The Petra Zone

I just finished talking on the phone with Michael, their manager. He gave full freedom to tell you this.
1. The tour starts in Louiville Kentucky Oct152010
2. John Schlitt is fine with eat, they are friends with him and even he told the possibility of doing guest appearances on select shows.
3. They a long term commitment to each other and have a 10 year schedule with Sony Music, and everything is solid.
4. There is going to be a 10 song Live video shoot on Aug 12 2010 with TBN.
5. There will be 3 records; with 10 revamped classics plus 2 new songs each, released one after the other at first.
6. This manager work with them on the BTS tour, and only came on board when he new everyone was in. He is taking this as in God's timing and is a very good man of God, and everything was done with prayer and guidance.

You don't have to take it from me, call the number on the website, he encouraged me to say this and said he has nothing to hide. He said they tried to keep it secret until the record was done but worked leaked so they had to spill the beans.

7. He told whoever was not told, was not out of disrespect and that everybody in the Everybody in the Petra camp is happy about, and the John is part of the Petra family and that he is busy doing his solo career. Also that Bob has no problem doing Classic Petra and Still support John on farewell Petra.

So there you have it.

Well thats all the confirmation I needed I guess its official now. You have stated the facts with no supporting evidence other then your own posting. CONFIRMED. YAY!!!

By the way did you get the answers to any of my other 10 questions posted. Especially question #3 since this person you are talking to obviously new BTS Bob and can confirm things for me as to what is on Bobs head now.

Thanks for the info.

fcollazo wrote:3. They a long term commitment to each other and have a 10 year schedule with Sony Music, and everything is solid.

10 year commitment? Really?

cvs2kids wrote:

fcollazo wrote:3. They a long term commitment to each other and have a 10 year schedule with Sony Music, and everything is solid.

10 year commitment? Really?

Yeah, that one made me raise an eyebrow. Especially coupled with the three albums part. So, a ten year commitment that is only going to produce three albums, none of which is planned to be completely new material? Sounds a little fishy to me.

Also, why is Sony music involved? Seems like a pretty big label to be dealing with such a small time band, especially one that hasn't played together in 25 years.

Seems kind of ambitious though to prepare for three records with lots of re-recorded songs and some new songs. Why not re-record the entire albums from the early 80s then? If they're already planning to re-record 30 songs, why not add the remaining 10 to the roster?

So this is going to be a complicated situation. All the Star Song recordings are owned by EMI. All the DaySpring/Word recordings are owned by Warner, but the secular distribution was done through Epic, which is owned by Sony. And all the albums up to and including Beyond Belief were also distributed by A&M Records, which is owned by Universal Records. So Petra has been dancing around with every one of the big four. And now they're actually signing with Sony? Or are they signing with a label that is owned by Sony?

fcollazo wrote:3. They a long term commitment to each other and have a 10 year schedule with Sony Music, and everything is solid.
. . .

5. There will be 3 records; with 10 revamped classics plus 2 new songs each, released one after the other at first.

A 10-year commitment with Sony Music and three new albums? This almost sounds too good to be true. As much as I like Petra, they're pretty much a washed-up act as far as the Christian music scene is concerned, so why is there a sudden expectation that they're going to be profitably popular for the next decade, especially with a line-up that hasn't been together for 25-years?

Don't get me wrong, I think this is great news, and I'm cautiously excited, but something here doesn't add up.

Just call 615-431-2530. I got it from Classicpetra.com The site is run officially by management. That's the number to the BTS tour manager that talked to me today. He'll answer your questions.

I didn't mean to imply that I don't believe you. I'm just surprised that a label as big as Sony Music would have any long-term interest in a 25-year old version of Petra, especially given the unpopularity of the Petra brand just before Bob Hartman disbanded the group in 2005.

Are we really that surprised? Weren't people praying for this? Weren't people suggesting "The world needs a band like Petra..."

Jonathan wrote:Are we really that surprised?

I am. I thought the reunion thing was cool, but I never expected anything like this.

I am just relaying what the manager told me. You can call yourselves. It seems there is a lot big pockets behind this, he told me they were partnering with TBN.

fcollazo wrote:he told me they were partnering with TBN.

That's cause for concern.

Oh, Lord...here we go again...