Crowd shot masthead ApologetiX Logo Keith Haynie plays bassBill Hubauer plays lead guitarJ. Jackson sings leadJimmy Vegas Tanner plays drums
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12.04.23New ApX Shirts, Hoodies, Caps, Mugs & Stickers
12.04.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.02.23Influential Albums: 1297-1303
12.02.23ApologetiX Updated Christmas Playlist
12.02.23This Week's Bible Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
12.02.23How to Donate Online or by Mail
12.02.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
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12.02.23Samson Rock Opera CD: BOGO & Program Book
12.02.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.28.23This Week's News Bulletin
11.28.23New Christmas Single: All '80s
11.24.23Influential Albums: 1290-1296
11.24.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.24.23Clues for 2023 Single #24
11.16.23All 71 ApX CDs Available as Downloads for $9.99 Each
11.16.23Influential Albums: 1283-1289
11.16.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
11.16.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.12.23This Week's News Bulletin
11.12.23New Single: #1 Hits from '81 & '86
11.09.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.09.23Influential Albums: 1276-1282
11.09.23From a Nutty New Fan to an Avid Bible Reader
11.06.23This Week's News Bulletin
11.03.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.02.23BOGO Deal on New CD Ends Saturday
11.02.23Influential Albums: 1269-1275
11.02.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
10.30.23This Week's News Bulletin
10.30.23New Single: '76 & '83
10.27.23Clues for 2023 Single #22
10.27.23Influential Albums: 1262-1268
10.27.23Next Up: Get Ready for Our Samson Rock Opera CD
10.27.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
10.23.23This Week's News Bulletin
10.20.23Influential Albums: 1255-1261
10.20.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
10.19.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
10.15.23This Week's News Bulletin
10.15.23New Single: First Half of the '80s Revisited
10.13.23Influential Albums: 1248-1254
10.13.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
10.13.23Clues for 2023 Single #21
10.12.23All About Our Next CD
10.12.23What's on Our Next CD?
10.09.23This Week's News Bulletin
10.06.23Influential Albums: 1241-1247
10.06.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
10.06.23All About Our Upcoming CD, Just Reword
10.06.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
10.02.23This Week's News Bulletin
10.02.23New Single: 1987 & 2001
09.29.23Influential Albums: 1234-1240
09.29.23Let's Talk About the Next Four ApX CDs
09.29.23Prayers for Cowboy Bob
09.29.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
09.26.23This Week's News Bulletin
09.23.23Influential Albums: 1227-1233
09.23.23Prayers for Jeff Jennings
09.22.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Wk
09.22.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
09.19.23This Week's News Bulletin
09.19.23New Single: '64 & '91
09.14.23Influential Albums: 1220-1226
09.14.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Wk
09.14.23Happy Birthday to ApX Guitarist Tom Tincha
09.14.23Clues for 2023 Single #19
09.10.23This Week's News Bulletin
09.08.23Happy Birthday to ApX Guitarist Wayne Bartley
09.07.23Influential Albums: 1213-1219
09.07.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
09.07.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Wk
09.05.23New Single: '65 & '85
09.04.23This Week's News Bulletin
08.31.23Influential Albums: 1206-1212
08.31.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Wk
08.31.23Prayers for ApX Fan's Son
08.31.23Clues for 2023 Single #18
08.30.23Septuagint CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
08.28.23ApologetiX Needs Help & Prayers
08.24.23Encouragement from 14 States + Canada & Hungary
08.24.23Influential Albums: 1192-1198
08.24.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
08.23.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
08.20.23This Week's News Bulletin
08.20.23New Single: '77 & '84
08.20.23New CD BOGO Ends Wednesday
08.18.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
08.18.23Influential Albums: 1192-1198
08.17.23Clues for 2023 Single #17
08.14.23This Week's News Bulletin
08.10.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
08.10.23Influential Albums: 1185-1191
08.09.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
08.07.23This Week's News Bulletin

The Stories Behind the Songs on Our 21st Single
Sat., Dec. 18. 2021 2:13pm EST

J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.

Here are the stories behind the songs on our 21st single of 2021:

EGO SCUFFLE

Man, Jesus was the coolest — tender and merciful with the downtrodden, yet brutally honest and even sarcastic with the proud. Skeptics who complain about hypocrisy in the church ought to read what He had to say to the religious elite of His day in Luke 11:37-54.

I'd been wanting to spoof "Lido Shuffle" for quite some time. Then, on November 30, 2020, I got a text from Rich Mannion asking if we'd ever done it. Since much of the instrumentation would be his responsibility, I started considering it more seriously. Later, I discovered I'd already emailed Rich over two years earlier to ask if "Lido Shuffle" was feasible; we both had just forgotten.

I finally put it on a big list of potential songs for Jimmy to pick from on October 4, 2021. I got the idea and a bunch of words for "Ego Scuffle" 15 days later, while driving to Red Apple Audio Workshop to sing "Runnin' Down the Drain." When I got to the studio, I told Jimmy about the lyrical breakthrough I'd just had for "Lido Shuffle," and he excitedly told me he'd been planning to record drums for that song next. In fact, he'd already set up his kit specifically for it!

The original was played on a Fender Telecaster bass, which has a distinct sound, so I emailed George Elliott and asked if he could do that part. He replied and said he already knew the bass line, because he'd played it another band many times.

We finally released the song on December 12, 2021. As Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith used to say on The A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

LORD IS ALIVE (PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA)

I think I got the "my Lord is alive" part of this parody in early 2020, but I didn't get the rest of the lyrics until November 2021. Obviously, you can't overstate the importance of Christ's resurrection, but I was looking for something to differentiate this song from others we'd done about the topic.

When the line "I have been on a path to where I am" came to me, I thought of the Apostle Paul. When I got the line "If someone thinks Christ is making me crazy," it reminded me of of his enthusiastic defense before King Agrippa in Acts 26, which prompted Governor Festus to shout, "You are out of your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane."

The rest of the lyrics fell into place very quickly after that. It was all so perfect, because the fact that Jesus rose from the dead was the crux of Paul's theology and testimony what he described as "of first importance" in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

Even when he talked to Agrippa, Queen Bernice, and Festus, he said, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" (Acts 26:8) and "But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen — that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:22-23).

But I also like the fact that, aside from Paul mentioning Agrippa's name, the words are all things I and other Christians could and might say to unbelievers and skeptics today.