During the May 4 concert, the Bucks County Women’s Chorus will perform ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ onstage with the band
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
In today’s day and age of endless spam phone calls, Pat Guth, artistic director of the Bucks County Women’s Chorus, is never too careful when an unknown number pops up on her phone.
So when she received a call from John Lappen, who claimed to be a booking agent for the ’70s/ ’80s rock band Foreigner, she assumed it was a scam — especially when he invited the BCWC to sing with the group during its upcoming performance at Parx Casino’s Xcite Center on May 4.
Quickly, Guth realized Lappen wasn’t out for her Social Security or credit card digits. A longtime tour tradition, Foreigner selects one lucky local choir in each town to sing the iconic hit “I Want To Know What Love Is” onstage. After discovering videos and audio clips online, Lappen knew the BCWC was the perfect fit for the Bensalem show.
“It really took me some time to recognize that he was for real,” said Guth, who googled Lappen’s credentials while they were on the phone. “I have people calling me all the time trying to sell me ‘experiences’ for the choir — performance tours, chances to sing at Carnegie Hall, and so forth. Mostly, they want money in return for these experiences. So, I thought he was going to tell me that it would cost $2,000 to do this gig with Foreigner. I was ready to hang up.”
After the conversation, Guth was tasked with selecting 25 out of the 94 chorus members. To keep things fair, she first asked the 30 ladies who have been with the BCWC since its inception in 2012. That number soon whittled down to 25 due to lack of interest or scheduling conflicts.
One of the chosen singers is Holland resident JoAnne Farling, a sales associate at Gap who is thrilled at the opportunity to stand alongside one of her all-time favorite bands. Though Farling has been a part of the BCWC’s many trips to Italy, Budapest, Scandinavia and the White House, collaborating with Foreigner may just take the cake.
“Foreigner was one of my groups growing up. I had their album, along with Styx and Kansas. Even though we’re wearing our choir uniform, what I really wanted to do was wear my studded belt, my black studded boots,” Farling said with a laugh. “I’m one of the few members in the choir who’s a rocker. Most of them, they sang choir during high school, they were in theater. I’ve never done any of that stuff, and I’m not really big on the Broadway scene like they are. I enjoy it, but I do karaoke. I like the rock. So this is really important to me to be able to do this.”
Farling will have to resist the urge to headbang on the Xcite Center stage, but her idols will certainly rock out on her behalf. According to Foreigner’s saxophonist Tom Gimbel, the group boasts as much (or more) energy as it did 40 years ago.
“The band is just having a fantastic time this year. Our singer, Kelly Hanson, knocks it out of the park every time. He’s like a home-run hitter,” Gimbel told The Times. “From there it just gets better. We have Chris Frazier on drums. He does a drum solo together with our lighting guy who’s also a musician, so he’s playing the lights like the drums and they do this thing together that’s just, you gotta see it to believe it. That’s worth the price of admission right there.”
During the Parx concert, Gimbel promised all the hits one would expect at a Foreigner show, including rock songs like “Double Vision,” “Hot Blooded” and “Feels Like The First Time,” as well as more mellow tracks such as “Waiting For A Girl Like You.”
“Foreigner music is great because it appeals on a lot of different levels,” he said. “Just the fact that people can relate to these songs, the lyrics. It can be creating new memories or remembering old ones.”
Over the years, Gimbel said Foreigner has amassed quite the broad fanbase, which today encompasses both adults and their children.
“We do see a younger generation, definitely. A lot of people are discovering their parents’ music and they like it. This kind of rock, from the ’70s and the mid- ’80s, has been the first time in history where the generations after have said, ‘Oh yeah, we like that stuff, too,’” he said. “Kids are doing that nowadays, going into the attic and finding these rock albums from yesteryear.”
This ever-growing teen following is what prompted Foreigner to invite a local choir onstage at each show. At non-21-and-over venues, student groups perform “I Want To Know What Love Is,” and the band makes a donation to their school’s music program. A portion of proceeds from the Parx show will be donated to Fox Chase Cancer Center.
As Foreigner makes its way to Bucks County, the 25 BCWC singers will be tirelessly preparing to appear in front of a sold-out crowd. Each will either be given a complimentary ticket to watch the concert, or will view a live stream from the comfort of a “green room” until it’s time to join the band for its next-to-last song.
“I feel honored to be among the group that gets picked. It’s a really awesome thing,” Farling said. “Stuff like this, it’s just an amazing experience that I’ll never forget. Besides my children, this is the best thing that I’ve ever done in my life.” ••
If you go…
Foreigner will perform at Parx Casino’s Xcite Center, 2999 Street Road, Bensalem, on Saturday, May 4. Doors are open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Visit parxcasino.com/xcitecenter for information.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
