This Past Weekend in Ohio
Mon., Feb. 13. 2006 10:57am EST
The first "o" in ApologetiX stands for "Ohio." We'll never be confused with the Ohio Players, but we sure are playing a lot in Ohio these days, including three concerts this past weekend.
The aforementioned funk band scored big with the #1 hits "Love Rollercoaster" and "Fire" in the mid-70's ... and who could forget their breakthrough hit, "Funky Worm"? ApologetiX took a roller-coaster ride around Ohio this past weekend, playing concerts to fired-up crowds in Toronto (near the eastern border), Cincinnati (near the southern border), and Greenville (near the western border). And funky or not, we're going to worm our way back into the Buckeye State this coming weekend for a concert near the northern border in the Cleveland area.
You want something funky? Saturday's concert promoter was also our opening act, Phil Dalton, a Christian magician who rolled himself into a curtain at the end of his act, only to unravel seconds later as ApologetiX lead singer J. Jackson. But it gets funkier. Several years ago, Phil rode a unicycle across the United States to raise money for a little girl with a brain tumor. He also once parachuted from a plane 103 times in one day! Did we mention that he can also eat fire? And his wife (and assistant) Paula informs us that he came to their first date on stilts, dressed as a "10-foot redneck." Well, it WAS a costume party.
And if you think that's amazing, how about Ohio natives Larry and Beth Davis, a father-and-daughter team, who recently became the first pair of ApologetiX fans to exceed a total of 100 concerts together. In fact, they've already been to about 10 concerts this year already, including this past Friday and Saturday. Beth holds the fan record for having seen ApologetiX the most times and in the most states (15). Larry is the runner-up in both categories.
Honorable mention to:
Jason in Cincinnati, who attended his 15th concert Saturday.
Michael "Oldies Man" Eshom, who runs his own ApologetiX fan site, who came to see us Saturday and attends anytime we're in the greater Cincinnati area. Michael's website is: http://www.oldiesmann.us/index.php and he recently added an online video-game arcade with 34 games, including Donkey Kong, Frogger, Tetris, Duck Hunt, Space Invaders and many more.
Special thanks to:
our concert coordinators: Doug Hoffmaster (Toronto), Phil Dalton (Cincinnati), and Pat Harless (Greenville).
our roadies: Micah, Greg, Larry, and Beth
our merchandise table coordinators: Beverly, Megan, Elle, Nicole, Krista, Sam, Sarah, and Abby (Toronto); Heidi, Jennifer, and Teresa (Cincinnati); and Kim, Lacie, and Erin (Greenville)
our opening act from Sunday night, Branded (Although it was only their fourth concert ever, those young whippersnappers rocked!)
Joy FM 88.9 (Bruce and the gang) for the radio promotion on Sunday's concert. Their website is http://www.889joyfm.com
Hope to say "Oh, hi, yo!" to many more of you Ohioans this coming Sunday in Wickliffe (Cleveland).
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