By Carol Sue Eklund
The Answer Staff Writer

What do you get when you mix secular music with a Christian sense of humor and a whole lot of energy? You get the band ApologetiX.

ApologetiX, a band that makes Christian parodies out of hit secular songs, gets their message of salvation out to crowds that revel in the popular music.  For instance, the popular song “Barbara Ann” from the Beach Boys becomes “Bah We’re Lambs.” By using tunes that people know and love, ApologetiX songs are useful for memorization, and others send a message of repentance or salvation. But whatever the song’s intention, the parody sounds incredibly like the original performances.

A guest band at South Hills Community Church in Henderson last month, lead singer J. Johnson admitted that the original artists have mixed feelings for the style. “We are like fleas to them, they don’t think much about it. But generally speaking, the response from the original artists is positive,” he said.
Johnson is one of the founding members of ApologetiX, and does the writing, sings lead, and sometimes plays guitar. He says that he got started writing parodies after he became a Christian. He wanted a way to remember Bible verses, stories, and things like the names of the books of the Bible in order, and thought that putting these things to music he was familiar with would help. This grew into what eventually would become ApologetiX.
Despite having performed over 1100 concerts, this is only the group’s second performance in Nevada, having played once before in Reno.

During the performance, each song was introduced with stories and humor. Towards the end of the performance, Tom Milnes, the lead guitarist, spoke of his experience in coming to Christ, and gave an invitation for anyone in the audience to do the same. Milnes is a youth pastor in his hometown of Ellwood City, PA.

The name ApologetiX is based on a very old word called "apologetics" which originally meant "the defense of the Christian faith." It comes from the word "apologia" which is in the original text of this Bible verse from the Apostle Peter: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer (or defense or "apologia") to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)

After the concert, Rochelle Lewald, a member of South Hills, said, “What a fun concert! They sound just like the original artists, and the Christian lyrics they substitute are so clever!” Rochelle and her husband Ron were both given a chance to perform with the group on stage during one of the songs.
A group of teenagers, who had come from North Las Vegas, were standing around with autographed CDs and T-shirts. “We’ve been ApologetiX fans for a long time!” they said.

Cindy Harris of Boulder City, said, “They have so much energy! And it is amazing how much they sound like the original artists, even with all the different genres!”

John Regan, another enthusiastic member of the audience, said, “What was said in between the songs was very good. Being familiar with the original tunes made the entire experience a blast!”

ApolgetiX has put out 17 CDs, with parodies of songs from Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Queen, Ted Nugent, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Kid Rock, The Hollies, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Joan Jett, Michael Jackson, Smash Mouth, Def Leppard, Ricky Martin and many others. Their music is available on line as well as in Christian bookstores, and Best Buy. They look forward to returning to Nevada sometime in the future.
For more information, visit www.ApologetiX.com.