ApX Needs Help, New Clues, Bill Rieger Update |
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here.
I had the honor of giving the sermon last Sunday at Ellport Community Church in Ellwood City PA. My topic was “The Mystery of the Trinity.” If you’re interested in seeing and hearing what I had to say, you can watch it here: |
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I’ve had to relay some heavy news recently in this newsletter, including two ApX guys with brain tumors (Bill Rieger and Tom Milnes) and another with a daughter-in-law who had serious complications while giving birth (Jimmy “Vegas’ Tanner). I’m sorry to burden you with that, but we appreciate your prayers.
In comparison to those three situations, what I’m about to share doesn’t seem so bad, but it’s still serious. Unfortunately, ApologetiX needs major help and prayer right now. On the plus side, it’s been over three months since the last time I had to write an appeal, so I’m grateful for that.
APX NEEDS HELP & PRAYER
On the negative side, ApX has a number of large, medium, and small bills coming due, and is significantly behind in paying me (don’t worry; the other band guys are up to date), and my family also has a number of bills of various sizes. Plus our minivan just had an expensive trip to the mechanic. Moreover, my daughter, Heather, is getting married in two weeks.
Now that’s wonderful news, but I’m the father of the bride. Ever seen that movie? Thankfully, Heather and her fiancé, Max, have modest tastes (and we have money set aside), but it’s still my responsibility. It’s not your responsibility, though. God will provide, as He has always done for all of my years in ApologetiX (and my entire life).
Oh my! I just realized while typing that paragraph that it was 33 years ago (a nice Christological number) today — February 28, 1992 — when Andy Sparks and I took our demo tape to The Paradise Club in hopes of booking our first concert for the band! One month later, we made our debut as ApologetiX. Wow, praise the Lord for getting us this far. Hallelujah!
But getting back to what I was saying before: Yes, God most certainly uses people to help us, but who those people are is entirely up to Him. This newsletter goes out to all of our fans, not to specific people we hope will support us. If you’d like to help, here are some options:
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Pray (first and foremost) Give by mail: ApologetiX, 208 Charlemma Dr., Pittsburgh PA 15214
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Donations are not tax deductible. Please only give if you feel led and can afford it. We believe in guilt-free giving, not contributions by compulsion. Thanks for reading this! |
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Post-Surgery Update on Bill "Moose” Rieger |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
As I mentioned in our two previous newsletters, ApologetiX alum drummer Bill "Moose" Rieger was scheduled for surgery this week to remove a glioma in his brain. The procedure took place on Wednesday. Unfortunately, things did not go as well as hoped.
Bill’s wife, Chris, texted me from Bill’s phone that afternoon to let me know the details. She posted the following on Facebook later that day:
"They had to stop the surgery. After getting into the area of the tumor and while mapping it, they determined the tumor has infiltrated the area of his brain that controls his left side.
"If they were to proceed, he would be paralyzed on the left side. They are going to close up, and he'll be discharged tomorrow. He will now definitely need to follow up with oncology for chemo and radiation.”
Obviously, this was not the ideal outcome. Please keep Bill and Chris in your prayers. I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with him since, but I know that Bill is a fighter who has much to live for, including a wife, three married children, and two grandchildren.
Speaking of which, last week, I erroneously wrote that Bill’s younger daughter, Rachel, had recently given birth to a son. It was actually Bill’s older daughter, Rebecca, and the baby’s full name is Jonah Baker Smeltzer. Rebecca and her husband, Alex, now have two children. Their older son, Roman, just turned two a few weeks ago. |
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CD BOGO Extended Thru Sunday Night |
Our 77th CD, ApologetiX ‘77, has been in stock for over a week now.
Our “buy one get one” special was slated to end tonight, but we’ve extended by two days, so it now ends this Sunday, March 2, at 11:59 p.m. PST. Order by then, and you’ll get the MP3 download immediately. You’ll also get an extra ApologetiX ‘77 CD free with every ApologetiX ‘77 CD you buy. Or choose from 43 other titles as your free extra CD. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO |
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We hope to release our fourth single of 2025 by the end of this weekend, Lord willing.
Here are your clues. Want to really impress us? See if you can spot all of the references in both entries. We counted a total of 18.
SONG #1
Moses spent the first stage of his life in a palace, the second stage tending sheep, and the third stage in the wilderness. The journey was no party, and he got used to bad news. It took a long time, but Moses turned out to be a man who would someday be revered … although someone could argue that it’s easy to get respect after you're dead.
SONG #2
Jesus seemed to be on top of the world on Palm Sunday but gave His disciples fair warning He already had one foot out the door. He was a man on a mission, but the authorities feared a loss of control. Once our Lord was crucified, they declared Him D.O.A., but He’d get up from the grave before they knew it ... though they’d hear about it later.
Once the new single is released, we'll announce it in our news bulletin, on our website, and on our Facebook page. |
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How is Tom Milnes This Week? |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
In last weekend’s newsletter, I told you that ApX guitarist Tom Milnes had suffered a seizure and spent most of the week in the hospital, where the doctors discovered a glioma on the right side of his brain (He had previously had a meningioma removed from his brain in December 2019).
He was discharged last Thursday night. Tom and his wife, Barb, are still awaiting results from pathology, although they had been told nothing was “urgent or life-threatening.” After, they will consult with the doctors to chart a course of treatment.
Because of the seizure, Tom also sustained a four-to-five-inch cut on this head and bit his tongue pretty hard, which was making it difficult for him to speak clearly. I saw him on Sunday before and after church and talked with him briefly. He looked well, considering all he’d been through.
I also spoke to him on the phone for almost an hour on Monday, and his speaking sounded much better.
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Fan Doing Well After Chemo |
We’ve told you a couple times recently about a longtime fan and friend of the band in Maryland named Mike Doane, who recently learned from his oncologist that he has Large B-cell Lymphoma. Mike just had his second chemo treatment and gave us this update on Thursday to share: |
Thank you all for your continued prayers and thoughts. I definitely believe that God’s intervention has helped me avoid any serious side effects from my first two treatments and helped to make me feel better again. At the end of my first three weeks, I started to put weight back on, which seems to have helped lessen the fati30gue and tiredness. In addition, I did not have any hair loss, though hard to tell since I shave my head, but I did notice that regrowth was noticeably slower. I did not have to shave as often! There's a win! Monday was my 2nd treatment and another long nine-hour day. The actual injections went faster but the staff lost a nurse who was able to make the chemo connections so they were short staffed with just one certified nurse in the office. There were a few long spans of time between medicine changes, but we were both treated well and enjoyed our time together.
I am still not having any side effects apart from "metal mouth." I did have this after the first treatment, but thought it was just related to something I ate or drank. Nope, it is something that happens from chemo treatments and causes a somewhat metallic taste in your mouth, hence the name.
I also found out this week that I am losing some hair as I am able to pull many strands out of my goatee with no issue. So that has been shaved off and it is possible the mustache will go next :( Many thanks for letting me share my story with you. |
Thanks to all of you who are praying for Mike. |
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We began our latest trip through the Bible on Wednesday, April 3. Note: If you don't have a Bible handy, you can look up these passages for free on Bible Gateway. They have about 60 different English translations/versions there to choose from, plus translations in many other languages, many of which also have multiple translations/versions. |
CLICK HERE to see the reading plan for the whole year. |
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Get ApX Complete Library, USBs, Songbook |
To get the complete ApologetiX library, ApX USB thumb drives, and/or the new ApX digital songbook — or to get more info about them — just click on the item(s) you want below. |
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Influential Albums #1752–1758 |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1752. Unchained Medley - ApologetiX In November 2011, we put out the 30th ApologetiX CD, Wise Up and Rock, which I wrote about in an earlier entry. Many folks felt the highlight was the final track, a medley of '80s parodies we nicknamed "Octagon but Not Forgotten." Our fans took the "not forgotten" part very seriously. They wanted us to do full-length versions of the song snippets that made up the medley, and they never let us forget it. We resisted, they pleaded. They persisted, they succeeded. Part of that was attributable to an unseen ally; ApologetiX keyboardist Rich Mannion, who joined us in 2018, loved the songs in that medley and was eager to expand them. His support was vital, because he'd have to do the drum-programming, in addition to keyboards and backing vocals. In June 2023, we tested the waters with a full-length version of the last song from the medley, "Wicked," a parody of Devo's "Whip It." We had already re-recorded the music for a new spoof called "Clip It" in our Samson rock opera, so it made sense to revisit "Wicked" while in the neighborhood. Longtime listeners went wild, and we officially decided to unchain the medley. There were only 10 tunes in the original, so we added two more from the same time zone (1980-85). Ironically, we had used the phrase "Unchained Medley" in the headline of our newsletter way back in September 2011, two months before Wise Up and Rock came out. It seems we've come full circle. Will the circle be unbroken? Yes. And now it's unchained as well. Released in mid-March 2024, Unchained Medley was the 73rd ApologetiX LP and featured parodies of: a-ha, The Cars, Kim Carnes, Devo, Thomas Dolby, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, The Fixx, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Corey Hart, and Elton John. 1753. On Rock - Daniel Band
Although the Christian Canadian hard-rock group Daniel Band released five studio albums from 1982-87, I'd never heard of them until Keith Haynie joined ApologetiX in 1995. "Daniel Band was the first Christian rock music I ever bought myself," he says. "They were recommend by a co-worker." He still ranks them in the top three of his favorite Christian artists." I own a 2001 limited-edition two-disc copy of their '82 debut LP, On Rock, but I didn't get it from Keith. Believe it or not, it was a personal gift from Daniel Band lead singer/bassist Dan McCabe (no, the band isn't named after him) when we met him for dinner in Toronto on December 30, 2001. ApologetiX was in town to play the North East Area Wesleyan Youth Convention. I can't remember how everything got arranged for us to break bread with Dan, but he was extremely gracious and humble. Keith and I eventually saw him (and his fellow band members) again in 2023 at a "meet and greet" and in concert at Immortal Fest in Versailles OH. I was very impressed with their sound and their voices. We were there as spectators that year. In 2024, ApX actually played Immortal, and so did Daniel Band, but on a different evening, although Keith went early so he could see them again. This year, we'll be playing immediately after them at Immortal on Saturday, August 30, so that's pretty cool. But getting back to On Rock, the opening track "He's the Creator," immediately reminded me of Rush's self-titled 1974 debut LP, both instrumentally and vocally — Dan has moments where he sounds very much Geddy Lee. The same goes for the songs "In the Sky" and "Never Again," although they may be more akin to Rush's second and third LPs, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel. Another track, "I'm Sorry," sounds more like another famous Canadian power trio, Triumph. But Daniel Band doesn't stay stuck in the same groove for too long. For example, "Two Roads," calls to mind Ted Nugent. The lyrics throughout the album leave no doubt where Daniel Band is coming from spiritually; they're biblical, bold, and blunt. Notable examples of the latter would be "Undercover Christian" and "Spiritual Games." My favorite selections are "He's the Creator," "I'm Sorry," "Somebody Loves You," "Two Roads," and "I Like to Rock." The first disc on the limited edition set comprises the 11 tracks from the original On Rock LP, plus a 12th called "Behind the Songs (With Dan and Tony)," which features Dan McCabe and lead guitarist/vocalist Tony Rossi. The second disc is an in-depth interview with the group members as they give extensive answers to 14 questions, split into 14 different tracks. Speaking of questions, I asked Keith Haynie a few of those myself while writing this article. Here's what I was able to find out: The first Daniel Band LP he ever bought was actually their second, Straight Ahead, from 1983. Since he owns them all, I asked which one was his favorite. He replied, "My favorite is a hard question. They were all very good. But I think Running out of Time (1987), their last studio album, just does win out slightly." Then a moment later, he said, "Amendment. I think Rise Up (1986) is my favorite now that I’ve given it more thought. It was their hardest hitting of all of them." A 2010 reissue of On Rock included two bonus tracks, "It All Turns to Rain" and "I Give You All." 1754. This - Lost and Found I think ApologetiX had played at a number of the same Christian festivals as Lost and Found before we finally actually had the opportunity to talk to them in person. That happened on January 11, 2003, when they opened for us at the Tennessee Teen Convention in Gatlinburg TN. By that time, ApX had done over 500 concerts, but, if I remember correctly, Lost and Found had already done thousands. As one of the members pointed out to me, their acoustic-oriented, plug-in-and-play approach made for efficient travel and minimal set-up time. In fact, back in the '80s, they once did a bicycle tour across America that included approximately 270 concerts in 340 days! But they've traveled around the world, and we would have been honored to open for them. Lost and Found are two guys named Michael Bridges (guitar and vocals) and George Baum (keyboards and vocals). I'm not sure which one is "Lost" and which one is "Found." I think I jokingly asked them at the time, and they probably had a clever answer, because they're very funny, but I've long since forgotten. What I do remember is how impressed I was by their energy and wit on stage and their sincerity and faith off stage. Lost and Found has released 20 LPs over the years, most of which are available on Apple Music and Spotify, as far as I can tell. They gave us three of them at the time, including This, which came out in 1998. The instantly (and long-lastingly) enjoyable "Be Not Afraid" and "Lions" were perfect choices to bookend the album. But there's a lot to love about the other 12 tracks. Lost and Found's music and vocals often remind me of the early works of the late Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman. Like him, they can be witty and wacky one moment (e.g. "Nice to Know," "New Creation," and "Slide Girl") and poignant and pensive the next (e.g. "Harken," "Must Be," and "Cling to the Cross"). In fact, right after "Be Not Afraid" starts things off with a boisterous bang, we're delivered directly to the sad-sounding, serious "Remember Me," a delicate piece of music that becomes a recurring theme throughout the album, appearing in various instrumental forms as the segue between many of the songs. Similarly, the achingly beautiful penultimate track, "Baby," sits in stark contrast to the irresistible earworm that follows, "Lions." The duo's website summarizes their style better than I can: "Some have said their music is 'acoustic thrash.' Some have called it 'heavy mental,' owing to the lyrical content in each three-minute song. And some have simply said, 'Well, at least it's organic.' However you choose to characterize the sound, if you see these guys play, you'll find that all are welcome, that strangers become friends at the concerts, and that the music of faith is fun." 1755. Mezzamorphis - Delirious? British Christian rockers Delirious? originally recorded their most famous composition, "I Can Sing of Your Love Forever," in 1994, while known as The Cutting Edge Band. They changed their name in '96. Released on April 12, 1999, Mezzamorphis was the group's second LP, and their first to enter the Billboard 200, ultimately peaking at #137, while reaching #2 on the U.S. Christian album chart. It also reached #25 on the U.K. albums chart, although their debut LP, King of Fools, did even better there, making it to #13, thanks in part to the single "Deeper," which hit #20 on the U.K. pop chart and #1 on the U.S. Contemporary Christian Hit Radio (CHR) chart. I've loved that tune ever since I first heard it, although I knew nothing about its chart success. Mezzamorphis, meanwhile, spawned two U.K. Top 20 pop singles, "See the Star" (#16 U.K., #7 CHR) and "It's O.K." (#18 U.K.). Two other cuts became Top 10 CHR hits, "Gravity" (#4) and "Love Falls Down" (#7). A couple additional tracks hit the Top 20 on the annual charts of the U.K. Christian publication Cross Rhythms, "Bliss" (#5) and "Heaven" (#9), as did "Gravity" (#2) and "It's O.K." (#19). The track that led me to buy this album was "Gravity," which I first heard (and really enjoyed) on a couple different various-artists compilations I already owned. In case you're wondering, the question mark at the end of the band's name is not a typo. At one time, it was even stylized as the number 5 (i.e. Deliriou5). Amusingly, their record company is called Furious?, and their music publisher is called Curious? The word Mezzamorphis combines the titles two of the album's non-charting cuts — "Mezzanine Floor" and "Metamorphis." Moreover, the word mezzanine means "in between" and "metamorphosis" means "change." Put them together and you have "in between change." As a side note, when I worked at the corporate headquarters for Equitable Gas and Equitable Resources in downtown Pittsburgh from 1989-98, my offices were all located on the mezzanine floor. That's where I was working for the first seven years of ApologetiX's existence. I was in between change myself at the time. I finally went full-time with ApX on January 1, 1999. 1756. Smalltown Poets - Smalltown Poets Six Top 20 singles — four of which reached the Top 10 — on the Contemporary Christian Hit Radio (CHR) chart. Not bad for a bunch of rookies. Georgia-based Christian rock group Smalltown Poets released their self-titled debut LP on March 27, 1997, and the first six tracks registered on the radio: "Prophet, Priest and King" (#3 CHR), "If You'll Let Me Love You" (#1 CHR), "Everything I Hate" (#20 CHR), "I'll Give" (#4 CHR), "Anymore" (#14 CHR), and "Who You Are" (#4 CHR). The first time I listened to this album, years after its release, I had no idea what the hits were, but I did notice that it sure got off to a strong start. Even so, the second half isn't chopped liver, either: "Scenario," "There's a Day," "Monkey's Paw," "Trust," and "Inside the Bubble." The music reminded me of Gin Blossoms, Caedmon's Call, Jars of Clay, and The Smithereens. As the band's name suggests, their lyrics had a depth befitting poets but with a humility you'd expect from smalltown folk. I like all 11 songs, but "Prophet, Priest and King," "I'll Give," and "There's a Day" rose to the top for me, followed by "If You'll Let Me Love You," "Everything I Hate," "Who You Are," and "Scenario." 1757. The Best of Sugar Ray - Sugar Ray Released on June 21, 2005, The Best of Sugar Ray featured 15 tracks by the Southern California rock band, including three new numbers: the smooth, sun-soaked "Shot Of Laughter (#40 adult contemporary); a creative cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time"; and the punkish "Psychedelic Bee," an obscure tune written by "shock jock" Howard Stern when he was a teenager. None of those became hits, but this album includes eight songs that did. The big-ticket items were "Fly" featuring Super Cat (#1 pop airplay for six weeks, #29 mainstream, #1 alternative for eight weeks), "Every Morning" (#3 pop, #38 mainstream, #1 alternative for six weeks, #1 adult Top 40 for 10 weeks), "Someday" (#7 pop, #7 alternative, #3 AT40), and "When It's Over" (#13 pop, #2 AT40 for five weeks). The second-tier singles were "Falls Apart (Run Away)" (#29 pop, #5 alternative, #16 AT 40), "Answer the Phone" (#112 pop, #33 AT40), a fairly faithful remake of Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him? (#19 AT40), and "RPM" (#35 alternative). The group's only chart entry not on this disc is "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" (#20 AT40), a catchy concoction that lifted the main riff from Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen." As I alluded to in an early entry about Sugar Ray's breakthrough second LP, Floored (1997), they actually started out as a funk-metal act, but the surprise success of "Fly" changed the course and coarseness of their career and turned them into pop sensations. Most of the material on The Best of Sugar Ray reflects that change, but several tracks represent their ragged, rugged roots: "Mean Machine," "Rhyme Stealer," and the aforementioned "RPM." Those tunes are a bit jarring and incongruous with the rest of the playlist, but they don't start to appear until the seventh track. By that time "Fly," "Every Morning," and "Someday" have already given the casual Sugar Ray fan what they came for. I don't mind the harder-edged stuff at all musically (and there are other selections on here that rock), but a couple of them come with the dreaded "E" warning label. Although I like Sugar Ray's best-known hits a lot, my top tracks are actually "Answer the Phone" (with some lyrical exceptions), "Falls Apart," and the final cut, a non-single from 2003 called "Chasin' You Around." I'd never heard that last one before encountering this collection in 2023; now it's possibly my favorite of the 15. "Under The Sun" from 2001 is good, too. The Best of Sugar Ray reached #136 on the Billboard 200. 1758. Found a Place - FFH Released on March 7, 2000, Found a Place was FFH's second major-label LP but their eighth overall, counting earlier independent offerings. I wrote about its predecessor, I Want to Be Like You, and successor, Have I Ever Told You, earlier on this list, and now I've finally found a place to put this one, which my wife and I owned but didn't listen to quite as often as the others. It still got plenty of airplay, though, with three of the 11 tracks becoming Top 20 singles on the Contemporary Christian Hit Radio (CHR) charts: "When I Praise" (#4 CHR), "Found a Place" (#11 CHR), and "Because of Who You Are" (#16 CHR). Another cut that stuck out to me was "Why Do I," one of three sung primarily by Jennifer Deibler, the lone female vocalist of the four in the group. The clever chorus opens with these simple-but-profound lines: "Why do I, why do I, why do I ever wonder why — why You love me — Why do I, why do I, why do I ever wonder why — with all the ways You've shown me." It was written by Jennifer's husband, Jeromy, who wrote or co-wrote eight songs on Found a Place and was the most recognizable male voice in the quartet, usually singing lead. Two other memorable songs were "Daniel" and "Lord Move, or Move Me." The latter has lyrics that all of us can probably relate to: "Lord, move in a way that I've never seen before — 'cause there's a mountain in the way and a lock on the door — I'm drifting away, waves are crashing on the shore — so Lord move, or move me." Found a Place reached #154 on the Billboard 200. FFH took time off in 2006, as Jeromy and Jennifer moved to South Africa for six months. Soon after, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, although he has been able to control it with chemotherapy. When FFH came back in 2009, it was down to a duo — just Jeromy and Jennifer. Their most recent album, The Way We Worship, came out in 2012. The couple do a regular podcast (with Drew Powell) called The Gospel According to Jeromy. I watched an episode (and enjoyed it) after I finished writing this article. You can find the podcast HERE. |
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If you'd like to donate to the ministry of ApologetiX, there are a couple ways you can do it. |
If you prefer to mail a check or money order, please make it out to "ApologetiX" and send it to:
ApologetiX
208 Charlemma Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15214-1414
Although the donations are not tax-deductible, they will be received very gratefully and used immediately. Thank you! |
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We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 |
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P.O. Box 101705
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
USA
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