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ApologetiX in Long Island, Cincinnati, Phoenix
Thu., Sep. 26. 2002 1:01pm EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer for ApologetiX (That Christian Parody Band) here.
Well, this Saturday, we're scheduled to play in Long Island, New York. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli, "and if we can make it there, we'll make it anywhere." And we don't mean "make it as a star." I just mean "make it to the place." Consider all the traveling we had to do last week ó 15 planes in nine days:
Sunday from Hawaii to Chicago to Pittsburgh;
Wednesday from Cleveland (had to drive there from Pittsburgh) to Cincinnati to Atlanta to Alabama;
Thursday from Alabama to Cincinnati to Cleveland;
Friday from Pittsburgh to Detroit to Minneapolis;
Saturday from Minneapolis to Detroit to Grand Rapids;
Sunday from Detroit (had to drive there from Grand Rapids) to Philadelphia to Newport News VA;
Monday from Newport News to Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.
And in the middle of that, I had to drive from Pittsburgh to Bowling Green KY on Monday night and Tuesday afternoon (and back to Pittsburgh that night) to pick up our newly repaired van.
The high point of the past week (aside from the brief times when we got to see our families) was the concerts, of course. The low point was when we drove (actually Karl and Bill did the driving) from Holland MI to Detroit on Saturday night after the concert and arrived at the hotel at 4 a.m., only to realize that we had to check out one hour later in order to check in at the airport on time. That left half an hour for sleep and half an hour for shower/dressing ó a new ApologetiX record ó although some of the other days came close!
If I'm correct in my estimates, by October 31, we will have played in 34 states. Sorry if we haven't made it to yours yet; pray us out there!
1. Concerts in Long Island NY and Cincinnati OH This Weekend
2. Concerts in Phoenix Next Weekend
3. Honors for "Smooth Grandmama," "The Real Sin Savior," and "Keep the Change"
5. Funny Email of the Week
4. The Shocking Truth: Howard Stern Got Me Into ApologetiX
6. Photos on the Website ... How About Yours?
7. Are You an Artist?
8. Update on Fred's Daughter
9. Upcoming Concerts
1. CONCERTS IN LONG ISLAND NY AND CINCINNATI OH THIS WEEKEND
Saturday, September 28, 2002 at 7:00 PM
Tickets: Call or Email Contact Info for Pricing
Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle
Sponsored by Long Island Youth for Christ
Higbie Drive
Smithtown, NY 11787
Contact: Vince Eppolito or
Jack Crabtree
631-385-8333
Email: Veppolito@aol.com or
jcrabtree@liyfc.org
Sunday, September 29, 2002 at 7:00 PM
Tickets $8 advance, $10 door
Anderson Hills United Methodist Church
7515 Forest Road
Cincinnati, OH 45255
Contact: Anderson Hills UMC
513-231-4172
2. CONCERTS IN PHOENIX AZ NEXT WEEKEND
Saturday, October 5, 2002 at 7:00 PM
First Baptist Church
Phoenix, AZ
Contact: Keith 623-217-6526 or
church 602-944-9656
Sunday, October 6 at 10:00 AM Worship
Service First Baptist Church
Phoenix, AZ
Contact: Keith 623-217-6526 or
church 602-944-9656
3. HONORS FOR "SMOOTH GRANDMAMA," "THE REAL SIN SAVIOR" AND "KEEP THE CHANGE"
Here's an interesting unsolicited email from Davy G of christianbeats.org that was posted to the NACRR Discussion Group (No, it deals with radio people, not NASCAR! :)
"I used to be DJ/MD at WJIK - Binghamton, NY ... let's think of ApologetiX. Where would those guys (and every Christian morning show team) be without secular songs in which to create parodies? ėSmooth Criminal' and ėThe Real Slim Shady' aren't the most Christian of songs but ėSmooth Grandmama' is # 19 on the National Rock Chart, ėThe Real Sin Savior' is nominated for Fringe/Alternative Song of the Year and peaked at # 24 on the National Rock Chart earlier in the year, and ėKeep the Change' is nominated for Rock Album of the Year. I will be the first to point out that a lot of music out there shouldn't be played on a Christian station or during a Christian show, but if we can use something to bring the Word of God to our audience, maybe it's not a bad idea."
4. THE SHOCKING TRUTH: HOWARD STERN GOT ME INTO APOLOGETIX
Last week, we told you Howard Stern had played a number of cuts from our new CD, "Grace Period," on his CD that Tuesday -- the third time he'd played our material on his show. Some of you might wonder what good that would do. Here's one example from a man in Texas, including a great salvation testimony:
"I just wanted to drop you a quick line thanking you for your work. I am a fairly new Christian and my wife after praying, pleading and prodding finally got me to start attending church about a year ago. (Short testimony) I got a job, had both my legs healed from 30+ spider bites (Brown Recluse) almost lost my legs and got saved. I was brought up Jehovah Witness with some Catholic as my background. Music was never really well received at either the Kingdom Hall or the Catholic Church I attended so to feel a connecting with the Lord in music was really new. After attending church and becoming a member my wife and I joined a Life Group for bible study and fellowship. I remembered a band that a year earlier being ridiculed on the Howard Stern show. (I Love Apostle Paul) was all I could remember. I did a search on Amazon and found you. Your music is now a part of our Life Group's praise and worship. (Every Step to Take) is always requested."
Juan Grand Prairie TX
5. FUNNY EMAIL OF THE WEEK
We got this one from Roger Long in Ohio. Make sure you read the third and fourth sentences!
"I want to thank each of you for being the great guys you are. My family was at the Marion Ohio concert this past Saturday and once again we had a great time listening to you. My son caught one of the free CD's, after it bounced off my wife's head (no kidding). She survived and we were hoping you could hit her with a boxed set next time. We have all your CD's, but my son loves having his own copies. My son Aaron presented you with the bookmarks, that he made, and I want to thank each of you for making a fuss over them. It really made him feel special.
6. PHOTOS ON THE WEBSITE ... HOW ABOUT YOURS?
We've told you a couple of times already, but we can't contain ourselves, and there's something we'd like to add. We are now posting photos from our concerts on apologetix.com. In most cases, the photos go up within 24 hours of the concert where they're taken. Here's the link:
http://www.apologetix.com/photogallery/
Now, some of you email us photos you've taken at our concerts, and we've always appreciated that. So, if you have digital camera shots or scans from any of our concerts, please email them to karl@apologetix.com with the date (approximate if you can't remember) and year and location and your permission to use them. We can't promise we'll post them, but give us a try! Thanks!
7. ARE YOU AN ARTIST?
We're designing new t-shirts, and we'd like to get our fans involved. We already have the concepts for the shirts, but we're looking for artists/illustrators who are big ApologetiX fans. If you're one of those people and are interested in finding out more, please email our lead guitarist, Karl Messner, two or three scanned images of your artwork with some information about your artistic background and why you want to get involved (i.e. your experience with ApologetiX, how you discovered the band, what CDs and songs are your favorite, etc.)
Send emails to karl@apologetix.com
8. UPDATE ON FRED'S DAUGHTER
Here's an update from our former drummer and lifelong friend, Fred Behanna (drummer on Biblical Graffiti and Spoofernatural, with guest percussion on Keep the Change and Grace Period), on his second daughter, Beth, who has had repeated bouts with Hodgkins Disease:
"Just to keep you up to date on Beth, she had an appointment with her oncologist yesterday (Thursday). His comments were a little more optimistic than previously thought.
The Hodgkins is back but it is a very few spots in her chest. Previously the disease had spread to her lung, liver, stomach, spleen, with a few tumors in her neck also. After her one month scan, since the transplant, she was clear but on her 100 day scan is when they noticed activity in her chest again. The Dr stated yesterday that we had obtained a "partial victory". When I asked him what he meant he said that normally when a patient relapses the disease comes back in all the spots it was previously.
"So he's thinking that Brandys (my other daughter, the stem cell donor) stem cells are doing what they are supposed to be doing and the only issue is that the anti-rejection drugs are holding those cells back from killing the Hodgkins in Beth's chest. So they've taken Beth off of all the drugs that were to keep the possibility of "Host verses Graft Disease" (HVGD) at bay and let Brandy's stem cells attack more aggressively to kill off the tumors that are remaining. I know this sounds complicated (and it is) but basically they are inviting a little bit of the Host verses Graft Disease in order to destroy the Hodgkins. We are just to keep an eye on Beth to make sure no symptoms of the HVGD begin to pop up in a serious manner.
"The doctor believes that this will work and provide Beth with freedom from the disease. She will have another PETscan and CATscan in about 5 weeks to see how things are going. Please continue to pray for her. And, thanks so much for all your concern, prayers, and words of encouragement. We both appreciate it so much."
Fred
If you'd like to email Fred, his email is fred@apologetix.com
9. UPCOMING CONCERTS
Sep 28 - Long Island NY Sep 29 - Cincinnati OH Oct 05 - Phoenix AZ Oct 06 - Phoenix AZ Oct 11 - St. Louis MO Oct 12 - Columbia MO Oct 19 - Aurora CO Oct 26 - Rockford IL Oct 31 - White Hall/Weiner AK Nov 09 - Green Bay WI Nov 16 - Corpus Christi TX
You guys are an encouragement to us all! Thanks for everything!
Apologetically,
J.
-- J. Jackson Lead Singer/Lyricist ApologetiX (That Christian Parody Band) www.apologetix.com j@apologetix.com
P.S. For those of you who are reading your Bibles every day (cover to cover, over and over, better and better, year after year), just wanted to let you know that yours truly starts Habakkuk tomorrow, so I'm almost done with the Old Testament again. My wife, Lisa, and I read a chapter a day together, too, and we're in chapter 31 of Exodus on our second "couples cruise" though. Here's one of my favorite verses, which was part of my daily reading this past week:
Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
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