John's voice is not the same

[brent]

Brent,

You just about summed it up on John's vocals. I know he still has most all of his range and can wail some high notes still! It's been cool for me to see his voice texture change over the years....but there's not doubt about his awesome range!

Interesting what you mentioned about IEM's. I didn't know that all these factors can come into play for one not to sing on pitch. I have IEM's but use them rarely, partly because I dont' like the earpiece. And partly because it feels like 'the-finger-in-the-ear-effect'.

Now I'm curious to hear what you think of the Sure E-5's that I heard about. I did listen to them once at a Conference, but love to hear your opinion on this. I'm definitly not as trained as John and I'd prolly TOTALLY sing flat, HAHAHA

I agree, live shows are not easy at times. I've struggled at some venues and others I haven't. All depends.....

Thanks for your post.

The E5's are ok. They aren't as good as a custom mold and a transducer made for your ear. But if off the shelf is your thing, they are ok. If you need to buy some, let me know. I can get them for you right at dealer cost. We bought about 25-30 pairs for the band. We get grande discounts for spending close to a mil over the past few years.

I will say that you will only benefit from an E5 if you are on the wired PSM system. RF (wireless) do not sound as full bodied, and tend to have a fizzy top end to us.

Most of the guys in the band ditched the E5's. We use Avioms and Furmans with headphones. Most of the guys use the consumer version of the Sony MDR7506s. They aren't cool looking for the lead vocalist(s) so they use low profile EAW bi-amped wedges. With only a couple of wedges blowing, it minimizes the low frequency crap coming from the stage into the first few rows.

Whatever you do, get your hearing checked first, and always keep those ear pieces clean. I saw Brooks and Dunn get hellacious ear infections on a tour one year due to poor hearing health.
YMMV.

[petrafan]

My two cents worth - I have been listening to his music for 30 years. For the most part, he sounds very much the same. My kids hear some old HE stuff and remark that he sounds just like he does now.
He now has a little more rasp, which I think sounds great on the Jekyll and Hyde stuff. Range? Check out "On the EARTH as it is in Heaven" line in Perfect World. Pretty good. I've seen him live a number of times too, as recent as last year. I sort of expect that he may miss a high note or two, but doesn't.
I've also noticed when he sings the balads he can still sing with remarkable clarity in his voice.

He's the best rock singer on the planet, as far as I'm concerned.

Gary

i agree.
John is the best rock singer in the world. OK, there are other really great singers. Sammy Hagar. Kevin LaBrie from Dream Theater. maybe even David Lee Roth, although Dave is more a showman than just a singer, and his voice is not totally "rock-ish".
but man, i was listening to some Petra and John's CDs the other day here at home, and i couldn't help but say to my wife: "baby, this guy totally rocks. he IS "the rock" (in the sense that his voice is pure rock)!"

keep rockin, John! everytime you're playing on my CD players, be assured the volume gets pumped up right away!

[Shell]

Steve Perry, John Elefante and Trent Thomason are right up there with the Schlittmeister.

[seichu kaisho]

Can he still sing the WHOA!! at the beginning of Mine Field? That's the highest note he's ever hit on a Petra album. (Was that John?? Im not sure...)

Or how about the end of "heart" in "He knows your heart" in Altar Ego? That note is a high F, which is 3 half-steps higher than the "Earth" in Perfect World.

[Dan]

He can still do a WHOA!! like the one from minefield he did it in Australia while they were warming up my jaw hit the ground it was amazing everyone was in awe.