|
On the heels of its 17th CD release in 18 years, the award-winning rock group ApologetiX, a Christian parody band, will perform April 11, at Fassett Middle School, 3025 Starr Ave., Oregon. The concert is sponsored by St. Mark Lutheran Church.
Rew!nd, the church’s youth band, will open at 3:30 p.m. and ApologetiX will take the stage at 4 p.m.
The band’s 18th anniversary tour follows an ambitious year. Their just-released CD, “The Boys Aren't Backin’ Down,” was recorded live in October 2009 and includes 13 parodies never before recorded on CD, plus five revamped parodies from the band’s two earlier CDs.
ApologetiX has played more than 1,200 concerts and in 2009, played in more
 |
|
Described as “Weird Al meets Billy Graham,” Apologetix
members include (back row from left): Tom Milnes,
guitar; Tom Tincha, guitar; Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner,
drums. Front row (from left): J. Jackson, vocals;
Keith Haynie, bass; Bill Hubauer, keyboards. (Photo
Courtesy of Apologetix)
|
states than ever before in a single year – 40. Over the years, the band has played in all 50 states.
ApologetiX specializes in biblical parodies of classic and modern rock songs. Lead singer J. Jackson, who also writes the band’s lyrics, says “ApologetiX is best described as “Weird Al’ Yankovic meets Billy Graham.
“We appeal to both the Christian and secular audiences. I think we’re the only band that’s been featured on the radio shows of both Billy Graham and Howard Stern, not to mention ‘The 700 Club’ and ‘The Dr. Demento Show,’” he said.
The band’s repertoire covers the gamut of rock and roll from Elvis to today’s artists, with an occasional rap or country song thrown in for good measure. Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” becomes “Enter Samson.” John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane” becomes “Iraq & Iran.” Green Day’s “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” becomes “The Boulevard of Both Extremes.” The Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane” becomes “Life in the Last Days.”
The band’s name comes from the word “apologetics,” which originally meant “the defense of the Christian faith.” Just as the members of ApologetiX adapted the word for their own purposes, they adapt the words of famous songs through parody to convey a biblical message. “We take our lead from the great theologian Mary Poppins,” Jackson said. “Just ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,’ we take the Bible seriously. We just don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
In 2004, ApologetiX received the American Christian Music Award for Alternative Artist of the Year and Alternative Song of the Year. In 2005, the band was named Favorite Indie Artist in the CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards and also won the Best Album award in Christianity Today’s 2005 Readers’ Choice Christian Music Awards.
ApologetiX CDs are available at Christian bookstores throughout the U.S. and internationally. They are also available through the band’s Web site (www.apologetix.com) and as downloads through iTunes, amazonmp3, and other major providers.
The band has a fast-growing online fan club with more than 90,000 members, but Jackson says the band members don’t measure success in terms of numbers:
“Our mission is the same as it’s always been – to reach the lost and teach the rest. Every week, we receive hundreds of e-mails from people all over the world who’ve been touched by our CDs or concerts and are learning more about the Bible or are using our CDs to reach and teach others. And that’s what it’s all about for us,” he said.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Proceeds raised benefit Haiti relief and the Rew!nd equipment fund. For concert tickets and more information call Cathy Klewer at 419-693-8878 or visit www.apologetix.com.
 |
Entertainment 
Subscribe to this comment's feed