LEADER HERALD 12/01/08 - FLAME PERFORMS IN ATHENS, GREECE

JOHNSTOWN - Lexington Center's Flame is going international.

On Sunday, the soft-rock group consisting of area people with disabilities left the center to travel to New York City and then board a plane to Greece. Flame is scheduled to perform Wednesday at the International Conference on Disability Legislation in Athens, Greece. The six-day trip to Europe will bring the band back home to Johnstown Friday.

The 10-member pop group was hired by the Greek Ministry of Education to perform, and the Greek government is paying for all of the cover band's travel and lodging.

The Greek conference features speakers, exhibitions, awards and entertainment focused on the education, inclusion and rights of people with disabilities. Also scheduled for the conference is a speech by the Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanli, and a live broadcast of Flame's performance on MTV Greece.

"The main mission for Flame is for the [band members] to get what they want," said Lexington Center Executive Director Paul J. Nigra. "They want to perform and be famous, and they're getting what they want."

But Nigra said another point of this trip is to change people's attitudes about people with disabilities and what they can accomplish.

He said Flame will be sightseeing as well as performing in Greece.

"This is another way to enhance their self-worth," Nigra said.

Led by singer Michelle King, Flame band members also include David LaGrange, Falon McBride, Scott Stuart, Nick Robinson, Shawn Lehr, Paul Zuckerwar, Jim Elwood, Debbie Woodruff and Karl Blanchard.

Flame began in 2003 from a recreation program at Lexington. The plan was to have the band play at the agency and around town. However, Lexington officials said the profound effect band members have on their audiences made it impossible to keep Flame within the confines of Fulton County. Word spread and requests for hire began pouring in. Flame now averages more than 90 paid performances per year.

Flame performs for conventions, corporate conferences, civic events, school functions, dances and private parties. The band's song list contains more than 100 classic rock, country and blues songs from the past five decades.

Lexington Center Director of Public Relations Tim Fiori said Flame management was contacted by the adviser to the Greek Minister of Education to perform at the conference after viewing one of Flame's videos on the Internet.

Julia Stavridou, Greece's special adviser to the minister of national education and religious affairs, wrote to Lexington officials: "My country has very recently passed a new, innovative law concerning special-needs education that focuses on the abilities rather than the disabilities of disabled people. At the meeting, new legislation and its merits will be presented, several speakers will present topics on the field of their expertise, and [there will be] a presentation by the organizing committee for the Athens 2011 Special Olympics Games.

"Your work has been an inspiration to many people, disabled or not," she added. "I am really excited about having Flame here. I listened to their music, and it is fantastic."

Fiori said the 10 members of Flame are being accompanied by himself and four other Lexington staff members, including band Manager Maria Nestle of Palatine Bridge.

"They are very excited," Fiori said of the Flame members. "For a lot of them, it's their first time flying."

The Lexington official said the center had planned for "every possible situation" that might have occurred with the 8 1/2-hour plane ride Sunday.

Nestle said in the "back of your mind" you worry about traveling to a foreign country in light of international terrorism this past week in India. But Nestle said she's personally excited to travel with the group she has managed the past four years.

"They've all grown either in their personal lives or in their musical lives," Nestle said.

Fiori, who has been to Greece before, said Greece is a democracy leaning toward socialism. He said many of the people the members of Flame are due to meet this week will be "government people," but the trip also will not be lost on others who see Flame.

"I hope they have fun - the experience of a lifetime," Fiori said.

Fiori said the plan is for Flame to play for about an hour Wednesday from a 15-song playlist that will include Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."

He said Flame members the past five years have had great attitudes, and they all relish meeting new people wherever they go.

"They enjoy the travel," Fiori said. "No one ever says they don't want to do it anymore. They're rock stars around Lexington."

Named Cover Band of the Year in New York State's Capital Region by Metroland Magazine, Flame has released three CDs.

Lexington Center is negotiating with a documentary film company that wants to produce a film about the band. Flame's already booked 33 performances in 2009, including performances in Boise, Idaho, and South Bend, Ind.

For more information about Flame, call Tim Fiori (736-3931) or go to www.flametheband.com

Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com