My crappy Petra concert experience!

timserdynski · Post by **timserdynski** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:52 am

Ok, so I was supposed to do lighting at the Tampa show this weekend. I got booked to do it about a month prior to the concert. I get giddy like a school girl just KNOWING that Petra wil be around, but the fact that I got to bring my lights and add to the show.....needless to say, one of the happiest days sof my life. My settup isn't huge, but I've been doing lighting for 7 years now for littlerly hundreds of shows. I wanted to make THIS show really special, so I went out and bought $1,000 of intellegent lighting, new cables, etc... JUST for this show....JUST for PETRA, my ALLTIME favorite group!!! Now, to set the scene, I work the night shift till 8am. I spent the previous day (when I should have been sleeping) bolting lights, and making DMX programs until I had to go to work. I wanted everything to be ready and perfect. So, I work all night, get off at 8am, go home, leave Lakeland at 9am for Tampa to settup. I'm tired, but it's ALL worth it because I get to work with PETRA. It took my wife and I about 3 hours to settup, and get everything ready to go. So the band arrives and first thing, the drummer for Farewell June wants me to move my whole rig (lights and all, a couple hundred pounds) up into the choir loft because it was too short (about 10ft high). It was easy for HIM to say becasue HE didn't have to set t up. Now, normally 10ft would have been an ok hight, but Paul has a drum riser that is about waist high (putting the lights right on the back of his head). Some guys at the church found a smaller riser and it looked as if I wouldn't have to move the lights. Thank GOD! Then, in walks Petra's manager, Wayne and says......and I quote "Tim, I'm gonna make this easy for you. I need you to take all that down. We can't use it. I mean, we have bigger merchandise displays than that". And like that, he crushes, humiliates, and angers me beyond what I've ever felt. EASY???!!!!!!! I thought he was joking at first and to my horror, he was serious!!! How could anyone be that MEAN?? Even if he didn't mean to be cruel, you have to be pretty out of it to think that wouldn't hurt my feelings. He didn't know how much I wanted to do lighting, or how much money and trouble I went through to make it special JUST for PETRA. It may not have been much in HIS eyes, but it's MY rig, It's MORE than I could afford and I was VERY Proud of it!!! He had NO idea and didn't care. It wasn't about money really....it was about being robbed of the honor and not only being embarrassed in front of everyone there as I had to take my lights down because they weren't good enough, but also in front of my family and friends that came out to see my lights. The night I have been talking up to everyone for a month. My family was so proud of me that I got to do that for my favorite band and then I had to tell them all. I felt like such a failure and that all the money I spent and trouble I went through was'nt worth it anymore. I couldn't even enjoy the concert. I was even going to see Petra in Winter Havne then next day, but I just slept. Worst part about it....noone said "thanks" or "I'm sorry". Not Wayne, not the promoter, noone. It MIGHT have made me feel a little better, but I just got discarded and that was it. I didn't even get an "all access pass" The stupid kids from the churches youth group that were helping out even got one. That might have been a nice thing to have since I got robbed of my dream.....at least SOMETHING to show for it. I walked away with absolutely nothing. Petra is still my favorite band, it was noone's in the band's fault. I don't even blame Paul because he probably didn't no that insisting on the higher riser would put me out. I blame Wayne Seboa. I realize he's paid to be the heavy......WHEN ITS NEEDED! He was just there to get the job done at any cost. I guess have no lights was better than having some in his mind. I don't get how someone could be SO business minded that you don't see if you've just CRUSHED someone. I don't get it.

brent · Post by **brent** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:17 am

Man, if you are going to work, you need to toughen up a bit. You should consider that what may be accpetable for a smaller church, indie artist at a club, etc will not work in the concert world. I don't know what you brought in. But if you didn't have what their tech rider specified, or what they are normally used to, then you didn't, and it doesn't matter in management's eyes what effort went into it.

Say you take your car to a mechanic. You have a Honda. Your mechanic only has certification, tools and diagnostic gear for GM. Now, you don't care what it took him to get where he is. All you know now, is that you were told something would be a certain way when you got there, and now it isn't, and there is only a short amount of time to make it right.

The last time I did a Petra gig was in 98. We had 96 1000W par 64s in trussing, some varilights, etc. All of this was flown with Genies, one truss upsatge, one truss downstage. That would be a minimum I would think today.

executioner · Post by **executioner** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:25 am

Hey man I know how you feel. This guy has no courtesy whatsoever. I've had a first hand experience with him via telephone and email, and all I can say is how can this guy be the manager of a top CCM artist and be allowed to act that way to someone? I was hurt and angry because it that email us petheads were called some names and there was some very unchristian things said about me personally which were not justified at all. I will pray for you because I know how it feels and it does hurt. I am a 35 year old man and cried when I got that email because this guy is suppose to be representing not only Petra but more importantly representing Jesus Christ.

Shell · Post by **Shell** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:33 am

I can understand how this was disappointing, but don't focus on this person. Trust God with your disappointment and let Him handle it. You'll only be hurting yourself in the long run if you dwell on it.

It shouldn't be about Petra and management, it should be about God. Keep your focus on Him.

crossways · Post by **crossways** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:36 am

hey bro!

The "industry" can be the most hard place there is, and probably it is most true of CCM.

In my band we work hard and do our own web and material, and recording. We spend a lot of time on it, whenever I present it to any industry insiders it always gets slammed.

So we learn from it and move on.

I will say that I don't understand why folks in those positions have to be so cold with their remarks and criticsm, esp. when representing Christian artists.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 11:17 am

The Wayne Train.

kngser88 · Post by **kngser88** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:03 pm

I personally think there are a few that should get their heads out of the sand and into the bible. How can your tour manager say mean things to people and then petra sing on the stage.."God Loves you". God does...but you aren't relaying that message. I understand if Wayne has a bad day....but the consistency of these rude reports.....I think it is his nature. The question of why petra can't get rid of him? I think their forced to have him. If this is the guy that was rude to my wife and I at The concert we attended, he has an australian accent which I trace back to inpop which leads me to believe inpop gave them that manager and How can You Fire someone that the only record company that would give you a chance gave you the manager? It leads me to believe this because every talks about all the people that have made petra in their history....I can't remember any one being this rude.....much less rude at all. I just have a hard time believing Bob or John would continually have this manager being their first point of contact and being this consistently rude. They have to not know or have no choice.

spottacus · Post by **spottacus** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:23 pm

He sure seemed like a type-A personality when I saw him in Minneapolis. I think he's a believer, but everyone is gifted with certain abilities and virtues, and everyone struggles with a different set of deficiencies. I'm not saying this by way of insult to Wayne, who I don't know, just as a universal truth. Everyone has something they need to work on , and I think his issue might be his attitude toward others.

kngser88 · Post by **kngser88** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:41 pm

Yes I agre, But you think I would have a Job at wal-mart if I had this attitude as a greeter...I would be canned!!

Shell · Post by **Shell** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:02 pm

Well, it is true that nobody is perfect and we all have our areas we need to work on. However, saying "nobody's perfect" can also become a way of shrugging things off, trying to justify bad behavior or just another way to say you don't really care. There's really no justification for being nasty, and that goes for any Christian on any level no matter who they are.

Like I said though, the focus should be on God, not a person, and the music biz can be a jungle.

brent · Post by **brent** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:03 pm

While I have done business with Wayne and have had no issues (aside from being hard to reach when told he was available...but managers are busy trying to make a living), all that I can say is that if you are the frontside of the interface between the band and the buyer, you should play nice. I have no proof that he hasn't.

But really, nothing says that you have to a personality of Andy Griffith when you get saved.

Remember that Christian artists have to so the same work as their secular counterparts. Truth be known, the bands get a screwin' more than their secular counterparts. So he may be a bit more jaded by the alleyways of strife.

sue d. · Post by **sue d.** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:17 pm

Tim, I'm really sorry you had this encounter.

If the promoter for the church hired you, then he should have given you the tech rider so you would know what was required and there would be no surprises.

I've often found that promoters seem to disregard the riders and go with what they think will work. While that's OK to an extent with John solo, it won't work for Petra.

That being said, there is a way to make your wishes known in a forceful and decisive manner without being rude, obnoxious or hurtful to another. It's called tact. Wayne has not learned tact, and if he hasn't by now, I don't believe he ever will.

Part of his job IS to be the fall guy when it comes to problems, but again - there is a right way and a wrong way to get the job done.

Inpop didn't hire Wayne - he joined Petra as manager at the end of 1999-beginning of 2000.

I've had MORE than my share of run-ins with Wayne, both as a promoter, webmaster and booking agent. Over the years I've learned that you don't take it personally - Wayne is Wayne and that's just how it goes. Let it all slide off your back and move on.

And one more thing that I (or shall I say the Holy Spirit) has reminded me of again and again and again:

Gal. 4:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. "

God knew your good intentions and He will not forget when it comes time for you to meet Him in heaven.

kngser88 · Post by **kngser88** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:38 pm

Thanks sue this makes me wonder if Petra cares about there fans or followers...I just find it hard to believe that they know he is rude to so many. This "Wayne is Wayne" stuff is a bunch of nonsense. I guess that is why the Church is In a downward spiral because we all know it is only a little sin...Mes me wonder

BigD · Post by **BigD** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:42 pm

I believe Sue's "Wayne is Wayne" comment wasn't to justify his behaviour, just an added point to say we can't let other people drag us down.

We choose our own attitudes at the end of the day, and can be affected by whatever we let affect us. I'm sorry that things like this have happened (especially for Tim), but it does us no good to dwell on it.

Live and learn.

kngser88 · Post by **kngser88** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:48 pm

Ye BigD, I agree with that...I guess I just figured That Petra would put just as much affort into hiring a tour manager with a christ-like attitude as a regular band member. I guess that is what makes christianity diifcult sometimes its ahrd to tell what God thinks sometimes.

The Petra Zone

My crappy Petra concert experience!

My crappy Petra concert experience!

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