97-2000 lineup

[Dan]

I know a lot of Pethead's don't care much for this lineup, but they have to be the most entertaining Petra on stage.. they are rockin' and I would love to have seen them on the PP2, GF or DT tour....

ok now bash me i can take it.

[SkyCaptain]

Yea, I caught one of the PP2 dates. High energy! Seeing Lonnie spin was a trip.

[sue d.]

I had these guys at my Petra show in 1998.... very high-energy and FUN to watch!

Kevin + John = an excellent vocal blend.

[lucianotaz]

Guys,

In my opinion a lot o energy and very low music quality !!! Of course John and Louie did very well their job. Lonnie is a good bassist too, but in a rock band guitars and keyaboards are very important ... And Pete Orta and Kevin Brandow were far away from the former members. I have the Kevin Brandow solo album - Pogostick - and it is very poor !!! I have the Orta solo album, and in my opinion, Chris Rodriguez that produced the album, saved the boy.

This is a page of Petra history that I try to forget and in my opinion this lineup was the main reason of Petra unsuccess !

[SCJ-7]

Well, I am another Pethead that have the Pete Orta solo album and... well... sincerely... well the truth is that I don't like the album. The 1997 - 2000 lineup were a good team, but apparently the NEW guys were thinking in other things than Petra... From that era we have Petra Praise II, God Fixation and Double Take and some of Petra's greatest songs, but (again) apparently the NEW guys were thinking in other things than Petra... Just my humble opinion...

[separateunion]

but in a rock band guitars and keyaboards are very important

I'd argue that keyboards aren't a necessity, depending on what type of music you're playing. Most bands don't have a full time keyboardist. Also, I always thought that Pete Orta was a pretty good guitar player.

[brent]

I think Pete is a nice guy, but a sloppy player. Sometimes sloppy works. In the context of Bob's music, it doesn't. He made John mad because he would not capture the essence of Bob's parts. John told me that it was hard for him to understand why they could not get Bob's distinct and familiar solos down. They slopped through the tunes instead.

[lucianotaz]

separateunion,

You are all right about the not obligation of keyboards in rock bands !!! What I would like to say is that in that lineup, in my opinion the 2 members that were responsables for the harmony (chords) were very week for a rock band like Petra !!!

[CatNamedManny]

Saw Petra for the first time on the DT tour in Providence, R.I. Great show. Their version of "Judas' Kiss" (electric) and "Creed" blew me away.

[curt]

Well... I'm not too impressed either. It's not only that they aren't very good musicians. They look rather stupid being that focused on moving and jumping around that fast. It's not proportional with the rythm of the song.

Looking back it's always easy too see what should have been done otherwise, but I agree that this might be a part of the reason that they lost fame. I mean... Why would such a great band play this song instead of writing something new and interesting. And why not perform it in a more interesting and inspiring way?

As far as I can see the name "Petra" lost a lot of value during this period and the following years until Bob returned. It seemed that there was no end to the musicians going in and out of Petra. And it seemed that they were hanging on to whatever was left to hang on to. The fact that Bob left was heard to bear. The fact that the guy taking over (David Lichens) was only part of the band for a year made it hard to accept or see Pete Orta as the guitarist of Petra. At that time I couldn't make any sense of it. Couldn't see how you could call it a band. The new "guitarists" didn't even play on the records or write the songs, so they appeared to be more like hired musicians and not real members in the short amount of time they were a "part" of the band. Perhaps this is why it is so interesting that some of the old "real" Petra guys have started playing again in Classic Petra. All of those guys are talented, all of them have contributed greatly and played on some of the best records.

Some of you might find it important to defend Petra and the fact that they kept going on and on. Anyway the reasons for that can - as far as I can see - not be based on the fact that they kept on making good music. If you look at the music only it's not that impressing. And before you defend it, try to compare it. It really isn't that difficult to hear the difference.

[BriGuyPEI]

I've always been curious as to how much of the guitar work on those albums is David/Pete/Kevin/session guys and how much is Bob. I know Bob recorded No Doubt before he stepped away. He's credited as a full band member on PP2 (a unique six-member Petra). So did David play on that album or was it all Bob? I believe he's credited with some guitar work on GF. I wonder how much? No mention on DT, so perhaps he didn't play on that one at all. Anyone know for sure?

[Jonathan]

I saw the God Fixation show when I was 17-ish, so I was just a kid who liked nice rock music. I saw No Doubt, PP2, GF and Greatest Hits in and around that time period (97-2000), and if I recall, it was four different lineups. At that point I figured Petra was winding it down and that their personnel was going to be in flux. I accepted it because I was hearing the songs I loved. It didn't cheapen the brand with me at all. Of course, I didn't grow up seeing Bob as a fixture. Change was all I knew.