Crowd shot masthead ApologetiX Logo Keith Haynie plays bassBill Hubauer plays lead guitarJ. Jackson sings leadJimmy Vegas Tanner plays drums
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03.28.24Easter Season Playlist 2024
03.28.24New CD BOGO Ends Sunday Night
03.28.24Bible-Reading Ends Tuesday, Starts Again Wednesday
03.25.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.22.24Fans Making Plans to Attend Our Big Show September 1
03.22.24How to Donate Online or by Mail
03.22.24How to Get the ApX Library, USBs, Multiple Downloads
03.22.24Get Multiple Downloads for One Donation
03.22.24Influential Albums: 1409-1415
03.22.24This Week's Bible-Reading
03.22.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
03.20.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.20.24New Single: Top-Five Hits by Four-Man Bands
03.20.24Over 1650 Tracks for $100
03.18.24USBs Include New Single & Next CD
03.16.24Influential Albums: 1402-1408
03.16.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
03.12.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.09.24Influential Albums: 1395-1401
03.09.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
03.09.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
03.05.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.03.24New Single: '74 Solo Smashes
03.01.24A Serious Problem We're Trying to Address
02.29.24All About Our Next CD
02.29.24Influential Albums: 1388-1394
02.29.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.29.24Clues for 2024 Single #5
02.25.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.22.24Get Ready for Our Next CD
02.22.24Influential Albums: 1381-1387
02.22.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.22.24Wayne Is Retiring, What's Next for Him and Us?
02.22.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
02.19.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.19.24New Single: Billy & The Beach
02.16.24Influential Albums: 1374-1380
02.16.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.16.24Remembering ApX Friend Paul "Doc" Nigh (1956-2024)
02.16.24Clues for 2024 Single #4
02.10.24Influential Albums: 1367-1373
02.10.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.10.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
02.06.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.06.24New Single: '74 & '83
02.03.24ApX Lead Singer/Lyricist Shares His Testimony 36 Years Later
02.03.24Influential Albums: 1360-1366
02.03.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.03.24Latest CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
02.02.24Clues for 2024 Single #3
01.29.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.26.24Influential Albums: 1353-1359
01.26.24How to Get the ApX Library, USBs, Multiple Downloads
01.26.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
01.26.24Flashback: J.'s Vision for ApologetiX in 2014
01.26.24J.'s Vision for ApologetiX in 2024
01.26.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
01.24.24Checking in With ApX Alum Drummer Fred Behanna
01.22.24This Week's News Bulletin
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01.19.24Influential Albums: 1346-1352
01.19.24Encouraging Message from Longtime Fan in Oklahoma
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01.12.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
01.12.24Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
01.12.24New Testament Reading Started Wednesday
01.11.24New Worship Songs Available from ApX Alum Bill Rieger
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01.08.24New CD BOGO Ends Sunday
01.08.24New USB Thumb Drives on the Way
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12.26.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.26.23New Single: 1974 & 2008
12.23.23Influential Albums: 1318-1324
12.23.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.23.23ApologetiX Updated Christmas Playlist
12.18.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.18.23New Samson CD Mailed to Fans, New Orders Sent as They Come In
12.16.23Influential Albums: 1311-1317
12.16.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.16.23New Story
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12.11.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.11.23New Single: '83 & '84
12.11.23ApX Apparel: Order by Tuesday with Express Shipping
12.07.23New ApX Apparel and More: Order Soon for Christmas
12.07.23Influential Albums: 1304-1310
12.07.23Just Reword CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
12.07.23Clues for 2023 Single #25
12.04.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.02.23Influential Albums: 1297-1303

Parodies Help Many Mentally Ill Australians
Thu., Jul. 24. 2014 12:03am EDT

In our preamble in this week's newsletter, we shared part of an email we got from a fan in Australia. Here's the rest of the incredible story:

Seeing your last email news had two comments from Australia, here is another from yet another state in Australia:

Just after the release of Biblical Graffiti (1999), I became involved in a Churches Disability Support Network. Name is a bit misleading as the largest group of people we became involved with are those with a mental illness. I also see an increasing number of people with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).

One person I got to know was Alex, who had been knocked off his bike by a car. Not long after he experienced seizures for the first time in his life and was diagnosed with clinical depression. This later changed to paranoid schizophrenia, he was granted a Disability Pension, no longer able to work. Today his diagnosis is just bi-polar.

Alex had been a bright student, brilliant guitarist. However, after accident his memory was affected to the extent that when he tried to read even song sheets with chords on, his brain couldn't process information quick enough or he would just forget what the chords were. Nevertheless there were certain favourite songs he could instinctively still play and he had a really good voice.

He desperately wanted to be able to play and sing in church environments, but frustrated by his limitations. After praying about this, another guy I got to know Rowan told us he had heard "Amazing Grace" sung to "House of the Rising Sun." This became Alex's signature tune (one of the tunes he could play instinctively). Rowan has since gone to be with the Lord, his life taken early by a condition known as Huntingtons (same one that took life of Woody Guthrie).

I then started to search the Internet for other Christian songs to popular music and stumbled across your parody of "Proud Mary" (Alex's favourite song) and ApologetiX. Some of the songs he could play/sing instinctively were songs you parodied on Biblical Graffiti and earlier releases.

I, too, am a singer/guitarist and work within the Network with people on the music front. Singing/music is increasingly seen as important in recovery from mental illness. Today we have a pool of singers, musicians all with either a mental illness, ABI or disability that get all sorts of opportunities to perform. They perform under the name of Through The Roof. Who performs depends on who is available at the time, sometimes that means who is well on the day.

The early songs we sang were a lot of your early parodies. Initially for the likes of Alex and others with memory problems, but then parody songs sort of caught on. Initially I thought of them as outreach songs, creating the opportunity to share the Gospel. But as I listened to some of the people sing them with their whole heart, I realised that you if want people to worship the Lord with their whole heart, you need to let them sing to Him, about Him with the music that's in their heart (the same music you play).

Over time we have unearthed some songwriters, still mostly parody. We're not always as clever as J. with our lyrics, in more recent times have concentrated on simply putting Bible passages, Psalms to anything from 50's to current music. A pastor friend of mine who has spent some time in India tells of only 30 percent literacy in some rural areas. So how do people find out what's in God's word and revisit it ? Songs that they sing over and over, that stick in your mind. The literacy issue is significant too for a number of our people.

It's staggering to think of the number of people that have been touched by those involved in Through The Roof over the years. The people that have come to faith in Jesus, those that have recommitted their lives. Although we do sing at churches, predominantly we go and sing often where no other Christians go. Particularly at the accommodation facilities where a lot of the people live. On the street, a number of the people busk; hospital mental health wards; rehab facilities; church outreach initiatives without musicians; and refugee group churches without musicians.

One of our vocalists, Chen, a Vietnamese War refugee suffered a stroke at a young age when he first arrived in Australia. As a result his right hand was a permanent tight fist. When we first went to where he lived, we acted out the Good Samaritan and sang some songs round story. Somewhere in the middle of one of the songs his hand opened up. He turned to Jesus from a Buddhist background. Today he sings some verses and chorus from some of your songs in Chinese, Vietnamese.

Our Network doesn't have the transport resources to get everyone that wants to go to church on Sunday (and needs transport assistance) to church. So a local Salvos Church has a big day of a Tuesday when we can access additional transport resources. Tuesday is church for a lot of our people.

A Rotary Group from Dallas, Texas was visiting Melbourne and came one Tuesday to do a barbeque for the people. Some, groups, businesses come of a Tuesday to help out but are a bit surprised at what they find as they share/interact with the people. Especially after lunch when the music starts up.

If you can imagine our friends from Dallas after a bit of enthusiastic encouragement, suddenly finding themselves on stage with the band singing ApologetiX songs (that maybe they hadn't heard before although they lived in U.S.). God works in strange and wonderful ways.

Gary Cuthell
Parkdale, Victoria
Australia