The Petra Zone

This was posted on Greg's facebook page...I really enjoyed the interview and anytime you can catch Greg singing it's not a bad thing. Really loved the reference to John S. when the pastor was sharing his testimony...

http://www.familylife.ws/index.php/comp ... cle/25/188

Enjoy!

Wow that pastor looks really young, it's the funky hairstyle I guess. I liked his reference to John too. Speaking of hair, Greg's hair transplant worked really well - it looks good! I enjoyed his testimony - didn't know he was in the very first Christian rock band; OR that he had also been a secular rocker. I wonder if the old guy who led Greg and his band to the Lord is still alive. He could be, he would be around 90. He sounds pretty awesome....to suggest that they do Jesus rock when no one else was doing it. Very cool. Greg and John have alot of similarities in their testimonies - like both were zapped by the Holy Spirit after having a guy speak forcefully to them. I love dramatic stories like this of how God gets someone's attention.

Thanks for posting this - I've only been to Greg's website a couple times, so I wouldn't have seen it.

Uhhh...I dispute the first Christian rock band. There were Christian groups rockin it in the 60s before the Jesus music scene came along. Those hippies just were not exposed to it. They might have been the first Jesus music band, but I do not know about that either.

Now at about 18 in, we hear the difference between a minister living by faith and a performer working for a living. Greg was willing to come gratis. It takes some big ones to do that. Churches are the worst (IMO and IME) at paying for their obligations to musicians, etc. Greg does a bunch of these dates all year. There is something to be learned here.

Amen, Brent!

And I could also add something else...I find it irritating to no end that churches of all sizes don't blink an eye at paying $1000 for an evangelist to come and preach at a revival that virtually no one but believers attend, yet would choke at spending half that for a band of musicians/ ministers to share their gift and the Word. It is great that Greg is willing to come for free...again, you are right in saying that is the difference between a performer working for a living and minister living by faith. As a former (and soon to be again) pastor myself, I wish that churches were more to step up and pay a workman his dues so that the "living by faith" wasn't such a by the skin of their teeth production!

Eric

Yes, I can confirm that there was Christian rock being made before that time. I think some of what Larry Norman did predated that and I remember another band I heard years ago (don't remember the name) but they were from the late 60's and their album was like half love songs and half Jesus rock (like every other song) it was pretty good too. Wish I could remember the name. But Larry Norman is the one most commonly the one referred to as the father of Christian rock.

Preacherman777 wrote:Yes, I can confirm that there was Christian rock being made before that time. I think some of what Larry Norman did predated that and I remember another band I heard years ago (don't remember the name) but they were from the late 60's and their album was like half love songs and half Jesus rock (like every other song) it was pretty good too. Wish I could remember the name. But Larry Norman is the one most commonly the one referred to as the father of Christian rock.

So there is no one before Larry Norman, What about Elvis? or was that gospel.

I think we are splitting hairs here. If you listen to Larry, he was on the folk side of it. He was not "rock". Elvis was rockin' it with a full band, etc.

What Elvis was singing was Southern Gospel. He and the record compay presented it as Gospel and it was with the help of Southern Gospel Quartets like The Imperials (who were still Southern Gospel at that time), J.D. Sumner and The Stamps and The Jordanaires. Elvis grew up listing to the Blackwood Brothers and the Statesmen Quartet. Sure Elvis brought Gospel to the ears of a lot of rock n' roll fans, but I wouldn't go as far to say that Elvis was the father of Christian Rock.

However I would say that he was one of a few that opend up Gospel to many people that would have never heard it before.

WOW! He can still pull it off. I wonder if he can still do "All Over Me" in the same key as the original. I'd love to hear it.

bakersfieldpethead wrote:What Elvis was singing was Southern Gospel. He and the record compay presented it as Gospel and it was with the help of Southern Gospel Quartets like The Imperials (who were still Southern Gospel at that time), J.D. Sumner and The Stamps and The Jordanaires. Elvis grew up listing to the Blackwood Brothers and the Statesmen Quartet. Sure Elvis brought Gospel to the ears of a lot of rock n' roll fans, but I wouldn't go as far to say that Elvis was the father of Christian Rock.

However I would say that he was one of a few that opend up Gospel to many people that would have never heard it before.

There was no "Southern Gospel" label back then. The Imperials were considered contemporary from day one. That differentiated them from the other groups. at the time Elvis was re-recording the Imperials albums, they were by no means Southern Gospel. I have all of those records. I can post what I am talking about.

I didn't say Elvis created Christian rock. I said that he was rocking it in the late 60s for the masses, esposing more people to it, moreso than anyone in Christian music was doing it.

Masada1 wrote:And I could also add something else...I find it irritating to no end that churches of all sizes don't blink an eye at paying $1000 for an evangelist to come and preach at a revival that virtually no one but believers attend, yet would choke at spending half that for a band of musicians/ ministers to share their gift and the Word.

Few churches I'm familiar with pay for that sort of thing out of pocket anyway. Most often that evangelist is paid with a "love offering" which can bring in significantly more than $1000 at some of the larger churches with wealthier members. And, sadly, those same churches could bring in a top contemporary Christian artist and only fill half the seats, if that, but bring in someone like Ron Kenoly and it'll be a sellout. For whatever reason, contemporary Christian rock has never really connected with the church scene.

Cool video! Thanks for sharing!

BTW: as far as "Who was the first Christian Rock band," I don't think it matters. As far as I'm concerned, Petra is the Christian Rock band that really opened the doors. Were they the first? No. Neither was Greg X's first band. Petra was the group that made the genre stick, though. Not to take away from D&K, Stryper, Mylon LeFevre or any of the other classic groups, but Petra helped the church through the acceptance process for CCM. The Godly men who were involved in the band throughout the years laid the foundation for the future of Christian Music. It drives me crazy that Christian Music seems to be so forgetful of it's roots. I know it's all for the glory of God, but I do wish Petra's place in history was a little larger. Just my opinion.

Arguably 2nd Chapter of Acts had a larger influence than Petra on the mainstreaming of Christian rock.

Mountain Man wrote:Arguably 2nd Chapter of Acts had a larger influence than Petra on the mainstreaming of Christian rock.

I had never heard of them until I heard Mylon Lefevre talk about them, once. Maybe this is more regional but here Petra was and still is known nationwide for their work over the years, known both in churches and in the secular world for all the right reasons. Sadly, so was Stryper, for all the wrong reasons. Nobody knows who 2CA is where I come from ...

pmal wrote:

Mountain Man wrote:Arguably 2nd Chapter of Acts had a larger influence than Petra on the mainstreaming of Christian rock.

I had never heard of them until I heard Mylon Lefevre talk about them, once. Maybe this is more regional but here Petra was and still is known nationwide for their work over the years, known both in churches and in the secular world for all the right reasons. Sadly, so was Stryper, for all the wrong reasons. Nobody knows who 2CA is where I come from ...

That doesn't mean that they weren't more influential. Buddy Holly was a lot more influential on rock and roll than a lot of people better known than him. Longevity and/or name recognition =/= influence.