ApologetiX in 2009.
Established in 1992, ApologetiX is a Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who has gained a reputation for making Christian-themed parodies of popular music. The band's name is a play on its eponym apologetics – the defense of a religious doctrine, in this case referring to Christian apologetics. The band is currently composed of J. Jackson on vocals, Keith Haynie on bass guitar, Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums, Bill Hubauer and Chris VonBartheld on keyboard, and Tom Milnes and Tom Tincha (a.k.a. "TNT"), both on lead guitar.One of their (part-time) drummers, namely Jon Schwartz, is best known for being the drummer and webmaster for fellow parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Tropes associated with ApologetiX:
- As the Good Book Says...: Since they're a Christian (parody) band and all.
- Christian Rock: Self-described as part Weird Al and part Billy Graham in "We're in a Parody Band".
- Epic Rocking: Invoked
with "Parable Guy". - Fire and Brimstone Hell: Obviously touched on by some tracks, such as "Droppin' on the Sun"
- Fluffy Cloud Heaven: By contrast, refuted in "Heaven Isn't Like That", their parody of "Shine".
- Grief Song: "Last Night", based on Pearl Jam's take on "Last Kiss", takes place the Saturday between Jesus’s death and resurrection, with Peter mourning his Savior's loss.
- The Moral Substitute: Subverted in interviews with the band in that they state that the parodies aren't necessarily a "safe alternative" and that they "aren't intended to be nicotine patches for recovering rock and roll addicts." They also added that they aren't merely sanitizing secular music to make them more palatable to (conservative) Christian audiences, but rather use said secular music to teach and reach out to people in an entertaining and humorous way.
- List Song:
- "Apostle Me" has the names of all the Disciples.
- "La Bible" and "Mediterranean Wholebook News" both list all books of the Bible.
- Pungeon Master: You gotta be, in this profession.
- Satire: The band would often incorporate this and Irony in their songs as a way to get their point across.
- Song Parody: Being a comedy band, this is pretty much their bread-and-butter.
- Theme Tune Roll Call: Sometimes in their more self-referential tunes-and they’ve been updated as the line-ups changed.
