Boston & Van Halen, Farewell to a Father-in-Law |
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here.
I’m sorry this newsletter is so late. I was out of state and busy with family matters Thursday through Saturday and trying to catch up all day yesterday. Allow me to explain:
My father-in-law, Ed Thompson, passed away Tuesday morning at 4:30 a.m., surrounded by his wife and daughters. He was 82. Dad had been experiencing significant health problems in the last few years that had dramatically worsened recently. He had just been moved from the ICU to hospice. We will all miss him, although we are relieved that he didn’t suffer long.
I am thankful that my wife, Lisa, had an extended visit with him in February and was able to make it back to Kentucky last Sunday evening and spend his last day and a half with him. Her older sister Jody and my mother-in-law, Linda (his wife of 52 years), were already there. He had eight grandchildren, including our five kids.
Our two oldest daughters came to stay at our house from Thursday through Saturday so they could look after their siblings, which enabled me go and join Lisa. The memorial service was held in Hopkinsville KY on Friday.
I will always be grateful to Dad for welcoming me into the family from the start and giving me his daughter’s hand in marriage so willingly, even though we’d met online and I was taking her 600 miles away to Pittsburgh. He and Mom also welcomed my three-year-old daughter Janna as their very own grandchild from the word go.
He liked Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Buffett, Jack Reacher, and Dr. Who, among many other things. He also enjoyed reading, watching old movies, and playing golf. Dad wasn’t gabby but, in my conversations with him over the years, I can’t remember ever bringing up a topic in which he couldn’t hold his own. He and Mom also came to a number of ApologetiX concerts.
Here’s a photo of him sporting an ApX shirt at a show we did in Owensboro KY in September 2000. |
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But my favorite photo of him is the one below. He's with Lisa on our wedding day in 2000, looking proud and pleased as can be. I can’t believe I’m older now than he was then. Knowing my wife as I do after 25 years together, I can certainly see qualities in her that were passed down from Dad. I’m thankful to have had him as my father-in-law. |
This Saturday, I’ll be the guy in tux, with my second daughter, Heather, who is two months shy of 23, the age Lisa was when we got married.
As the Bible says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens … a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance …” (Ecclesiastes 1:1,4) |
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New Single: Van Halen & Boston Parodies |
Last Sunday night, we released our fourth single of 2025. It spoofs rockers from 1976 and 1980. |
And the Crippled Will Walk… - And the Cradle Will Rock... - Van Halen Moses - Smokin’ - Boston |
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Health Updates on Bill Rieger & Tom Milnes |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
If you’ve been reading our newsletters lately, you know we currently have two beloved band guys dealing with brain tumors. I have updates on each of them for you.
ApX alum drummer Bill “Moose" Rieger had another seizure on Sunday morning and went to the hospital. Early Sunday afternoon. he reported the following:
"Testing shows post-op changes that are too similar to changes that could signal something worsening. They have to run tests and more tests to make sure which it is — post-op or worsening conditions. If post-op, I'm going home."
He spent all day in the hospital triage hallway and eventually left that night without having a definitive answer, although he already had a follow-up consultation scheduled for early this morning.
This afternoon, he provided this update: "Confirmed inoperable in current state. Waiting for neuro-oncologist meeting on Thursday for final plan/next steps.”
He also texted me an additional piece of information last Friday: "There is going to be a spaghetti benefit dinner for us at church on May 3. I'll let you know details as soon as I get them. We will have to really get the word out, so we can maximize the return.”
ApX guitarist Tom Milnes had a meeting with his neurologist today to discuss his MRI from two weeks ago and the biopsy results. He texted me the following late this afternoon:
“O.K, I just got home. It looks like I have a low-grade tumor (oligodendrogliomas) on the right side of my head. My options are surgery or radiation and chemo. They recommended surgery, which is fairly routine at this time. The sooner the better.”
I asked how all that sat with him, and he said, "I actually feel very peaceful. Barb [Tom’s wife], too. I've been here before. On a scale of 1-4, my tumor is about a 0.5. Looking at surgery soon Sometime before the end of March.”
Please keep both Bill and Tom in your prayers. |
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Out and About With the Tanners |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here’s a little bit of happy news for you:
Last Saturday, March 1, I went to my local mall and was surprised to run into ApX drummer Jimmy “Vegas” Tanner and his wife, Eve, on an outing with their four oldest grandchildren (in chronological order of age), Tessa, George, Peter, and Jane. The only one missing was baby Jimmy, who was just born on February 5.
They posed for this photo and got permission from the kids’ parents to share it in this newsletter. We hope it warms your heart.
It’s not immediately obvious, but if you look closely, you’ll notice that I accidentally included myself in the upper left corner of the photo. There’s probably a better way to explain what I mean, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
If you look behind the Tanners in the background to the right, you can see the food court where parts of many ApologetiX parodies were written in the 2000s and first half of the 2010s while I was waiting in line to pick up orders.
I get to see Jimmy and Eve just about every week when I record vocals at their studio, Red Apple Audio Workshop, and I occasionally see their kids, too ... but it was a big surprise to encounter everybody out in the wild. |
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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 third single of 2025:
AND THE CRIPPLED WILL WALK…
"And the Cradle Will Rock..." is one of my all-time favorite Van Halen tunes. Who else but David Lee Roth would've come up with lyrics like that? And he delivers them as only Diamond Dave can. Trying to replicate his seemingly-random-but-perfectly-rhythmic cadence on this one was a daunting proposition, but God made it come together pretty quickly once I finally figured out the title/chorus(es) and premise.
Before I got the idea we eventually used, I'd considered "It's a Fatal Mirage" or "It's a Fatal Hoorah." They rhymed well, but I really wanted something that started with "And the." Then I got the opening line of the first verse — obviously about Jesus. So where would that lead? I knew the other key line we needed to zero in on was "Have you seen Junior's grades?”
I was absolutely delighted when "Have you seen Jesus' grave?" came to me. It fit so perfectly with the original's intonation and the way it set up the subsequent Wurlitzer riff (which sounds like a guitar). So I was thinking about calling this parody "And the Grave Will Be Robbed..." since the authorities tried to say that's what happened, and the grave was figuratively robbed (i.e. death was ultimately cheated). However, it didn't fit with the earlier verses.
Then I got "And the Crippled Will Walk..." Bingo. It lent itself to the follow-up, "walk on" and opened up the doors for "And the hateful will mock" (and "mock on") and "And the faithful will flock" (and "flock on"). Oh, that's what dreams are made of! MOSES
We used to mess around with this Boston classic (the flip side of "More Than a Feeling") while jamming in our original drummer Jeff Pakula's basement in the early '90s, possibly even before we officially became ApologetiX. It's been such a long time! I would just "freestyle" parody lyrics, but the only thing worth keeping was the title, which is repeated throughout the choruses.
I didn't write the rest until February 2025, almost 35 years later, but that's nothing to a guy like Moses, who lived to be 120! Each of the three verses represents the start of a 40-year segment of his life.
The first verse describes how he was placed in a basket in the Nile as an infant and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. The second verse talks about when Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite and had to flee from Egypt to Midian, where he wound up tending flocks. Acts 7:23 says he was 40 at the time. The third verse takes us to the day when Moses saw the burning bush and was called by the LORD. Exodus 7:7 says he was 80 years old by then.
If you put our parodies in order of where they take place in the Bible, "Moses" bridges the gap between "Miriam Girl" and "Head Over Here.”
I was so impressed with the job the other guys did on their parts. Kudos to Rich Mannion who played keyboards and bass and also provided the backing vocals. Tom Tincha and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner supplied the guitars and drums, respectively. David Michael mixed it all together, masterfully. |
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New USBs Coming, Include New CD & Next Single |
We ran out of our latest batch of ApologetiX USB thumb drives last Wednesday, March 5, but we have ordered a new batch. They should be in stock next Wednesday, March 19.
We'll start taking orders now, and we’ll mail them as soon as they’re in stock.
Here’s some good news: The new USBs will include our new CD, ApologetiX ‘77, and our next single, which is slated to come out at the end of this coming weekend, Lord willing.
They’ll also contain the digital versions of all of our other CDs, plus any singles, EPs, or rarities that aren't on CD.
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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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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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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Influential Albums #1759–1765 |
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.
1759. The Very Best of Bucks Fizz - Bucks Fizz Pop vocal quartet, two males, two females, breaks through with an irresistible tune that wins the Eurovision Song Contest, becomes much bigger in the United Kingdom than the United States. No, I'm not talking about ABBA, but the comparisons are inevitable. Formed in January 1981, British group Bucks Fizz took their name from a mimosa-like alcoholic cocktail (with the slightly different punctuation Buck's Fizz) first created in 1921 at Buck's Club in London. Even though they're not from Sweden, they do sound quite a bit like ABBA. Their first single, the contest-winning "Making Your Mind Up," became their first of three #1 U.K. hits. The others were "The Land Of Make Believe" and "My Camera Never Lies." I discovered Bucks Fizz for myself a number of years ago when I was researching U.K. #1 hits in effort to educate myself. The group had 13 U.K. Top 40 hits from 1981-86, and 12 of them were included on this 2007 compilation. In addition to the three chart toppers, it contains "Now Those Days Are Gone" (#8 U.K.), "If You Can't Stand The Heat (#10 U.K.), "When We Were Young" (#10 U.K.), "Piece Of The Action" (#12 U.K.), "Run For Your Life" (#14 U.K.), "Talking In Your Sleep" (#15 U.K. and remake of The Romantics' #3 U.S. hit), "One Of Those Nights" (#20 U.K.), "London Town" (#34 U.K.), and "I Hear Talk" (#34 U.K.). The other five tracks on The Very Best of Bucks Fizz also charted: "Golden Days" (#42 U.K.), "You and Your Heart So Blue" (#43 U.K.) "Heart Of Stone" (#50 U.K.), "Rules Of The Game" (#57 U.K.), and "Magical" (#57 U.K.). The only hits missing were "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" (#8 U.K.), "Keep Each Other Warm" (#45 U.K.), and "You Love Love" (#120 U.K.). Unlike ABBA, who had 14 U.S. Top 40 singles (but only one U.S. #1, as opposed to nine U.K. #1s), Buck's Fizz never hit the Hot 100 here. I hate to sound like a commoner, but my favorite cut is "Making Your Mind Up." It's easy to see .. er ... hear how it launched their career. "The Land of Make Believe" and "My Camera Never Lies," are pretty catchy, too. I also enjoyed "Piece of the Action," "Run for Your Life," "I Hear Talk," "Heart of Stone," the Kenny Logginsy "You and Your Heart so Blue," and the ABBA-esque "When We Were Young." Although it's not on The Best of Bucks Fizz, "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" is definitely worth a listen. 1760. Enough for Me - Testfy
Testify were a Christian music duo based out of Buffalo NY. I first met them back in '94 at the Paradise Club Christian coffee house in Irwin PA — the same place were ApologetiX had debuted two years earlier. By mid-'93, I was co-managing the Club, and Testify played there four times the following year: March 11, May 8, July 23, and September 24. We liked them instantly, as evidenced by all those return engagements in such a short span of time, and would've had them back again, but the venue closed in mid-October '94. Their overall excellence as an indie act was inspirational to me. I saw them play at another church in Greensburg PA a year or so after that, and they'd gotten even better. Then, in '99 or the early 2000s, Testify was on the roster for the big Kingdom Bound Christian Music festival in Darien Center NY (about 40 miles from Buffalo) at least one of the times when ApologetiX was also playing. However, like us, I think they appeared at that event multiple times over the years. I only owned their '93 debut LP, Enough for Me, but that was more than enough for me to recognize they had tremendous talent. I'd summarize Testify's sound and dynamic (on that album, at least) as Simon & Garfunkel with two guitars instead of one, plus an occasional bass and drum machine. Roy Prior was the Paul Simon of the group, the lower voice and writer of all the songs. John Bradford was the Art Garfunkel, with the sweet higher voice, although he had a more prominent sense of humor than Artie and did co-write the title track. Roy generally played the straight man, but his wit shone through the words he wrote, which were sometimes playful, often serious, and always thoughtful. Like Simon, Roy's lyrics covered a wide variety of topics and demonstrated a lot of depth, much of it from personal experience, if I recall correctly from things he said while introducing songs during their performances. Notable, powerful examples were "Someday" (about breaking the cycle set in motion by extremely poor parental examples), "In Control" (dealing with a father's suicide), "My Brother" (trying to witness to an unbelieving sibling), and " Little Ones" (a simple but poignant look at the abortion issue). Other standouts included "Enough for Me," "On the Loose," "Never Alone," "What You're Thinking," "Good Fight," and "Sooner or Later," but I like all 14 tracks. It's hard to find info online about Testify now but, based on a recent conversation I had with two other friends who became fans, the guys released at least two more LPs, Soul Deep and Waiting for You. 1761. Chase the Sun - The Orange County Supertones By the time The O.C. Supertones put out their third LP, drummer Jason Carson told CCM magazine, "We're not really a ska band anywhere. We're just a rock band with horns." Released on February 23, 1999, Chase the Sun still had plenty of ska, but it did add some more rock elements. The fans followed along, and the album made it to #2 on the Top Contemporary Christian albums chart (the same as its predecessor, Supertones Strike Back) and #95 on the Billboard 200 (22 notches higher than Supertones Strike Back). Two singles became Top 20 hits on Contemporary Christian Hit Radio — "Away From You" (#8 CHR) and "Old Friend" (#20 CHR). My favorite non-hits are "One Voice," "Hallelujah," "In Between," "Grounded," "Sure Shot," "Chase the Sun," and "Health and Wealth." Chase the Sun didn't have any songs I liked quite as much as "Little Man"; however, I think the album as a whole may be even better than Supertones Strike Back. It bears some similarities, not just in the ska sound, but also in the fact that it contains a surf-rock instrumental, "Revolution," although this one had some '60s garage/acid-rock keyboards and ska thrown in. Also, like Supertones Strikes Back, the final track is an acoustic number, "Refuge," but it adds a string section. The song sounds a bit like "Glycerine" by Bush (vocals included), albeit prettier and with words that make a lot more sense. The O.C. Supertones display some pretty impressive theological depth throughout Chase the Sun. These lines from "Grounded" explain why that's a good thing: "Hoo, Hah! How will you stand if you don't understand? Hoo, Hah! Fight like a man, scriptures in hand." 1762. Voyage - ABBA Those of us of a certain age remember how incredible it seemed in November 1995 when the first volume of The Beatles Anthology albums came out, 25 years after the Fab Four's final studio LP, Let It Be. Taking all that into consideration, ABBA said, "Hold my Beerbliotek." Released in November 2021, Voyage was the legendary Swedish group's first new studio LP since The Visitors in November 1981... 40 years earlier! Mamma mia! ABBA's unexpected (at least, for me) ninth studio LP featured 10 new tracks by the classic line-up of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. I learned about it on Sirius XM Radio, which initiated a temporary ABBA channel to celebrate. None of the songs were U.S. hits, but four of them made the U.K. singles chart: "Don't Shut Me Down" (#9 U.K.), "I Still Have Faith in You" (#14 U.K.)," "Just a Notion" (#59 U.K.), and the Christmas-themed "Little Things" (#61 U.K.). I particularly like the first three, plus "No Doubt About It," "When You Danced With Me," and "I Can Be That Woman." The ladies divided vocal duties equally; each sang lead on three songs apiece, with shared leads on the remaining four tracks. Voyagereached #1 on the U.K. albums chart — ABBA's 10th LP to do so — and #2 on the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charting U.S. album. It sold 2.5 million copies worldwide. 1763. Greatest Hits - Boston It's funny when I look back ... even though Boston said not to do so ... and think of how it seemed like we had to wait an eternity for the group's third LP, Third Stage. Eight years doesn't seem like much compared to 15 years between Guns N' Roses albums, 25 years between Beatles albums, and 40 years between ABBA albums. Then Boston's fourth LP, Walk On, arrived an additional eight years after Third Stage. Three years later, this compilation came out. Released on June 3, 1997, Greatest Hits contained Boston's three-highest charting singles, "Amanda" (#1 pop, #1 mainstream rock), "Don't Look Back" (#4 pop), and "More Than A Feeling" (#5 pop) but was missing their other two Top 20 entries: "We're Ready" (#9 pop, #2 mainstream) and "Can'tcha Say (You Believe in Me)" (#20 pop, #7 mainstream). It did, however, include "Foreplay/Long Time" (#22 pop), "A Man I'll Never Be" (#31 pop), "Peace Of Mind" (#38 pop), and "Feelin' Satisfied" (#46 pop), plus the classic-rock radio staples "Rock & Roll Band," "Smokin'," and "Cool The Engines" (#4 mainstream). ApologetiX has spoofed "More Than a Feeling" and "Smokin'." Greatest Hits featured four new tracks, opening with two of them, "Tell Me" and "Higher Power," and closing with two more, "The Star Spangled Banner/4th Of July Reprise" and "Higher Power (Kalodner Edit)." The remaining tracks were "Livin' For You" and "Party." Two other minor hits were absent — "I Need Your Love" (#51 pop, #4 mainstream) and "Walk On Medley" (#14 mainstream). Greatest Hits reached #47 on the Billboard 200 and sold over two million copies in the United States. 1764. The Fundamental Elements of Southtown - P.O.D. I think I first saw San Diego Christian nu-metal rock group P.O.D. (Payable on Death) on the fringe stage at the Creation East music festival in late June 1999. Their sound was a tad heavier than ApologetiX (understatement), but we had at least two things in common: Both bands debuted in '92 and made prominent use of the triquetra symbol for the Trinity. Our guitarist at the time, Karl, told me he brought up that second similarity with one of the guys in P.O.D., who said something like, "Yeah, what's up with that?" However, I was busy doing something else at the festival when that happened. Two months later, P.O.D. put out their breakthrough third studio LP, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown. Released on August 24, 1999. it contained generated the first two P.O.D. songs to ever hit the Billboard rock charts — "Southtown" (#31 mainstream rock, #28 alternative) and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)" featuring Lisa Papineau (#25 mainstream, #27 alternative). Other memorable tracks for me were "Greetings," "Hollywood," "Checkin' Levels," "Set Your Eyes to Zion," and "Freestyle." There was also a cover of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky." The Fundamental Elements of Southtown peaked at #51 on the Billboard 200 and sold a million copies in the United States. Those were impressive numbers for a Christian metal band, but P.O.D. was just getting started. 1765. Satellite - P.O.D. P.O.D.'s fourth studio LP, Satellite, came out on a day that will live in infamy — September 11, 2001 — as did a couple other albums I wrote about previously, Silver Side Up by Nickelback and Love and Theft by Bob Dylan. Amazingly, all three overwhelmingly overcame the bad timing. In fact, Satellite remains the most commercially successful P.O.D. LP, having made it to #6 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard U.S. Christian album chart, while selling over seven million copies worldwide, including three million in the United States. There were four singles: "Alive" (#41 pop, #4 mainstream rock, #2 alternative), "Youth of the Nation" (#28 pop, #6 mainstream, #6 alternative), "Boom" (#123 pop, #21 mainstream, #13 alternative), and the title track (#15 mainstream, #21 alternative). Of the 15 tracks on Satellite, those four were arguably the best choices. "Youth of the Nation" is a fantastic combination of mood, music, and lyrics, and "Boom" has the kind of hook line that attaches itself to you and won't let go. My other favorites were the opener, "Set It Off," "The Messenjah," and "Thinking About Forever." Everyone in entitled to their own opinion, but I think Satellite is stronger and easier to embrace immediately than its predecessor, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, especially the first eight tunes. |
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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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My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20 |
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P.O. Box 101705
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
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