BATTLE GROUND — Well, their parents will think it’s cool.
The Battle Ground High School vocal jazz ensemble on Saturday will take the stage at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater with, of all groups, 1980s rock band Foreigner, singing the chorus of “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
The band routinely invites high school choirs to take the stage to sing backup for lead singer Mike Jones’ iconic power ballad. Participating bands receive $500 to pay for supplies. Three years ago, when Foreigner and Kid Rock’s tour brought them through Clark County, it was Ridgefield High School’s choir that got the call.
These kids, obviously, are too young to have been alive when these jukebox heroes were in their heyday with hit after hit, though their parents may have slow-danced to the song at homecomings and proms.
“My dad froze,” 15-year-old Annabelle Murphy said of sharing the news with her family. “And was like, ‘Really?’ ”
Her parents will, of course, be in the audience Saturday.
Choir teacher Darcy Schmitt said it’s a big gig for the group, which will see 25 members perform Saturday. The group performs at festivals and events all over Clark County and the region.
“They go out about 50 times a year,” Schmitt said. “You call us if it’s not illegal or immoral, and we do it.”
But, all that travel means lots of fundraising, and there’s nothing Schmitt hates more than a bake sale or a car wash. So when she got the call from Foreigner’s manager in Las Vegas, it was a no-brainer.
“I could sell cookies, or I could sing with Foreigner,” she said.
Schmitt’s bleary-eyed jazz singers, still at the height of their summer vacation, practiced Thursday for their rock concert debut. It’s been a few weeks since they’ve been together in the school’s choir room, so it took a few repetitions of “I wanna know what love iiiiis, I want you to show meeeee” to work out the kinks. Or, as Schmitt calls it, “singing it nicely.”
“I need you out here!” she called to her class, busting into song with them.
“We want you there, present,” she demanded, and, with some encouragement, the room was soon filled with the students’ belting rendition of the hit song, which was released 34 years ago this November.
The way the kids and Schmitt tell it after a few run-throughs, it’s no big deal. This is actually easier than most of their gigs, the ones where they have to actually arrange their music with different parts. This time, they’re just singing it straight.
“It takes a little pressure off,” said Addy Gozart, 16.
And by the end of Thursday’s rehearsal, Schmitt’s face spread into a warm smile.
If You Go
• What: The Juke Box Heroes Tour with Foreigner, Whitesnake and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening.
• When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 17200 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
• Tickets: $29.50 plus fees; up to $388 for front-row seats.
• Venue Website: www.sunlightsupplyamphitheater.com
“It’s another way for me to teach my kids how to perform and how to act and what to do,” she said, adding, “They’re going to look great.”
Foreigner will perform with Whitesnake and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, a cover band, at 7 p.m. at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater in Ridgefield. There are still tickets available for Saturday’s show. Visit www.sunlightsupplyamphitheater.com.
