After 28 years of keeping a hectic touring schedule, cranking out new albums and initiating various casts of new band members, one might expect the next Petra headline to announce the band’s expiration. Don’t hold your breath. The rock band that has sold more than 6 million albums is alive and kicking, plotting its next album—despite being without a record deal. Petra reached the end of a six-album deal with Word Records earlier this year with Double Take, a project featuring remakes of some of Petra’s greatest hits.
"Everybody in both parties decided it was best to end [the Petra/ Word relationship]," says lead vocalist John Schlitt. "After being with them off and on for 10
years, we had come to feel like they were part of the family. But during the last couple of years, we could see that interest was wavering. Their interests were starting to go in other directions, so it was time for us to leave and find a label that’s interested in rebuilding the fact that we still exist."
Schlitt refused to speculate on Petra’s future label home, but he did touch on the natural fit of Pamplin Records. Dino Elefante, one of Petra’s most recent producers, is a part of the label’s A&R team. "There is a possibility of Pamplin, as well as a couple of others," he said. "Dino is instrumental at Pamplin, and there are a lot of people from Petra’s past that are at Pamplin."
Regardless, it’s not something Schlitt seems to be worried about. "We’re waiting to see where the writing’s going to take us," he says. "We’re waiting to see how the songs come together through the many writers of Petra."
The process of writing songs that appeal to both old and new fans alike is what Schlitt calls a "complicated procedure," one that may be followed by his third solo album. "I’m seriously contemplating going the direction of another solo project, but only if the next Petra project is definitely on target."
Over close to three decades, Petra has won nine Dove Awards and three Grammy Awards. Petra’s current lineup includes Schlitt, Louie Weaver (drums), Kevin Brandow (guitars and keyboards), Pete Orta (guitars) and Lonnie Chapin (bass).