The Petra Zone

Don't you guys think that sadly this has been the end of Petra forever?

With the non-formal demise of Classic Petra, the failed never viable Classic Rock Tour, and the Farewell Tour part 5 that never materialized, i don't know how Petra can survive after these failures. I love Petra, but these have been half hearted efforts except for the Classic Petra project which at least saw 2 full years of solid touring with new recordings and Petra reaching many countries that they have never played before. I am sad that personal issues did not allow this project to continue.

Otherwise, i wonder how much longer even the Zone can continue with the band apparently quitting for good. I enjoyed the many years of camaraderie in the Zone, the many Bootlegs that I traded and the excitement for any Petra news we could gather. I hope we all go on with our lives with the sense that at least we tried to support our favorite band, and hopefully new generations will continue to enjoy Petra's music and be ministered by it as time goes by. I saw many kids during the Classic Petra tours find Petra for the first time, trying to get anything Petra related, just to be let down by what happened. Maybe the music will continue.

I have been thinking about this for sometime. As many have stated before, Petra went through so many line up changes it isn't just one band, but a thematic ministry. What if....
Bob and John kept Petra going and guided the ministry but with new young musicians to "carry the torch" so to speak. I could see Bob and John holding auditions, continue to write but lead from the background at this time, and this would keep the ministry of Petra going? Just a thought.....

While I agree Petra was as much a ministry as entertainment, this ain't the Harlem Globetrotters.

The success of the band was very much tied into the chemistry of the members and the individuals who related to the fans. I think history has already proven that their is no appetite from the fans for anything but the original.

cvs2kids wrote:While I agree Petra was as much a ministry as entertainment, this ain't the Harlem Globetrotters.

The success of the band was very much tied into the chemistry of the members and the individuals who related to the fans. I think history has already proven that their is no appetite from the fans for anything but the original.

I disagree. With almost 30 members in 40 years, which iteration do we consider the original? If Petra proved something during the 20 or so years that it was at the top of the game was that the band was not about individuals, but rather about its message. That's why it survived after Hough, DeGroff, and Glover left in the mid-70's, that's why it survived after Volz left in the mid-80's, and that's why it went on for 10 more years after Hartman "retired". Even though most people will maintain that was the beginning of the end. And it sorta was, but they still went on, released 5-6 more albums, won several Grammys, and traveled around the world through those years.

I think there are more complex issues at stake here, and not only one, but rather a combination of factors that have contributed to the "failure", if you wanna call it that way, of the band. Hartman's departure could've been a factor, the general musical landscape of the 90's could be other, the ensuing revolving door of members might be yet another, and there is also a marketing/public relations issue. The combination of all those factors, I think, proved fatal for the band.

But the thing is that we've already sailed these waters before in 2005. I don't see it as much of a big deal right now because it already happened 9 years ago. Sure, they made an effort to get back in the game now, but I really never thought there was much effort put into it to reach new heights. I also said this before on another thread here, but I think the band members must already be more or less comfortable with playing every now and then when necessary, while going on with their own projects, whatever they might be.

So, yeah. Petra is "done" (if that means releasing albums and having huge tours and concerts). But it happened 9 years ago, and some here would say it happened before.

People associate the heyday with original.

People would say Steve Perry is in the dream team, or original, to Journey. People would say Michael Anthony was original to Van Halen. People would say Phil Collins is in the dream team and original to Genesis. REO, Blood Sweat & Tears, Quiot Riot, Heart and many, many others don't have all of their original members, but had success anyway.

It's just the way people are. When the band was big and when the listener was the most impressionable, that is what the line up should be for that person.

I don't believe they are done. Not that I've got high hopes about anything big. But I believe they will continue to play now and then.

It's too late to take a break and come back big time after the break. So they can quit or continue in some form. I believe they will choose the latter. Probably the farewell-lineup playing now and then. Classic Petra seems to indicate that even the old teams are uncapable of gathering enough interest for anything big.

The dream team will remain a dream. Sometimes I doubt it would be a succes if they reunited. I find it hard to believe that they would be capable of creating that magic thing again. It takes a lot to make a valid nostalgic trip and rely on the past. In a lot of cases it leaves you with the impression of being presented with a thing of the past, something that you are done with. I'm not saying it cannot be done. Others have tried and in some cases it has been very succesful and in others it has been less succesful. The dream team - if they ever reunited - probably wouldn't have enough money or time to go big scale and create the show that would make them magic. If they were to keep it in the budget version it probably would appear a bit desperate and not a recreation of a glorious past.

The time for the Dream Team has come and gone.

If by "Dream Team", we mean Schlitt, Hartman, Cates, Lawry, and Weaver, I have to ask... does anybody know if Weaver and Schlitt have any beefs about the firing? I know they worked on Project Damage Control afterwards, but that was probably a studio project where they didn't necessarily had to interact with each other. Also, I had read that Ronnie had been at odds with another member, but I don't know who or why.

Re: PDC...Louie came first, then John. John knew Louie was on the project and thought it was a good idea. Louie did not know about John at the time. We did not know John would be needed at the time. Louie was a bit upset at first. His feelings were a bit raw at the time. But, later he said that it was all ok. I took John to lunch between interviews at GMA Week. John saw Louie while we were eating. When we left, John could have gone another way. Instead he went to Louie and shook hands. They made small talk and then we had to go.

They will never be on the same stage together. They should not be made to be. I don't know the deal with Cates. He is a nice guy and does/has done good things to promote music education. If they wanted Cates back, he would be.

Brent, when you say they will never be on the same stage together, are you able to fill us in on why? I'm sure there is more water under the bridge since the original incident, and PDC, but I'm nowhere near an expert either.

Cool story about lunch and them shaking hands.

No expert here either. Just speculating. But, if there was a way to bet on it in Vegas, I would place a years salary on it never happening.

I might have been told something at some point, but I don't recall. So, just look at how the guys operate. They move on. When the drum throne was empty, they did not go back for Louie. They got Christian. There is no need to include Louie. Louie doesn't know the bulk of the songs they play now anyway. The only reason Louie and Bob were on the same stage was because Greg put Classic Petra together.

John and Louie have talked a number of times since the episode Brent is talking about... in fact, they've had a really GOOD talk about the past and all has been forgiven - on both sides.

But as far as ever playing together? Probably not... Louie has his own job, John has Cristian as drummer.... but never say never.

Actually - Petra is not quite done. They are scheduled to play on the Lincoln Stage at the Illinois State Fair on August 17 (Sunday) in Springfield.

She, what about the potential for another album they (or their management) alluded to last year when the 40th Anniversary CD came out?

brent wrote:People associate the heyday with original.

People would say Steve Perry is in the dream team, or original, to Journey. People would say Michael Anthony was original to Van Halen. People would say Phil Collins is in the dream team and original to Genesis. REO, Blood Sweat & Tears, Quiot Riot, Heart and many, many others don't have all of their original members, but had success anyway.

It's just the way people are. When the band was big and when the listener was the most impressionable, that is what the line up should be for that person.

I will take issue with your Journey reference. Before Steve Perry joined the band, they released one or two albums that were commercial failures, and they needed a success or their label would drop them, which would pretty much have been the end for them. That's when the manager brought in Perry who shot the band into the spotlight and wrote many of their most well-known songs. So while it's true that Perry isn't technically an original member, Journey as we know it wouldn't have existed without him.