricia Becker, Jan Jones Blackhurst and Elaine Wynn take part in the museum’s series Courtroom Conversation.
Becker, former executive director of the UNLV International Gaming Institute, is the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s first and only female appointee.
Blackhurst, known as Jan Jones when she became the first female mayor of Las Vegas, serves as executive vice president of communications and government relations for Caesars Entertainment Corp.
Wynn, a director of Wynn Resorts Ltd., is a trustee of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and a founding and current chairman of Communities in Schools of Nevada.
Tickets are $40 (general admission), $125 (preferred) and $250 (VIP).Ticket information: 702-229-3734.
The event will be streamed live via website and shown in the UNLV Student Union starting at 6:30 p.m. That is a free event, with 150 seats available. To reserve a seat, call 702-895-4931.
LIGHTING IT UP
The Linq’s High Roller has been putting on a light show this week, testing the lighting system for the world’s tallest observatory wheel.
The 550-foot high rim looms over the Strip like a giant roulette wheel.
Sections of the rim can be illuminated with different colors or it can all be one color.
There are rumblings that the celebrity-studded grand opening is likely to be held in April, a few weeks after the High Roller gets approval to open.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Fresh off the grapevine: Steve Geddes, former wine director for Charlie Palmer at Aureole at Mandalay Bay, has been appointed director of operations for Charlie Palmer Group. Geddes’ territory covers California, New York and Washington, D.C.
SIGHTINGS
About a dozen Denver Broncos, including wide receiver Wes Welker, partied at Surrender (Encore at Wynn Las Vegas) on Wednesday, trying to forget a stunning 43-8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday…Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Sylvester Stevenson, a Valley High School graduate, dining at Fu restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel with family members on Wednesday. Earlier the former University of Utah star spoke at the Boys &Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, stressing the importance education had on his career.
THE PUNCH LINE
“Justin Bieber is still on a tear. Justin and a group of 10 friends were on a private jet. They harassed the flight attendants to the point where they had to hide in the cockpit. And they were smoking pot to the point where the pilots had to put on oxygen masks. The best part of the story is Justin’s dad was on the plane smoking and harassing along with the rest of them. So for all the folks asking where the hell are this kid’s parents: Now we know.” — Jimmy Kimmel
Norm Clarke’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or email him at norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
