The west coast

[biggestfan]

Will John and Bob be coming tothe west coast; like California? Or are they mostly staying in the central united states? I've only been to one concert and I didn't even enjoy it because I hadn't heard any albums save one. I remember in an interview john said California was Petra's main fanbase in the US. So will they be coming?

[sue d.]

If someone would book them they would come!

These shows are not meant to be Midwest Only, but it's kind of turning out that way (though we just got a booking in Norway the other day!).

I've had a number of inquiries from CA, but so far no one has taken the plunge and actually booked the show.

How about your church?

[biggestfan]

there's a pastor in san diego who might be interested. I think I'll try and contact him.

[biggestfan]

Okay; I contacted his church. actually he's in oceanside; not san diego . This guy actually served as an inspiration for Petra's song "Creed"! I imagine he'll be interested in the tour. But unfortunately I didn't give the guys any information for who to contact if he was interested in booking. I just told them to send back if they were interested. Can you guys give me the information I need for if this church wants to book?

[Shell]

That would be pastor Mike Reed from Oceanside; that song was actually around before they met him, but "My Creed" can sound like "Mike Reed" so they get teased about it. Petra was in Oceanside a couple of times this last year, I would imagine they're trying to work something out to have John and Bob in Oceanside in December or January. I would love to see them in Oceanside again.

[74CAPethead]

Hi biggestfan,

Yes, Pastor Mike definitely wants to have Bob & John, but the money is the problem right now!

I�ve been trying to find another church in the Buena Park or Anaheim area to host a concert too, because if I find one the Manager of the Christian bookstore in Buena Park will help sponsor it and advertise both (B.P & Oceanside) concerts on the radio. That way Pastor Mike can split the airfare with the other church! He has all the contact information and has spoken to Sue already!

I talked to Jon Robberson (Director of Spirit West Coast) but he said, since they (Petra) retired he�s not interested. That was a bummer to hear!

There�s another place in Perris that contacted Sue but I don�t know what the latest news is with that. When I talked to the guy (Eddie) he sounded very interested so I emailed him Pastor Mike�s info so maybe they could set up a weekend and split the costs!

Al Menconi told me that he would be willing to help out, he loves Bob & John too! He�s in Carlsbad, he said he could do a radio promotion!

Since Pastor Mike has had Petra at his church 4 times, I knew he would want to have Bob & John back, and I didn�t think the money would be an issue! The last time I talked to Bob he said, (kidding) �You mean it�s not a done deal!!!� I told him we�re working on it and I�m trying to get sponsors!!!

(Please see the �Calling all Petheads� post, about Pethead sponsored concerts or if you want to help bring them to Oceanside you can contribute directly to Oceanside Calvary Chapel attention: Pastor Mike Reed!)

December was not a good month for Pastor Mike to host a concert but he mentioned the second weekend in January. I think Norway has that weekend now, so maybe we�ll have to set up something in February!

So that�s where we�re at right now! My Pethead friends always donate a lot of extra money to help Pastor Mike and they all want to see Bob & John, so sooner or later we�ll get them here!

God Bless,

Julie

[biggestfan]

Yep; Mike Reed is the pastor I was talking about. I thought there'd be some people here who know or have heard of him. Where I live there are no Petra fans that I know of (except maybe my old algebra teacher). So my church wouldn't be interested in booking them. Plus they already have the singer/songwriter named Tommy Walker who is starting to get a little popular, so they wouldn't want to lure away his fans . But I'm really excited that Pastor Mike Reed will probably book them for february. He seems like a really nice guy. Last time we bought the tickets for the concert we bought them at the same day the concert was on so we were supposed to pay $10 a ticket instead of the regular $5 per ticket. But pastor Mike Reed told them to let my family in for the "pre-order (I guess you would call it)" price of $5 per ticket.

[sue d.]

here�s another place in Perris

Not happening... again - it's the cost factor.

I get SO frustrated with this. The thing is.... if you WORK HARD and put your mind to it, you CAN raise the funds to do it!!!

I've done it in the past, an doing it now (big bake sale on Sunday! lol!), a promoter in PA just did it for John, and another promoter in AZ is in the process - we all started out initially with not a dime. But if God is in it - and you are willing to work at it - it CAN be done, whether or not the church has it in their budget or not.

It all depends on how badly you want that concert to happen - and how willing you are to pray and ask God to provide the avenues for you to find the funding.

[74CAPethead]

biggestfan,

Yes Pastor Mike is a really nice guy! He also has an amazing testimony!

http://www.calvaryoceanside.org/staff/bios/reed.html

His Mom passed away this week; please pray for him and his family.

Julie

[74CAPethead]

Sue,

I know what you mean about feeling frustrated�I feel that way too! I do want the Oceanside concert to happen �VERY badly� and I�m not having any bake sales (what are you baking��friendship bread� again?! lol!). But speaking of WORKING HARD�all my �overtime� is in the bank! That was the �only� reason I did it! I had been praying for a way to raise the funds and my boss offered overtime so that was an answer to my prayer! Now I�m praying for a raise, our union will be starting negotiations soon and I�m hoping it will be retroactive to July 1st, so please pray that I get a raise�and the minute I find out it�s been approved�I will be on the phone with Pastor Mike!!!!!! Then you can call Eddie back, he must be very disappointed to not have John come and speak to those teens about drugs and alcohol addictions, because when I talked to him he said, �OH THAT WOULD BE AWESOME TO HAVE JOHN COME AND SPEAK TO THEM�! That is such a bummer; I�m hoping that will still work out though�believe me I AM PRAYING!!!!!

Thank you for all you�re hard work Sue, I know you have a lot on your shoulders right now and I�m praying for you too!

Julie

[sue d.]

I hope I didn't sound TOO frustrated or negative... it's just that I hear so many 'no, can't do it' kind of answers. It gets to you after a while. But that is part of the job.

Friendship bread.... NOPE. I'm done with that stuff! lol!

But our bake sale netted $475! Now that's pure profit for very little work (relatively speaking). And it's just one of many ways to raise money.

Julie - you're one of the few who are willing to put their "money where their mouth is." Most people are reluctant to spend their own money for something like a concert... and I can understand that. On the other hand - if you wanted to buy a new car, or a boat or something - you would WORK for it and do whatever you could to get it, wouldn't you?

Isn't doing something that will encourage and uplift people spiritually - something that could even have eternal benefits (how many people have said they came to Christ at a Petra concert?) - isn't that so much MORE worth working for?

I applaud your tenacity, Julie! Hopefully it won't take you as long as it took me to get up enough money to bring John in... it took two years! lol!

Definitely John needs to get in to speak at the drug/alchohol rehab center... I can just see those guys being SO encouraged by a person who has "been there, done that" - AND has come out a winner, by God's grace!

[Fobers71]

What is the average cost for a concert?

You can email me

[email protected]

[sue d.]

Are you talking John alone, or John & Bob?

[Fobers71]

Are you talking John alone, or John & Bob?

Either or.