VH & ZZ, Big Show in Two Months
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here. I was delighted to have the opportunity to sing in the studio Tuesday with my two oldest daughters, Janna and Heather. We took this group photo afterward. The song we sang together should be on our next single in two weeks, Lord willing. I posted this photo on Facebook the next day, and Dale Thompson of the Christian rock band Bride said, “That is awesome. I thought they were your sisters.” I don’t know if I should be flattered, my daughters should be insulted, or Dale’s optometrist should be consulted.
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Later on Tuesday night I drove those two and my fourth daughter, Natalie, along with ApX bassist Keith Haynie’s daughters, Sarah and Abby, to PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh, so they could see indie pop band AJR in concert. Our house is only four miles away from that venue, but city traffic can have a drastic effect on how long it takes to get there.
Janna let me know when the encore started so I could pick up them all up after the show, but that was easier said than done. We talked on the phone and tried to figure out a good place to meet with all the traffic — both automotive and pedestrian. Abby texted this photo of Janna and the message below it to my wife, Lisa, and you can read her response:
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Later, Janna said the following on Facebook: "Everyone made fun of me, but we did find each other in just under 20 minutes, and I think the phrase ‘We’re going to get kidnapped' was thrown around far too many times.”
Lisa and I had attended a concert elsewhere the previous week featuring New Kids on the Block, Paula Abdul, and DJ Jazzy Jeff. As I told my wife, there are very few artists I’ve seen in concert more than once; I never guessed New Kids would be one of them,” We’d also seen them in 2022 with Rick Astley, En Vogue, and Salt-N-Pepa.
In case you’re wondering, the others I’ve seen more than once are Bruce Springsteen (1984 and 1985), Bob Dylan (1988, 1991, and 1996), and "Weird Al” Yankovic (1996, 1999, and 2018). You can read more about Dylan and “Weird Al” in my Influential Albums article below.
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On Monday night, we released our 13th single of 2024. It spoofs big hits from 1978 and 1983.
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Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Fluff - Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love - Van Halen Smart Blest Man - Sharped Dressed Man - ZZ Top
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The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again. Here are the stories behind the songs on our 13th single of 2024: AIN’T TALKIN’ ‘BOUT FLUFF
Sometimes, when I'm in the middle of talking about something mundane, I'll lose interest in what I'm saying and wonder how the people to whom I'm speaking could care. I'm not much for small talk, but I realize it can be an important stepping stone to building a rapport with neighbors, co-workers, and others we encounter regularly in our lives. And that can lead to discussions about more important matters.
Now, let me be clear that I don't scrutinize each casual conversation, trying to find an angle to insert my faith. I'm not a salesman ... although I do have a free gift I'd like to share with others. Nevertheless, I try to keep Colossians 4:6 in mind and let my speech always be "seasoned with salt.”
I got the title for "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Fluff" on June 2, 2024. There's nothing fluffy about telling people they're sinners in need of a Savior, even if you make the point that we're all in the same boat.
That's one reason I don't feel bad about keeping up with sports. I know the topic is unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but it makes a nice ice-breaker and helps shatter some people's preconceived notions that I might be "too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.”
Humor helps, too. At one point during my early Christian walk, I got so serious that a couple Christian brothers of mine, Thom and Art Passante, had to take me aside and remind me that God gave me the ability to make people laugh, and I could use that gift for His glory. "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Fluff" features J. Jackson on lead vocals; Tom Tincha on guitars; Rich Mannion on backing vocals; Keith Haynie on bass; and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion. SMART BLEST MAN (2024 VERSION)
We released our first version of "Smart Blest Man" 25 years before this one. That quarter-century seems like it zoomed by so quickly ... and so does our 1999 recording, which sounds as if we were trying to set a land-speed record. Compare the running times; it took us almost a minute less to get through the entire song back then.
As our old drummer Fred Behanna pointed out to me during a long lunch get-together in January 2024, we didn't let him use a click track in '99, so I'll state for the record that he was an excellent drummer who kept good time. We were so excited about being in the studio and had so many songs to do in one session that Karl or I may have counted him in super-fast.
Fred told me that each time ApologetiX rerecords a song from his tenure with the band, he feels like Marty McFly in Back to the Future when his image starts disappearing from the photo. However, Fred played a vital role as our drummer from 1999-2001 and deserves to be remembered and appreciated. He took us to a new level, and I don't know what we would have done without him.
Moreover, I'm sure our earlier version of "Smart Blest Man" will remain near and dear to the hearts of longtime ApX fans, because it's the one they "grew up with" (Luke 5:39). It also contains a lot of ZZ Top jokes that weren't included in the remake. Back in '99, I'd already written parodies of "Tush" and "Legs" but didn't know if we'd ever get to record them, so I threw in the kitchen sink. "Smart Blest Man" features J. Jackson on lead vocals; Tom Tincha on guitars; Rich Mannion on keyboards and backing vocals; Keith Haynie on bass; and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums, percussion, and hand claps.
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Two Months Till Our Big Concert |
In case you missed our announcement in January, ApologetiX is booked to play what will be our first concert in almost seven years. We've gotten a tremendous response from fans all over the United States and Canada who tell us they're planning to attend. Our most-recent show was on October 24, 2017. We've been comfortable operating as a studio-only band since then and have been saying all along that it would take something really big to get us back up on stage. Well, this is it! We're honored to be selected as the closing act for the third annual Immortal Fest in Versailles OH on Labor Day Weekend this year. ApologetiX will play Sunday night, September 1, and most of our fans will still have Monday off for the holiday. Other artists scheduled to play that weekend include: Bride, The Daniel Band, Fear Not, Ironwrath, James Durbin, Les Carlsen of Bloodgood, Neon Cross, Sacred Warrior, Saint, Shout, Trytan, Whitecross, and Worldview. The emcee will be the legendary Pastor Bob Beeman of Sanctuary International. If we were going to return to the stage, we always felt the ideal spot would be a centralized location in the Midwest that would enable as many of our fans as possible to attend from north, south, east, and west. Versailles OH fits the bill. Here are some nearby cities and how far away they are from Versailles: Dayton OH (45 miles), Muncie IN (50 miles), Cincinnati OH (95 miles), Columbus OH (100 miles), Indianapolis IN (110 miles), Toledo OH (130 miles), Ann Arbor MI (175 miles), Lexington KY (175 miles), Detroit MI (190 miles), Louisville KY (195 miles), Cleveland OH (225 miles), Chicago IL (250 miles), Pittsburgh PA (285 miles), Saint Louis MO (350 miles), and Nashville TN (365 miles). Sunday, September 1, 2024 Immortal Fest II BMI Event Center 791 E. Main St Versailles, OH 45380 BMI Event Center is Miami Valley's best concert venue. The 1500 seat-indoor concert hall includes a 330-seat balcony. CLICK HERE for more info on the artists, the schedule, the event itself, and tickets.
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Bible-Reading for Next Two Weeks |
We began our latest trip through the Bible on Wednesday, April 3. Here's our Bible-reading plan for the next two weeks for those of you reading along with us: Sat., June 29 - 1 Samuel 28-31 Sun. June 30- 2 Samuel 1-3 Mon., July 1 - 2 Samuel 3-6 Tue., July 2 - 2 Samuel 7-9 Wed., July 3 - 2 Samuel 10-12 Thu., July 4 - 2 Samuel 13-15 Fri., July 5 - 2 Samuel 16-18 Sat., July 6 - 2 Samuel 19-21 Sun. July 7 - 2 Samuel 22-24 Mon., July 8 - 1 Kings 1-3 Tue., July 9 - 1 Kings 4-6 Wed., July 10 - 1 Kings 7-9 Thu., July 11 - 1 K ings 10-12 Fri., July 12 - 1 Kings 13-15
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.
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Getting Our Complete Library Just Got Easier |
We recently revamped the downloadable version of our complete library. Now it comes in a PDF with pictures of every album and single for easy reference. You just click on the ones you need to download them instantly.
We're giving our complete library on download to everyone who donates $100 this week.
That's 1680 tracks, including various versions (studio, live, rarity, album, single, EP, revised, remastered, etc.), plus side projects ... even our most-recent single, “Ain't Talkin' 'bout Fluff / Smart Blest Man" and our latest CD, Unchained Medley.
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- Standard CDs 1993–2024 (919 tracks)
- Remastered Classics CDs (219 tracks)
- Singles, EPs, Rarities, Side Projects (542 tracks)
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New USBs Include Latest CD & Single
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We recently got a brand new batch of ApologetiX USB thumb drives.
They contain the digital versions of all 73 of our CDs, plus any singles, EPs, or rarities that aren't on CD ... including our latest single.
Emblazoned with the band's logo, they have a storage capacity of 16 GB, and they’re write-enabled, so you can add more music to them if and when you get future ApX downloads.
They’re available for a donation of $150 or more. If you've donated for our complete library before, they're available for a donation of $50 or more.
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Influential Albums 1507-1513 |
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.
1507. Mr. Moonlight - Foreigner Original lead singer Lou Gramm returned to the Foreigner fold for their eighth studio LP in 1994 ... although he'd already sung on three new tunes for the '92 compilation The Very Best and Beyond. Unfortunately, Mr. Moonlight cratered at #136 on the Billboard 200, 19 notches lower than its Gramm-less predecessor, Unusual Heat. I bought a used copy of each in the summer of 2006. As one key member returned, two other longtime members departed — the entire rhythm section, in fact — drummer Dennis Elliott and bassist Rick Wills. Once again, there were no Hot 100 hits to be found, although two tracks charted elsewhere — "Under the Gun" (#28 mainstream rock) and "Until the End of Time" (#8 adult contemporary), which featured late '50s/early '60s rock legend Duane Eddy on lead guitar. They were both strong efforts and good choices for radio release. For my money, "All I Need to Know” may be the best tune on the album, which take its title from a line in the lyrics. I also enjoyed "Hole in My Soul" a lot. I'd read before that Lou Gramm had worried that their 1984 ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is" (which hit #1 in early '85) might wreck Foreigner's rock credibility, so I was a little surprised that Mr. Moonlight seemed more mellow overall than Unusual Heat. I had trouble taking one of the rockers, "Big Dog," seriously because of the lyrics, which almost turned it into a novelty tune in my opinion. I think it might have been more successful as an instrumental like "Tramontane" on the 1978 Double Vision LP. Although I generally prefer the harder side of Foreigner, I did like these relatively gentle songs from Mr. Moonlight: "White Lie," "Rain," "I Keep Hoping," and "Hand on My Heart." Like Unusual Heat, this album still had apparent appeal with fans in Switzerland and Germany, reaching #17 and #21 respectively in those countries.
1508. Off the Deep End - "Weird Al" Yankovic Released on April 14, 1992, Off the Deep End was "Weird Al" Yankovic's seventh LP and netted him his second Top 40 single — "Smells Like Nirvana" (#35), a parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Of course, Al's first Top 40 single was "Eat It" (#12) in 1984. But here's something that may surprise you: Each of those songs also hit the Top 40 on the mainstream rock chart! "Eat It" went to #38, and "Smells Like Nirvana" went to #35. Off the Deep End reached #17 on the Billboard 200, the same position as "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D, the source of "Eat It." Both albums went on to sell more than a million copies apiece. The second and final single from Off the Deep End was an original called "You Don't Love Me Anymore," my favorite non-parody on this project, although it failed to chart. There were four additional parodies: "I Can't Watch This" ("U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer), "The White Stuff" ("You Got It (The Right Stuff") by New Kids on the Block), "Taco Grande" (Rico Suave by Gerardo), and "The Plumbing Song" ("Baby Don't Forget My Number" and "Blame It on the Rain" by Milli Vanilli). My favorites among those were "I Can't Watch This" and "Taco Grande," which featured a rap section in Spanish by Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong. My second-favorite original was probably "When I Was Your Age," a style parody of Don Henley. It is particularly reminiscent of Henley's rock hit "If Dirt Were Dollars" (#8 mainstream), although some websites mistakenly attribute it to his biggest hit, "Dirty Laundry (#3 pop, #1 mainstream). ApologetiX has spoofed "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)." 1509. Hooterization: A Retrospective - The Hooters I think it was sometime in the summer of 2006 when I came across this collection. Released September 3, 1996, Hooterization: A Retrospective featured 16 tracks, 14 of which from the Philadelphia group's first three major-release albums. I was familiar with their first two LPs, but not their third, so the four songs from that one were a delightful discovery, and they caused me to seek out the album from whence they came. I'll talk more about it (and subsequent Hooters albums) in upcoming entries. I loved that band back in 1985-87, and their later stuff did not disappoint, either. All seven of The Hooters' Hot 100 hits appeared on this collection: "Day by Day" (#18 pop, #3 mainstream rock), "And We Danced" (#21 pop, #3 mainstream), "Where Do the Children Go" (#38 pop, #34 mainstream), "All You Zombies" (#58 pop, #11 mainstream), "Johnny B" (#61 pop, #3 mainstream), "Satellite" (#61 pop, 13 mainstream), and "500 Miles" (#97 pop, #20 mainstream). Two other cuts had made the mainstream chart but not the pop chart: "Karla With a K" (#47 mainstream) and "Brother, Don' You Walk Away" (#37 mainstream). Hooterization also included a pair of well-performed live cover versions ... of The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," which was co-written by Hooters keyboardist/vocalist Rob Hyman. ApologetiX spoofed "And We Danced" in 2023. 1510. Alapalooza - "Weird Al" Yankovic A year and a half after his Top 20 comeback album Off the Deep End, "Weird Al" Yankovic put out his eighth studio LP. Released on October 5, 1993, Alapalooza only reached #46 on the Billboard 200 and sold half a million copies. It spawned three singles — "Jurassic Park" ("Macarthur Park" by Richard Harris), "Bedrock Anthem" ("Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers), and "Achy Breaky Song" ("Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus) — but none of them hit the Hot 100. However, "Jurassic Park," reached #5 on the singles chart of the Canadian music-industry publication The Record. That parody was promoted with a killer claymation video, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Short Form Music Video. Alapaloozaalso featured a parody of Aerosmith's "Livin' on the Edge" titled "Livin' in the Fridge." It's tied with "Jurassic Park" for my favorite parody on Alapalooza, although I also really enjoyed "Achy Breaky Song." Al's albums usually contained a polka medley, but this time around he chose to do a full-fledged polka version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which had re-entered the charts in '92 and gone all the way to #2. I thought Al's originals on Alapalooza were pretty strong overall, especially "She Never Told Me She Was a Mime" and the REM-ish "Frank's 2000" TV." There was also "Harvey the Wonder Hamster," a little ditty my two oldest daughters, Janna and Heather, would come to love when it was featured repeatedly on The Weird Al Show. That series ran from September–December 1997 — too early for them — but an ApologetiX fan sent me all 13 episodes on DVD in the mid-to-late 2000s, and that's how they discovered it. 1511. Voices of Babylon - The Outfield About the same time I rediscovered The Hooters in 2006, I did some catching up with The Outfield, another band I used to love back in the '80s. Each of those groups released their first LPs in 1985 and their sophomore efforts in '87, but after I became a born-again Christian in early 1988, I fell out of touch. I was aware that The Outfield had put out a third LP, though, because one of my co-workers at Equitable Gas had owned the cassette and raved about it. I'm not sure he was aware that The Outfield wasn't a new act. The first single from Voices of Babylon, the title track, became the band's fourth Top 40 hit (#25) and their biggest mainstream rock hit (#2). The second single, "My Paradise" had moderate success (#72 pop, #34 mainstream). Those two tunes opened the album and made for a stunning musical combination. The Outfield really knew how to put their best foot forward; I felt the same way about the first two tracks on each of the previous LPs. They sounded great on headphones or cranked on your car stereo. For me, it's hard to top The Outfield's debut, Play Deep, but Voices of Babylon is right behind it. The group had a great signature sound, and it was polished to a shine on this project. Other highlights for me included "Part of Your Life," "The Night Ain't Over," and "Reach Out." I also liked "Taken by Surprise" and "No Point," but none of the 10 tracks are turkeys. Released on March 28, 1989, Voices of Babylon went to #53. The Outfield wound up releasing a total of eight studio LPs, and I plan to write about the rest as this list continues. 1512. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan Columbia Records issued The Essential Bob Dylan on October 31, 2000. Less than a year later, that compilation was rendered obsolete ... or incomplete, at the very least ... by the arrival of his 31st studio LP. Love and Theft quickly gained acclaim not just as one of Dylan's best but as one of the year's best. Furthermore, it made Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, 2012, and 2020. Musically speaking, I think it's one of his most instantly embraceable albums, as long as you can get past his old weathered voice and his new pencil mustache. My favorites among the 12 tracks are "Mississippi," "High Water (For Charley Patton)," "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum," "Summer Days," "Honest With Me," and "Sugar Baby." I also liked "Po' Boy" and "Cry a While," but none of the other songs made me think, "Well, this one will take some getting used to." The whole thing was solid from start to finish. Released on September 11, 2001 — yes, that infamous day — Love and Theft went to #5 on the Billboard 200 and sold about 750,000 copies in the United States. It won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. 1513. Greatest Hits Volume II - "Weird Al" Yankovic Released October 24, 1994, "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits Volume II featured one "new" track — "Headline News" (#104), a parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies, covering the stories of Michael Fay, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, and John and Lorena Bobbitt. In case you need your memory jogged, Fay was an American teenager convicted of vandalism in Singapore and punished by caning. I don't think the others require further elaboration; it's painful to even think about them. "Headline News" had initially appeared on the box set Permanent Record: Al in the Box, just a month earlier. Al's first Greatest Hitsalbum had come out six years earlier, but I never owned that one. I did, however, buy two other anthologies, The Food Album (1993) and The TV Album (1995). Neither of those featured any new tracks, so I'm just mentioning them in this entry. Greatest Hits Volume II peaked at #198 — maybe I should say "peeked," since it only got a brief glimpse —barely making it onto the Billboard 200. However, that was still better than the other four compilations I mentioned in this entry. Of the 12 tracks, seven were parodies, four were originals, and one was a polka medley.
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If you'd like to donate to the ministry of ApologetiX, there are a couple ways you can do it.
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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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O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me, for you do what is right. Psalm 31:1 (NLT)
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P.O. Box 101705 Pittsburgh PA 15237 United States of America
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