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ApologetiX New CD Gets Closer to Completion
Fri., Oct. 6. 2000 2:26am EDT
Hey!
This is J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX (That Christian Parody Band) again!
Believe it or not, we actually have a weekend OFF! Well, not really! I'm writing you this e-mail right before I head out the door to finish up the backing vocals on our new CD, "Spoofernatural." It's gonna be a really long night; I can tell you that already. But the lead vocals are already done, and we do have some of the backing vocals already completed, too. Our producer (and lead guitarist), Karl Messner, and I have put in some late nights this week. Of course, Karl's been putting in late nights for quite some time now.
When ApologetiX records a CD, the drums come first, followed by the bass, and then the lead guitars and keyboards, and finally the vocals. That means "Spoofernatural" is getting much closer to completion! In fact, Karl will be in the studio later this weekend mixing down the tracks with Ray Calfo at Studiophonix (Yeah, we had to find a studio that spelled it's name with an "ix" at the end just like ApologetiX!) Please pray for us, especially for Karl! There is a TON of work still left to do, although I marvel at how quickly God has enabled us to bring this thing together, largely thanks to Karl's enormous efforts.
As most of our fans know by now, "Spoofernatural," is due to hit the
stores on Tuesday, November 21. The CD contains 19 paradies. Like "Biblical Graffiti," it's a mix of parodies of classic rock and songs from the past year or so. There's plenty of variety for everybody -- 50's, 60's, 70's, and a LOT of '80's, which is our main focus on this CD.
If you've read our previous two newsletters, you know that rather than giving you a complete song list, we're giving you the lowdown on two songs per week (the theme of the song plus clues as to what it's a parody of), to make it more exciting. Here are the two tracks featured this week:
Track #6 Song
Title: "Trooth
"The point of the title is: Can anybody still spell "truth" in today's laissez-faire society? The majority of the population doesn't seem to believe in absolutes anymore, so who's to say there's an absolute way to spell "truth"? Seriously, when the topic turns to religion, how many times do we hear people say, "Well, you have your truth, and I have mine. That's good for you Ö whatever works for you." In my 16 years of school, I never once had a teacher give me my test results and say, "I disagreed with your conclusions, but you have your truth, and I have mine, so you still got an ëA' as your grade." Sounds pretty foolish, doesn't it? Imagine how it sounds to God when we reject the truth of His word for our own brand of "truth." This song is a parody of a recent comeback smash by a man whose band was the launching pad for the band Journey and for CCM singer Leon Patillo.
Track #7 Song
Title: "La Bible"
Every Christian ought to learn the books of the Bible in order. The ideal way is to read the Book cover to cover, over and over, so you just instinctively know your way around. This song was designed for the other 99.9% of the population, to help speed up their learning process. Over the years, the guys in ApologetiX have written a few songs that list the books of the Bible in order, but none have ever made it onto a CD until this one. This song is a parody of a movie theme - an old wedding song that was a hit in both the 50s and the 80s. And I'll bet that none of our e-mail readers knows even half of the words to the original song -- even though just about everyone will remember it well.
OUR PLAN FOR THE NEW CD
Our current plan is to make the "Spoofernatural" CD available only to stores for the first week or two, because we want to encourage people to buy it in the stores, for two main reasons:
1. We want the stores to realize how many of you are out there (If your store doesn't stock us, ask them to order it), and
2. If all of our fans buy the CD when it is released there is a chance that we will hit the national album sales charts, because when you purchase a CD at a Christian bookstore, that sale is recorded and sent to the record-keeping publications that chart records. "Biblical Graffiti" has sold thousands and thousands of copies, but that was over the past nine months. If we sell a large amount in the first week of the CD's release, it will definitely draw the attention of DJs, concert promoters, stores and others in CCM music and the music industry in general.
I've seen some CCM ads lately and I've noticed that we're not alone in this strategy: Carman and the Newsboys are doing the same thing with their greatest hits packages that come out later this month because they'd like to make a splash on the secular charts. I presume that's because they want to make people outside of the church aware of their music, because they want to reach more people with their message. And that's why we're doing it, too.
If "Spoofernatural" hits the CCM or secular charts, it will draw more attention to ApologetiX, even though we are an independent band that is not on a major label. Why would that be good? Well, it would open up the doors for more concerts and more CDs and getting the message in our music into the hands of more people ... both Christians and non-Christians. Our music is specifically designed to reach certain types of people, and we want to get it into their hands. But many of them have to find out about us first. First and foremost, God is in charge of that. But we're also trying to do trying to be faithful servants in getting the message out, because we really believe that God is leading us in this area.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1) Please pray for us -- that we complete the CD on time and that we do all things for the glory of God and to the best of our ability. Please pray for wisdom and strength for us, particularly for Karl.
2) Find the Christian bookstore near you and go see if they have ApologetiX. If they don't, please tip them off that hundreds of stores around the world are carrying ApologetiX. (Maybe find the name of another store in the area from http://www.apologetix.com/stores.html and tell your store that the other store is already stocking us.)
3) Tell your local store that they can order through their major distributors, Ingram/Spring Arbor, Riverside or New Day.
4) Give your local store the phone number of our retail relationship manager, Tim Hetchler. Tim personally takes care of all the stores who carry ApologetiX. He makes sure they have everything they need and they get the best deal. Tim is a great guy and also represents Billy Graham, so they may already know him.
Tim Hetchler Wesscott Marketing 1.800.788.0442
5) Mark your calendar and try to be at your neighborhood store on Tue., Nov. 21, 2000, in your ApologetiX T-shirt (still available at http://www.apologetix.com/cds.html). You can pick up your copy of "Spoofernatural, and help show support for your favorite Christian parody band. (If you're feeling particularly obnoxious and giddy, you can ask out loud, "Excuse me, do you have "Spoofernatural," the new CD from ApologetiX, That Christian Parody Band!?"
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OCTOBER SCHEDULE
Sat. Oct. 7 (and the rest of the weekend) "Spoofernatural" CD Mixdown in the Studio!
Sat., Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
Frauenthal Center (Sponsored by Dalton Baptist Church)
425 W. Western Ave.
Muskegon MI 49440
Contact: Kyle Segar 231-766-2008 Kseg24@email.msn.com
Sat., Oct. 21 (Two Shows)
6:30-8:00 p.m. 8:45-10:15 p.m.
Cup O' Joy Coffee House
232 South Broadway
Green Bay, WI
Contact: Jan Oettinger Cup Phone
(open hours only): 920-435-3269
Jan's phone: 920-437-6694 jocoj@aol.com www.cupojoy.com
Sunday, Oct. 29 at 10:45 a.m.
Ladbroke At The Meadows
Racetrack Roads
Meadow Lands, PA
Contact: Pastor Joe Di Donato
Home 412-257-8687
Cell 412-576-9210
Hope to see you at one of these concerts! I think you'll really like the new CD! Please keep in touch! God bless you all!
Apologetically,
J.
-- J. Jackson ApologetiX (That Christian Parody Band) www.apologetix.com j@apologetix.com
Proverbs 16:1
To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
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