Bands set to rock Olympic Victory Ceremonies

It will be a worldwide stage for some of Canada's best musical artists when nightly Victory Ceremonies are held in downtown Vancouver during the Olympic Winter Games. Among the 12 headliners is Theory of a Deadman, a band already known to many U.S. Olympic enthusiasts thanks to the use of their music in NBC commercials.

"I don't know how it came about, but that was awesome," said frontman Tyler Connolly, who performs lead vocals and plays guitar. "[Bass player] Dean [Back] was watching TV in his hotel room and 'Sacrifice' came on."

Connolly said when they received their invitation to headline one of the Victory Ceremonies, they were also told another of their songs, "All or Nothing," would be used as a closing song on broadcasts.

"We're pretty excited we were asked to perform," said Connolly. "Considering we're from Vancouver, we thought it would be great to have something to do with Vancouver during the Olympics."

The band is currently touring the U.S. in support of their third album, "Scars & Souvenirs," so they won't get to spend much time in taking in the Olympic atmosphere before or after their Feb. 19 performance. Still, they love to see their hometown getting so much attention.

"I was in a movie theater a couple of days ago and one of the previews was this huge Olympic commercial," Connolly said. "It was saying, 'Welcome to Vancouver.' It was pretty cool. This is huge for Vancouver."

Connolly says the majority of Americans who tell him they've been to Canada say they've visited eastern cities like Toronto or Montreal. He and his band mates love the idea that the Games will bring a world of attention to the other end of Canada. It also provides exposure for Canadian musical acts to potentially billions of television and Internet viewers. Other Victory Ceremony headliners include Nelly Furtado, Barenaked Ladies, Trooper & Loverboy, Billy Talent and Burton Cummings.

Growing up in Vancouver, Connolly and the other members of Theory of a Deadman listened to a lot of classic rock. As they reached their teenage years, they were drawn to the grunge scene just three hours south in Seattle. He said their love of music was nurtured in school, where music classes were the norm. In high school Connolly was able to take guitar and music composition.

Recording artists also get a boost from something called CanCon (Canadian content), which is that Canadian radio stations have to play at least 33 percent Canadian music.

"It's pretty cool. They really seem to focus on trying to break in new bands and get Canadian artists out there. I haven't really seen that anywhere else in the world other than Canada," he noted.

The band is incredibly grateful for this Victory Ceremony opportunity, and a little disappointed they won't have a chance to check out any Olympic competition. Needless to say, all the guys are huge hockey fans (Vancouver Canucks in particular). Back played when he was a kid and got to put his hockey jersey up in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. "His dream come true," said Connolly, who along with rhythm guitarist David Brenner always watched hockey, but didn't start playing until they joined an adult league.

If they weren't on tour, the band members would also love to check out events like luge, snowboarding and speed skating.

Connolly asked who the top Canadian figure skaters are and said he remembers this really hot French Canadian skater he used to see a lot on TV, Josée Chouinard. She'll be in Vancouver doing in-arena reporting for figure skating and short track, so it's too bad he won't get to meet her (unless she makes it to the concert).

"Vancouver is going to be one of the best Olympic hosts because of the diversity of the city," Connolly said. "A lot of people around the world are going to get to see Theory of a Deadman. That's going to be great for us."