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Jimmy to Play 100th Show With APX
Mon., Jul. 31. 2006 12:09am EDT
On July 22, New York Yankees third baseman Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez became the fastest major-league baseball player ever to hit 450 home runs. In related New York news, ApologetiX drummer Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner is scheduled to become the fastest ApologetiX member to play 100 concerts, at our concert in Rochester NY on Saturday, August 5. By that time, he will also have played in 28 states, another feat he reached in record time.
Jimmy played his first concert with ApologetiX on October 28, 2005 in Noblesville IN, filling in for our previous drummer Bill "Moose" Rieger. He's played all of them since except for the "Moose Farewell Tour" in Ohio, January 27-29, 2006.
Speaking of the man called Moose, he held the previous record for fastest band member to 100 concerts ... or did he? It all depends on whether you count the five concerts he played for us as a fill-in back in the 1990's. Once Moose became a full-time member of ApologetiX, it took him just under 17 months to reach 100 concerts (February 24, 2001 through July 13, 2002, although he didn't play March 9-11, 2001.) However, if you count the five concerts he played for us as a fill-in drummer from November 1998-February 1999, it took him more than three years and seven months! :)
Our keyboard player, Bill "Wild Thing" Hubauer, is in a similar situation. He started playing concerts with us semi-regularly (he plays most but not all of our concerts) on February 27, 2004, but he also played seven shows with us in 1999, 2000, and 2002. Not counting those initial seven shows, he's a close second to Moose for fastest to 100 concerts -- doing it in 19 and a half months (February 27, 2004 through October 9, 2005). If you count those first seven years, though, it took him six years, one and a half months (July 24, 1999 through September 10, 2005)!
If Moose's and Bill's early concerts disqualify them, then the record belongs to Moose's predecessor on the drums, Fred "Ben" Behanna, who played most but not all of the 132 ApologetiX concerts between February 19, 1999 through January 26, 2001 (He alternated with Keith Harrold during the first few months), which means he reached 100 concerts in just under two years.
Fred's predecessor on drums, Bob "Rockin' Bobby" Flaherty, is one of two other retired members of ApologetiX to play 100 concerts with the band. He played 108 concerts with us from May 27, 1995 through September 13, 1998, missing only two concerts in that span. Bob played his 100th concert with us on August 2, 1998, reaching that milestone in just under three years, two months.
Andy Sparks, the band's original rhythm guitarist, who later became its second bass player, played with ApologetiX in the 123-concert span from May 27, 1992 through August 18, 1995. Andy may have missed a concert or two along the way, but we're not sure. Either way, he reached the 100-concert mark in less than three years.
As far as current band members go, it took lead singer J. Jackson two years and eight months to get to 100 concerts (from March 27, 1992 through November 11, 1994). Although he co-founded the band and played its first concerts, lead guitarist Karl Messner took slightly longer to reach 100, as he missed a few concerts because of his job and his honeymoon in the early days (Andy filled in on lead guitar), and we didn't play many concerts per month.
Bass player Keith Haynie only missed one concert (for a wedding) in his first 101 concerts, but it took him slightly longer to reach 100, because we took a five-month hiatus from concerts from August 16, 1997 through January 10, 1998. Keith took just over three years (October 6, 1995 through October 11, 1998). He was the second-fastest band member to 200 concerts, however. It took him just under four years and eight months (October 6, 1995 through May 26, 2000), whereas it took J. and Karl just over six years to reach that mark.
Of course, if you want to get really technical, Keith filled in on bass for us for one concert on December 22, 1992, so that would mean it took him just under five years, 10 months (December 22, 1992 through October 9, 1998) to reach 100 concerts, and seven years, five months to reach 200 (December 22, 1992 through May 20, 2000).
Either way, Moose currently holds the record for reaching 200 concerts, too; he did it in just under two years, five months. Bill Hubauer is closing in on 200 concerts himself. As of July 30, he had played 194 concerts in 33 states. Not counting those initial seven shows, Bill will pass Keith and become the second-fastest to reach 200 concerts, accomplishing that feat in just over two and a half years. Then again, if you count those first seven shows from 1999-2002, it will have taken him six years, one and a half months (the time span was July 24, 1999 through September 10, 2005) -- making him the second-slowest to reach 200 concerts -- six years, one and a half months!
But make no mistake -- no matter who holds the record for 200, Jimmy's on the fast track to obliterate that one, too. At his current pace, he ought to reach 200 concerts sometime next year. Stay out of the man's way!
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