Petra

My favorite Christian rock band is retiring at the end of this year. They better hit Des Moines before they shut this band down! Petra means rock. Petra is rock. I grew up with this band. I used to strut around my neighborhood and on my paper route with a mono tape deck that I cranked as loud as I could.

More Power To Ya was the first tape I ever heard and it blew me away. Second Wind, Run For The Prize, Stand Up. Those songs just captured me and rocked me. Three days later I grabbed their previous tape, Never Say Die. Soon I caught them live near St. Louis on the Not Of This World tour. The band September opened and then Petra came out with small chest plates that had little red lights on them in the shape of a sword. This was just too much! I was sitting down front and couldn't believe that Christians could get away with playing loud music like this.

Soon I had the whole tape collection and knew most every song by heart. I followed the band with every tape and CD and was able to catch them opening night of the This Means War tour in Jefferson City, MO. The band Xara opened and we had a meet and greet at a local arcade afterwards where I got all of their autographs. I saw them several more times over the years and even met John Schlitt before a show asking him if they would do Bema Seat, which was one of their most rockin' tunes. He said to just watch and see because they had a surprise. They did a medley of many of the old tunes. I was on the front row and he just smiled and nodded at me when they started up. I gave him a big thumbs up.

I was visiting Illinois for my Grandma Sites' birthday and my Uncle Jerry came and sat near me. He asked me about this Petra poster on the church wall and asked who one of the guys was. I said that it was John Schlitt. He said that he thought he looked familiar because the Schlitt kids and other neighborhood kids came to his house when they were young and played around his big oak tree that had a swing on it. My jaw dropped. All this time my Uncle knew who the Schlitt family was? WOW! I didn't grow up around my uncle so this was huge news and was probably the longest conversation we ever had.

Bob Hartman is really the guy who started Petra and defined Petra. They started as a four piece in Indiana in the early 70's and then hired a guy named Greg X. Volz who turned down REO Speedwagon. Greg quickly became the voice of Petra and recorded several albums with them before he went solo. Instead of breaking up the band in the 80's, Bob got ahold of John Schlitt who used to sing for Head East. Remember Never Been Any Reason? That's John! This band has been through more changes than any band I've ever heard of, but they have always had a core and have always sounded like Petra. They have a distinct sound and I just love them.

I'm sorry to see them go after over 30 years, but that's life. I hope they hit Des Moines this year as I have to see them one more time. If you get a chance, pick up their last release, Jekyll & Hyde. It's a return to the rock sound that grabbed me when I was a pre-teen. Petra rocks!