Missteps

[brent]

Because Louie is not J&H. Louie is AC pop/rock. Louie wanted to do another p&w record.

[superfly]

If John, not Bob, fired Louie, then wouldn't the disagreement have to have been related to touring Petra, not recording Petra? If it was about the next album and it's style, wouldn't that have been Bob's territory? Recording Petra, albums, and all that stuff was still under Bob's domain if memory serves. Since Bob didn't do the firing, I always thought the disagreement (unless John and Louie simply couldn't get along anymore) was about concert related things such as rehearsals, etc.

[executioner]

The reason was a mixture of things and wasn't one single reason why he was fired, and had to do with both sides of the coin. Two things also to remember is that Bob gave John his 100% backing on this and Louie was given an opportunity to resigned.

[rexreed]

Who played drums on J&H? Wasn't it Furler? He's barely a drummer, and J&H is not exactly drum technique 101. Hard to believe Louie would be axed cuz he didn't have "the chops." Especially since he had a history of not playing on albums in the studio and Furler easily could have played the drums instead of Louie.

[fcollazo]

Right, rexreed, what could Peter play that Louie could not? J&H material was not the reason.

[Dan]

I remember at the time of Louie's firing that Bob gave it his full approval and support, many times Louie has stated his wanting to do Praise and Worship albums, and I remember as a fan thinking, please we need a rock album! anyway that is all dead and buried hey, no use harping on about it.

[rexreed]

Not harping- this is just a thread on perceived missteps. Looking at other bands it seems like you pretty much have to self implode to get fired. Look at John- he was fired after years of drug abuse, but only when he absolutely was ruining Head East did they give him the boot.

[Mountain Man]

I think their biggest mistake was trying to change with the times and adopting a more contemporary, "grungy" sound instead of sticking with the straight-ahead rock they were known for. Their fans would have stuck with them even if they were no longer considered the top Christian act in the industry. The problem with albums like "No Doubt" and "God Fixation" is they really didn't appeal to anybody, old or new fans, and that's when Petra's popularity and viability took a nosedive.

Of course part of this was from Bob Hartman semi-retiring and giving up control of the band. So perhaps their biggest mistake was really letting Hartman semi-retire, or not breaking up the band when he did.

[Mountain Man]

J&H does not sound like anything else that Petra did, so I hardly consider it a return to their roots. As much as I enjoy the album it really should have some guitar solos.

Jekyll & Hyde is so full of gutsy, crunchy grooves that a guitar solo in each song would almost be redundant.

[Mountain Man]

...rather than getting a concert tour going on the "homefront", they do an overseas tour... what a lot of "retired" bands have been doing long after they "retired"... Guardian and Petra (w/ John) to name a couple.

That's because they can actually fill an auditorium with a few thousand overseas as opposed to a church basement with a few hundred here on the "homefront". Can you really blame them?

[Mountain Man]

Why do you think Louie would not have played J&H? LOUIE has the chops to prove it. Do believe the fable that Louie wanted another PP album?

It's not a fable. That's the actual reason. The rest of the band wanted to return to their hard rock roots and Louie wanted to stick with contemporary praise and worship. They reached an impasse and the only way to resolve it was for Louie to leave the band either by resigning or getting the boot.

[brent]

Look guys, I have heard both sides. They are different, but they are the same. Viktor is what Louie wanted to play. It is not that the parts of J&H were too hard for Louie. Heck PDC Mechanism drumming is FAR beyond anything on J&H. Being in a band and part of a machine for years has dynamics and implications that go beyond musical notes. All I know is one person was an employee and not an equal and one was the boss. There you have it. Why this and that does not matter. I have heard various reasons and have posted them. The dead horse has nothing on it's bones to beat.

Relationships mean everything to Louie. Louie loves people. Louie has a soft heart and takes his words seriously. He told me that he would have come to the video shoot and played. But the right person didn't call and the person in the office that did call is a horses rump and did not ask respectfully. So, working for someone is a two way street. You can make demands, but your employees are your best customers and they have demands as well, the least should not be Christian love and respect.

Personally, I think that the retirement DVD will be outdone by the CP DVD for sure in quality of production and impact and will sell better than the retirement DVD if for no other reason than the romantic story of the band and the connection to the past as lived by the fans. I think Louie, if he is this way and I don't believe he is, can laugh his way to the bank on this one.

When Bob said that he supported John, the context was John's decisions on how he ran Petra. I believe Bob said something like, "It's his band, he can do what he wants". That is not Bob endorsing the termination of Louie. I am sure they did not agree on everything, but respected and honored the other's decisions in their respective roles in the band/business. Bob and Louie are working together now, so....I am sure some healing has begun, just as there must be some with Greg. In my little mind, I think that CP is great thing for everyone's relationships. I think now more than ever they need each other and really have to pull together to do this because this is IT. This is the last chance. This all there is. All that is left is old age then death.

[Dan]

Ok Brent for this to happen, who really has to put their pride away? John or Louie? or both? Your right, this is something that would have to happen now if ever, it's the right time.. and as we have said before in other threads I think the only people that care about this being patched up are us fans. I think if we really want something we need to pray not talk.

[brent]

I did not know we were wanting them on stage together....I would not. That would be forced and awkward. I would only want that if they instigated it themselves. Anything else would be forced and a farce. Who wants to look at fakery? I don't. Not for my own selfish motives.

However, I am sure one night or one or two songs would not kill either one of them. Being in a band and in business with one another might be an issue. It would be for me. How many of us hang out with our old bosses and people we did not get along with for whatever reason?

[Dan]

True true, would be like an ABBA reunion it would be forced. I don't care to see any of my ex bosses, or ex wife for that...