ApX on Vinyl, Bible-Reading Ends & Begins |
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here.
Back in 1963, Marvel Comics promised “2 Great New Super-Villains” on the cover of The Amazing Spider Man #2 in 1963. One of them became iconic and even co-starred in the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming. His name was The Vulture.
The second villain in the aforementioned issue turned out to be a bit more obscure — The Terrible Tinkerer. My kids squealed with delight at the mere mention of his name when I first read that issue to them as a bedtime story. Unfortunately, they’d have to wait another 158 issues before ever seeing him again.
I brought him up for a reason, but hold that thought. Right before I went to bed on Tuesday night, I got an idea and a chorus for a new parody. By noon on Wednesday, I had all of the lyrics to the song! Praise the Lord!
However, as my wife can attest, I've been known to tweak my lyrics repeatedly between the time I first think I’m finished with them and when I get into the recording booth. The opportunity isn’t over until the tall guy sings. And ApX fans are well aware that I’ve rewritten many parodies years after we recorded them.
Yes, in my own way, I am the Terrible Tinkerer, too. And that’s O.K. After all, The Amazing Spider Man had featured three different incarnations of The Vulture (Adrian Toomes in #2, Blackie Drago in #48, and Clifton Shallot in #127) before the original Terrible Tinkerer returned for the first time.
Anyhoo, between Wednesday night and early Saturday afternoon, I revised about 20 lines (no exaggeration) in that parody. That’s especially ironic, because the song is about the sufficiency of the Bible, the unchanging Word of God. In fact, two and a half of my five most-recent parodies I’ve written have to do with Bible-reading.
One is from the perspective of a seasoned Bible-reader, talking about the importance of reading all 66 books. Three generations of ApX drummer/engineer Jimmy “Vegas” Tanner's family sang guest vocals on that one — left to right in the photo below, daughter, Julie; granddaughter, Tessa, and wife, Eve. |
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Another of those parodies is from the perspective of a new Bible-reader, talking about the thrill of learning new things. A third is from the perspective of someone trying to encourage a fellow believer to become a regular Bible-reader.
Speaking of which, our current trip through the Bible wraps up soon. We’re scheduled to read Revelation 19-22 this coming Tuesday. That means we’ll start Genesis on Wednesday. Care to join us? You can find our schedule later in this issue. Just scroll down till you see the multi-colored calendar.
We’re also planning to reintroduce a feature we ran from April 2022 through March 2024 — Rock Thru the Bible. ApologetiX mixer David Michael made lists of ApX parodies to go with each week's Bible readings. He also created playlists of corresponding lyric videos for them on YouTube.
David has been updating that list of parodies and the accompanying videos to include our entire catalog up to the present. Furthermore, he plans to continue updating those lists with new parodies and new videos, so those you of participating in our Bible-reading program can follow along every week. Stay tuned.
None of those new parodies I just told you about are on our upcoming single, but we’ll give you clues about its contents in an article below. But, first, let me tell you a little about a fella by the name of Don ... |
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Is That Your Vinyl Answer? (The Don Riefstahl Story) |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
We’ve known Don Riefstahl for a quarter-century now. In fact, I still remember talking with him after his first ApX concert. Last August, I talked with him after his most-recent concert ApX concert, at Immortal Fest II in Versailles OH, which was also my most-recent ApX concert. He was also at our most-recent concert before that, Immortal Fest II in 2024. Here’s a photo taken of him there with his wife Tiffany. |
I’ve chatted with Don at many other concerts over the years in between, and we’ve corresponded countless times via email over the past decade. I’ve also had the honor of seeing God so some incredible things in his life as he become a husband and a father of three. Of course, we’ll never forget the young man we knew in the early days: |
Don has done some interesting things with ApologetiX music over the years. For example, he’s sung our parodies on his own at many different churches. In 2015, he told me this via email and I shared it in our newsletter at the time: |
I got to wondering how many ApologetiX songs I've sung at various churches over the years and decided to add 'em up. To the best of my recollection I've sung 40 different songs, many on multiple occasions. I've got another 20 or so on my short list to sing at some point in the future. Your music has been a big part of my life for 15 years and I can't even imagine how differently things might have turned out for me without that positive influence. So, thank you. |
In recent years, he has designed and reproduced (with our permission) vinyl versions of a number of our CDs for his personal collection. I thought our fans might enjoy reading more about that and seeing his handiwork, so I asked him if he’d be willing to share a little about that in our newsletter, and he graciously agreed. Without further ado, herrrrrrre’s Donnie: |
I discovered ApologetiX in early 2001 at a youth winter retreat, where I bought Biblical Graffiti and became an immediate fan. My first concert was in Conneautville PA on June 29 of the same year, and I probably attended around 30 more concerts in the years that followed. My first date with my wife, Tiffany, was an ApologetiX concert and I even hosted one myself in 2005. During that time, I had my own ApologetiX fansite and even helped mix the album Adam Up in 2003.
So, I think it's fair to say that I'm a longtime fan.
And, as a longtime fan, I have a lot of nostalgia for their early albums. I've been through a lot in the past 25 years, and those albums strengthened me, sustained me, and comforted me in some very tough times. So, when I discovered that it was now possible to create custom vinyl records on the internet, I got to work creating copies of my favorite classic ApX albums to add to my vinyl collection.
I used my moderate Photoshop skills to faithfully recreate the front album covers, removing all text in the process and then re-adding it later using the original fonts to keep it nice and crisp in the finished product. I also had to upscale all of the artwork since vinyl albums are so much larger than CDs. Most of the finished albums look nearly indistinguishable from their CD counterparts, but other longtime fans will notice right away that I gave Ticked a bit of a facelift.
I created my own standard template for the rear jackets to give a cohesive feel to the collection but also brought over elements from the back of each original album to make each one distinct. I also used a period-accurate band photo for each album.
Once I had the artwork ready, I submitted the photo and audio files to an online shop that specializes in one-off vinyl records. In a few weeks my records arrived in the mail and were ready to be added to my collection.
The one downside to all of this is that vinyl records can only hold 44 minutes of music. So, I was forced to cut many of my favorite tracks. But, what I ended up with is a nostalgic time capsule for each of my favorite ApologetiX albums from back in the day, and they bring me a lot of joy every time I play them.
In addition to these classic albums, I've also vinylized Play It Again, Samson and have several other newer albums nearly ready for print, including Kinda Stuffy, Easter Standard Time, and Apoplectic. |
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Thank you for sharing that, Don! And thanks for being a loyal listener, fan, and friend for 25 years! |
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We hope to release our fourth single of 2026 by the end of this weekend, Lord willing.
Here are your clues. Want to really impress us? See if you can spot all of the references in both entries. We counted a total of 19. |
SONG 1
The days of Walter Cronkite are a long time gone. Don’t look for that train to get back on the track; there’s no quick fix or signs of love. Are they reporters or firestarters? When was the last time you felt good after watching the news? Before you turn it on again, consider this: Do you really want to shatter the silence with all that turmoil and trouble? |
SONG 2
John Mark bid his buddies farewell when mission work proved to be a hard road. Paul considered it foolish behavior; Barnabas had reason to believe Mark was somebody special and a true-blue believer. He was only a boy, relatively speaking, scarred and scared, so Barnabas elected to try a little tenderness. Soon they’d be sailing off to Cyprus. |
Once the new single is released, we'll announce it in our news bulletin, on our website, and on our Facebook page. |
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New USBs Include Songbook & New CD, Too |
Two weeks before last Christmas, we offered a deluxe USB thumb drive that proved to be popular with fans.
It included the digital versions of all of our CDs, plus any singles, EPs, or rarities that aren't on CD, but it also included the latest edition of our digital songbook (1992–2024), which is not on our standard USB. We had just enough of them to get us through the holidays.
With Easter around the corner, we’re happy to announce that we have a new batch in stock.
And this time, they not only include the songbook, they also include our new CD, Everything But, plus the two new singles (four songs) we’ve released thus far in 2026.
The songbook is 1359 pages long with lyrics and commentaries for each song, photos, articles, discographies, and multiple indexes (parody title, topic, original song title, original artist, year the original was a hit, and Bible verses covered)! Sorry, no sheet music.
Emblazoned with the band's logo, the USBs have a storage capacity of 16 GB, and they’re write-enabled, so you can add more music to them if and when you get future ApX downloads.
We only have 85 of these USBs in stock. They're available for a donation of $150 or more each. Multiple copies are available for $100 each.
ALL THAT, PLUS THIS ...
If you order one or more of these USBs, we’ll also email you a PDF of our complete library AND a link to download the songbook directly to your computer. That way, if you're getting the USB for somebody as a gift, you'll also get digital copies of our library and songbook for your own collection. Or vice versa.
NOTE: If you wish to order the digital songbook or the complete library without the USB, those options are still available. |
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Get ApX Complete Library, USBs, Songbook |
To get the complete ApologetiX library, ApX USB thumb drives, and/or the new ApX digital songbook — or to get more info about them — just click on the item(s) you want below. |
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Bible-Reading Plan for 2026 |
We began our latest trip through the Bible on Wednesday, April 3. Note: If you don't have a Bible handy, you can look up these passages for free on Bible Gateway. They have about 60 different English translations/versions there to choose from, plus translations in many other languages, many of which also have multiple translations/versions. |
CLICK HERE to see the reading plan for the whole year. |
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If you'd like to donate to the ministry of ApologetiX, there are a couple ways you can do it. |
If you prefer to mail a check or money order, please make it out to "ApologetiX" and send it to:
ApologetiX
208 Charlemma Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15214-1414
Although the donations are not tax-deductible, they will be received very gratefully and used immediately. Thank you! |
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2 Timothy 3:14-15 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. |
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P.O. Box 101705
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
USA
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