The Petra Zone

http://www.petraband.com/

Petra Retires
Christian Rock Pioneers Say Goodbye After 33 Strong Years
Nashville, TN - After 33 years of music and ministry, Christian rock pioneer PETRA will come to a close. December 2005 will mark the end to a ministry that has boldly and consistently proclaimed the gospel in the United States and abroad. The decision to retire the band was mutual by all members.

"It has been a privilege and honor to represent our Savior and participate in His Great Commission. We have nothing but thanks to God for all He has done," says PETRA founder, guitarist and primary songwriter Bob Hartman.

"God used PETRA in my life in so many ways, as He did in so many other lives," says lead singer since 1986, John Schlitt. "I am truly thankful for having been part of PETRA. We've had a good long run and have seen so much. We've seen God's hand at work in our music on every continent and in every language," he says.

The band has impacted generations of musicians and fans alike over the years with over seven million CDs sold, four Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards and an induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. PETRA, initially formed in 1972 by Hartman on vocals and guitars, paved the way for the rock genre perhaps more than any other in the Christian music industry. Though a rotating cast of musicians comprised PETRA's lineup over the years, the band is closing 2005 strong with over 20 albums to its credit, the latest being the 2003 Grammy-nominated Jekyll & Hyde.

At present, Schlitt and Hartman have made no immediate plans for the future.

"I'm not sure what the future will bring for me," says Schlitt, "but when God chooses to show us His will, then we just go in faith and walk in faith toward Him. He has never let us down, and He never will."

There are currently talks of a live album or box set to release in the future. Final PETRA tours in the United States and Europe are in the planning stages. There will be no further concerts booked after this year.

"PETRA has always been one of the biggest names in Christian rock," says Inpop Records President Wes Campbell. "PETRA's contributions to our industry are innumerable, and the band was very instrumental in the beginning stages of newsboys career. We are honored to have supported PETRA in its ministry and music," he says.

Seems to be the same thing that was already put out on other news sites last week.... including the word "newsboys" in the last paragraph, which needs to be capitalized.

There also seems to be a "the" missing before Newsboys. I love these guys.....

--Josh

Yeah it looks like the same release from last week. At least we know that Inpop is confirming that they are looking at the possiblilty of a live album.

LIVE ALBUM!
LIVE ALBUM!
LI-
Oh sorry.
I need to go to bed-too many hours drinking caffiene and illustrating.

There also seems to be a "the" missing before Newsboys

UNLESS they meant the word Newsboys to stand alone as it's own proper noun. In either case, the word should read Newsboys' (apostrophe after the "s," showing possession)

Shell... as a word woman extraordinaire, can you shed further light on our little grammar /punctuation lesson here today?

Hehe. I don't know if I'm a word woman or just get a bug up my butt about grammar because I'm an English major...You're right, the possessive would be Newsboys' with the apostrophe, and it could be a noun by itself. If they were just talking about the band, there should probably be a "the" before it. I'd have to reread it to see how they're using it though.

Probably the only people who would notice it are English majors or people in journalism.

Hehehee.... I know I drive my friends nuts with noticing stuff like that.

Hehehee.... I know I drive my friends nuts with noticing stuff like that.

I guess it is a good thing some of your friends are English and Journalism majors!

As for the press release itself, my response is - Yawn.

They are not "The Newsboys"... they are "Newsboys." You'd get a punch in the nose from Annie Lennox for saying they were "The Eurythmics" ...same thing here, except without the nose punch. If there is a Newsboys CD in the bunch with a "The" on it, it would be one of the earliest ones from the early 90's.

That makes sense, but "the" would be okay if you're saying something like "the Newboys' new CD." I need to read that article again and see the sentence.

It is finished

Well... Only sadness

I nhope God bless the band who ministries to me....

Artur

The only Newsboys album cover that I remember having "The Newsboys" on it is the cover for their first album Read All About It from 1988.

At least the Newsboys are still around. I can't wait to hear more albums from them. I haven't heard the entire Devotion album yet, but from what I've heard of it so far, it sounds quite better than Adoration. One song on Devotion reminded me of U2 because it had "The Edge" style guitar-playing on it. Cool!!

It's so sad that the ONLY up-date the PETRA Official Website has EVER had is the announcement of their retirement. Why even have a website?

Speaking of which, the same applies to Pete Orta's website. Hasn't been up-dated once.

I glanced at our Newsboys CDs last night and RAAI just said "Newsboys" on the edge... didn't actually pull it out and look at the cover, though.