John and Greg

[Preacherman777]

Seeing all these pictures of John and Greg makes me think that these two guys should do a tour together. You know, Schlitt and Volz do the songs Petra. Wouldn't that be cool. Kind of like Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth did. Only this would bring glory to God.

[BriGuyPEI]

Yeah, 'cause the Dave and Sammy tour worked out soooooo well!

[brent]

I don't think that it would work for many reasons. The first would be that if Petra has to quit, for lack of demand, then what demand is there for a former frontmen with tracks? John's great, but a band is what makes it on stage.

If either of these guys were happening solo artists, in demand enough to sell tickets, then we wouldn't be seeing GXV only doing ministry events at churches, or 50 people showing up at a John Schlitt show.

Let the bones lay where they are.

Nothing lasts forever. It is much better to be graceful and know when to exit. Nothing would be more sad to me than to see these guys get trapped in the past, unable to progress outside of the box we have made for them. YMMV

[Preacherman777]

Well, I never suggested using tracks. A live back up band would be the only way to go. Neither did I necessarily mean to do it right way. Maybe after 2 or 3 years in order to allow people to miss the presence of Petra. Plus, while I agree that neither of these men draw much attention on their own, I do think that the two of them together, armed with the music of Petra would be a much better draw than what either of them can do on their own. But hey, it's all just my opinion and I'm well aware that it will probably never happen, but then all the nay sayers held that a reunion would never happen either and look what happened to that.

[sue d.]

John's great, but a band is what makes it on stage.

I'll agree with that statement... BUT DON'T FORGET:

John DOES have a solo band, ANDBAND (for lack of a better name) and they are all in place and ready to play.

[brent]

Yeah, that's better than nothing. But, I couldn't sit there without thinking, "This guy is NOT Bob, this guy isn't Greg or Paul, etc." To me that was like watching Lou Gramm minus Foreignor do those songs, or Journey minus Steve Perry, or Sammy Hagar do David Lee Roth era Van Halen tunes.

Why jack with the memories?

I am ready to see John get so great writers and great players and have the production that he deserves. There is a place for him, but it may not be rock and roll. Not unless he can assemble a super group where the focus is shared between players/singers. IMNSHO

[mathias]

Actually Both John and Greg have plenty of solo material they could do. "The Former Petra Frontmen" would be an interesting (and notnecesarily heavily advertised) hook, but that dosen't mena they would need to doa ny Petra songs.

The Sammy/David comparison could be a good contrast between the church and the world in that respect. Remember, even though it was a joint tour, the two never preformed together.

[callbeyond]

I think whatever John does...it will be great! He has the heart and the passion to continue and I think whatever he sets out to do, will be accepted. If it's not...then those people are just crazy!!!

[sue d.]

Yeah, that's better than nothing.

Hey!! These four guys worked their butts off putting together a band, learning the songs, practicing late into the evening (they all have day jobs), traveling long hours to get to the venues - all at their own cost & expense. Don't sell them short. What they may lack in professionalism they more than make up for it in their willingness to be a support and their Christian attitude in every circumstance, which I've seen time and again firsthand.

Why jack with the memories?

Why not make MORE memories??

or Sammy Hagar do David Lee Roth era Van Halen tunes.

John has done plenty of Greg X. tunes... should he not be singing them because they're not "his"?

I am ready to see John get so great writers and great players and have the production that he deserves.

I would love to see that too.... but it all costs money. Lots of it. Bottom line.

[Petrapraise]

ALL the PETRA songs are more Bob Hartmans then anyone elses.

[Michael]

I think they should tour, but John can sing Sammy Hagar's tunes and Greg can sing David Lee Roth's tunes. That should be fair enough.

[Enosh]

I would say that just because someone isn't part of the industry or lives in Nashville, it says nothing of their professionalism. There are those of us who performed in AndBand that have been performing for over 20 years. There is alot of talent in the AndBand, that is why we were able to do the things we did. I agree that it would be better to see Bob on stage, but come on it would be better to see the Dream Team too but that time is gone.

I wish Petra would last forever, but we are not talking about trying to replace Petra. No one could do that. John has his own songs. He's mentioned new solo albums as well. John could move forward with a band where he is the focus. As well, anyone who's been to see AndBand with John knows that the quality is there. We don't just stand there.

I'm not saying that it's going to happen, but I would rather see John finally do some solo stuff instead of fading away into history. I think he has the right to let his voice be heard. Plus, I think people are already accustomed to, "This guy isn't Bob." there have been 4 guys in his place in the time he was gone. Petra has had many members, and I believe that if John does a few Petra tunes people will be more excited just to hear John sing it again along with his new songs. Bob cannot be replaced, whatever John does it cannot be looked at as Petra 2. It has to be seen as John Schlitt (Solo artist)

BTW We did work our butts off, and John was very impressed with what we did. If we are available, and John wants to do a solo thing with us backing him up, he couldn't do better without getting a wellknown name playing with him. That would take away from John and the purpose of doing a solo thing. Excellant musicians do exist outside the machine. That's how they come to be inside.

[brent]

Yeah, that's better than nothing.

Hey!! These four guys worked their butts off putting together a band, learning the songs, practicing late into the evening (they all have day jobs), traveling long hours to get to the venues - all at their own cost & expense. Don't sell them short. What they may lack in professionalism they more than make up for it in their willingness to be a support and their Christian attitude in every circumstance, which I've seen time and again firsthand.

Why jack with the memories?

Why not make MORE memories??

or Sammy Hagar do David Lee Roth era Van Halen tunes.

John has done plenty of Greg X. tunes... should he not be singing them because they're not "his"?

I am ready to see John get so great writers and great players and have the production that he deserves.

I would love to see that too.... but it all costs money. Lots of it. Bottom line.

No offense to that band. I haven't even heard them. My point is that there is a current trend of having one or two people out representing a band that is no more. Neither are great without the other. Neither should keep going, because it puts that artist in a box, limiting how much money they can make, by the types of bookings they receive.

Some people will only recognize both of these frontmen as former Petra members, instead of what they can be today, or tomorrow. Given the FACT that the name Petra in front of any artist will get you poo poo'd from the radio waves, it would be beneficial to both, well Greg has already done this, to establish THEIR sounds, THEIR image, THEIR ministry, and not be tied to something that brought an end to a legacy.

Think Michael Jackson. People do know him as the little boy in front of the Jackson Five, but the majority of his fan base begins with Thriller. He could have been doing oldie-but-goodie shows, or reinventing himself. He did the right thing and broke new ground.

John's first solo record was killer in it's day. The second was good, but the timing was off IMO, re: release date vs. what Petra was doing. I think that if John were given a state-of-the-art facility, some elite musicians that carry some weight, and great songs, he could do whatever he wanted. I think that it will take someone with big pockets, vision and new management style. I think that resting on what has been done with Petra would be a mistake. While it was the best in all of our opinions, that carries no weight with labels, radio or the buying public today.

That's my take based on having a product with John's voice on it, talking to current and former Petra booking agents, AR people, producers, label execs, etc. Mention the P word and the doors close faster than you can say "crap". Trust me. I timed it.

BTW, I was listening to some of Bob's orchestration. Call me crazy (wouldn't be the first or least friendly thing to be said) but I think that Bob would make an excellent arranger of traditional church music. He could take traditional church hymns, organ and orchestra tunes, and make them modern guitar pieces, cool to use by those bridging the gap between older rock audiences and the lifetime church attendee. What do you guys think? Listen to what they do with the keyboard parts at the shows and see if you don't agree?

[Enosh]

That's the point I'm making. If John decides to continue, it can't be him keeping Petra alive through his solo career. It has to be his voice and songs; the things he wants to say through music. That's not to say that he can't do some Petra songs, because people will recognize him from that.

I don't think he can ride on just what Petra has done, but I also don't think that you can just completely walk away and act like it never existed either. There would have to be balance. IMHO

[executioner]

Brent,

Do you mean that Journey should not keep going on without Steve Perry?