Bad Company Experience comes to Coaldale
Come get your “Rock and Roll Fantasy” on Nov. 30 at The Angela Triplex Theatre in Coaldale.
The Bad Company Experience or “BCX” will be putting on “everything you want in a live BadCo show,” according to the theater’s website, with doors opening at 8 p.m. The band celebrates the music of not just Bad Company but Free, The Firm and Paul Rodgers.
Vocalist Rick Statkus, drummer Chris Cummings, guitarist Gary Gipson, bassist Dave Eveland and guitarist/keyboardist Michael Gray, all Lehigh Valley residents, make up the energy-charged tribute band which was founded in 2016.
Although Cummings describes BCX as a “reasonably new project,” he explained they plan to expand their touring base.
Throughout these past few years, they have mainly toured in Pennsylvania and New Jersey but 2020 will find them in bigger venues and farther destinations such as Rhode Island, Massachusetts and the Carolinas.
Originally, it was Statkus’ idea to become a Bad Company tribute band after they discussed other inspirations such as The Who. They wanted to keep the band small, as to not have too many band members and Bad Company allowed for this.
However, their love for the music also inspired the decision.
“They’re just great songs and they’re delivered with such impact that it’s hard not to love them if you’re a classic rock fan,” Cummings said.
While the band wishes to celebrate the music, they do not wish to replicate a recorded, studio sound. They want audience members to feel as if they are actually seeing the band they know and love, as they remember it, live.
Cummings described the experience as “a powerful live performance … (similar to) if you were listening in live at the Hard Rock.”
“We’re not trying to re-create the studio model,” he said. “What we deliver just … hits you in the stomach with that live feel that Bad Company was known for.”
Cummings said “tribute bands’ main function, to me, is (preserving) the memory” but he feels that their music can be loved by all walks of life.
“If you do what you do really well, even if it’s not in the audience’s direct field house, people are going to dig it,” he said.
Tickets are on sale both online at the angelatheatre.com/special-events or at the door. This is a BYOB event with food, soda and snacks available at the venue. Small coolers are permitted.
“You’re going to see a performance that is going to leave you exhilarated by the time we’re done,” Cummings said. “(Fans) can close their eyes and feel like they’re listening to Paul Rodgers.”