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This Past Wkd in RI, NY & DE
Mon., Nov. 7. 2005 12:32pm EST
Rhode Island and Delaware are the two smallest states in terms of land area, but they have a much higher population density than you'd expect (ranked #2 and #7 out of 50) ... and so did their first ApologetiX concerts, this past Friday and Sunday.
We don't know much about cards, but apparently you can have five jokers (like us) and still have a full house, because all of our concerts this past weekend were capacity crowds, including Saturday's concert in New York. We came out of the weekend with a lot of new fans and renewed friendships ... and "live" recordings of three never-before-released songs for our upcoming concert CD, "ApologetiX Hits: The Road."
Rhode Island and Delaware became the 47th and 48th states in which we've played. Only Alaska and North Dakota remain. We are scheduled to play Alaska on New Year's Eve, and we are currently working on a North Dakota concert in early December.
We met at 4:30 a.m. Friday at Keith's house to leave for our concert in Barrington RI, because we were hoping to record the three new songs at each of the concerts, and choose the best performances later. Unfortunately, along the way, we hit standstill one-lane traffic on Rt. 80 in Northern Pennsylvania and didn't move an inch for two hours.
Thankfully, we were still able to get to Barrington in time for the show, but not in enough time to set up the recording equipment. However, the good people of Rhode Island (and fans from a few other New England states) did get to see the debut performances of the three new songs, "With a Harp David Writes," "Walk on the Water," and "Found God." We were able to record the songs the next two nights in Moravia NY and Newark DE.
Also in Moravia, we had a fan named Rein who had asked us in advance if he could propose to his girlfriend, Alexa, on stage during the concert. We'd said yes, and she said yes, too! That also happened in 2004 in Elizabethtown PA, and that couple is now happily married. It's hard to top that, but another fan came up to us after the same show and told us that God had used our parody "Look Yourself" to bring him to Christ two years ago and helping overcome addictions and afflictions on the way. He's now a youth pastor!
ApologetiX superfan Beth Davis attended the concerts in New York and Delaware, setting a new fan record for having seen ApologetiX concerts in the most states -- 15. Her dad, Larry, was also in attendance, moving into second place with 13 states (Several other fans have seen us in 12 states.) They also became the first fans (aside from family members) to see at least 40 ApologetiX concerts in a single year.
Special thanks to:
Kim and Gary Alix, who coordinated Friday's concert in Rhode Island. Kim also ran the merchandise table with her son, Craig. In fact, we've already heard back from Kim in regard to the concert:
The band was fantastic. People loved your music and presence. They said you were funny, talented and have a great sound. I think you've gained quite a few new fans. I love the fact that you all love the Lord and make that very clear during your performance, through your words and your songs.
Some kids that don't normally "do the youth group thing" went out to Newport Creamery together after the concert and said they loved the show. Even some of our "Smooth Grandmamas" bought CD's after the show. We'll keep praying for you. You have a great ministry! Hopefully we can have you back next year. Take care and God Bless!
Special thanks also to:
Mike Miller, who coordinated Saturday's concert in New York, and to Candie, Stephanie, Judy, and the two Daves, who all ran the merchandise table.
Tony McLellan and Pastor Ron, who coordinated Sunday's concert in Delaware. We came home to not one, but TWO emails from Tony:
Hey Karl, Tony from Delaware here.
I just want to say that we had such an awesome time last night!! We thank you all so much for coming to Delaware and we are so glad that we were able to accomodate you in our "small church"!!
I admit, at first I was really nervous and got really stressed as showtime neared, but when J told me to chill out, everything's gonna be great, I took his advice. AND, I'm glad I did!! The show went great and everyone had a blast. And to top it off, to have part of the show recorded for the LIVE CD- that's totally cool! I have become even more of a fan of ApologetiX. You guys are so down to earth, by the time you left it felt like I knew you my whole life!!
So many of my teens had a wonderful time. They were calling J the "giant" man, and you were the "cool one" (I think it's the hair, can't really tell!). Anyway, alot of them went home excited and glad that we brought you all in. For my group, who up until a month ago, never heard your stuff, they really became fans last night- that I am thankful for b/c you guys truly have a ministry that God has blessed you with and it makes me proud to know that my church contributed to your ministry to reach the masses for Jesus.
Okay, I feel like I'm writing too much. But, wow, you guys rocked last night!! Pastor Ron was asking me how he was going to top that next week!! And, Tom (the sound man) really had a great time. You all brought him back to his rock band days!! He really was honored to help you out, and promised me we'll add "Kick in the Wall" to our youth praise band worship songs!!! But, hey if you ever are in the area again and need a guest drummer or guitarist, I'm sure Tom would be more than happy to play with you!! Heck, he'd probably even join you as your traveling sound man, if you want- just let him know!!
I want to take a few minutes to say thank you to Bill Hubauer (I hope I spelled that right). Bill really went out of his way to spend time with a young man in my youth group. [who has had many tragedies in his life recently.]
Alright, I'll let you go now. Keep up the great work and God bless you all in all that you do. I really hope that we'll be able to bring ApologetiX back to Delaware in the future. Until we meet again (which I hope will be soon!), God bless you and have a safe trip home today. Thank you again for making us your first concert in Delaware- WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Your biggest Delaware fan,
Pastor Tony McLellan, Youth Pastor
Living Waters Church of God
Newark, DE
And then....
Good morning Karl. Hope you had a safe trip home. No sooner do I finish my email about how great things were and how awesome it was to have you all for a concert, I went to our church staff/council meeting last night. Guess what? Your wanted back by popular demand!!!
Pastor Ron and the rest of the church staff want to bring you in for a concert in the spring of 2006. We would like to see what your schedule looks like in April. Can you please let me know what is available then? We are requesting a Friday night show, so to avoid the school night thing. Pastor is going to book the elementary school auditorium for the concert, ensuring we won't have to worry about seating! We have plans for advertising and promotion ready to go and are expecting to be able to bring in a lot more than we did. Our goal would be to at least double what we did on Sunday!
When we book the concert date, we'll book the venue. Then I can give you the info for your announcements.
We're excited and can't wait to bring ApologetiX back to Delaware next spring!
Your biggest Delaware fan,
Pastor Tony McLellan
Finally thanks to Jenn the Superchick, Dayna, and Nicki, who ran the merchandise table. Jenn has now seen (and helped) us at 44 shows in seven states and one Canadian province.
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