Louie Adrian Weaver III (born July 13, 1951) is a drummer most famous for being the long-time drummer of Christian rock band Petra. [1] Louie Adrian Weaver lll is also a member of the church of the Nazarene. Weaver was dismissed from the band in 2003. He is currently working on several projects. In 2010, Weaver reunited with former members of Petra (Greg X. Volz, Bob Hartman, John Lawry and Mark Kelly) to form Classic Petra.
Starting in 2017, Weaver played in the CPR Band and recorded an album with them.
Weaver was born in Nashville, Tennessee, where he attended high school at Glencliff High School. He was part of a school jazz band playing at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. In 1969 he graduated and continued to study in Trevecca Nazarene College. There he obtained a B.A. in percussion.
After graduating he went on to work with several artists. He was a session player for Randy Matthews and Fireworks, also touring with Matthews and Crossfire. He also played with Parable, Good Grief, and Chuck McCleod's Band.
In 1981 he joined Petra becoming a staple of the band with his trademark drumming and style. After 22 years, he was fired in 2003 amidst some controversy.[ citation needed ] Both Petra and Weaver have since dismissed the incident and little has been discussed of the issue since. He was replaced by Paul Simmons. In 2005 he collaborated with Project Damage Control with John Schlitt on vocals. Weaver performed briefly with a band called Viktor with other well-known veteran musicians.
Weaver played with Classic Petra from 2010 to 2012, which was a re-united version of the band featuring some of the members from the 80's: Bob Hartman, Greg X. Volz, John Lawry and Mark Kelly. This instance of the band recorded Back to the Rock in 2010, which was Weaver's first studio album with the Classic Petra lineup since Beat the System in 1984.
Weaver was voted "Favorite Drummer" by CCM Magazine's readers choice for five years in a row (1989-93.) Weaver endorses Paiste Cymbals, Vater Sticks, DW Drums, and Remo drumheads.
Weaver is married to his wife Penny. Weaver is a fan of Mickey Mouse, using his imagery on his clothes, drums, etc. He even named his daughter after the famous mouse.
Date of release | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1982 | More Power to Ya | StarSong |
1983 | Not of this World | StarSong |
1984 | Beat the System | StarSong |
1986 | Captured in Time & Space | StarSong |
1986 | Back to the Street | StarSong |
1987 | This Means War! | StarSong |
1988 | On Fire! | StarSong |
1989 | Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out | Dayspring/Word/Epic |
1990 | Beyond Belief | Dayspring/Word/Epic |
1991 | Unseen Power | Dayspring/Word/Epic |
1992 | Petra en Alabanza | Dayspring/Word/Epic |
1993 | Wake-Up Call | Dayspring/Word/Epic |
1995 | No Doubt | Word/Epic |
1997 | Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus | Word/Epic |
1998 | God Fixation | Word/Epic |
2000 | Double Take | Word/Epic |
2001 | Revival | inpop/EMI |
2010 | Back To The Rock | Classic Petra LLC |
Date of release | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1982 | Fireworks: Sightseeing at Night | |
2005 | Project Damage Control | |
2017 | Back to the Rock 2 |
Petra is an American music group regarded as a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres and was, for many years, regarded as the "world's most popular Christian rock band". Formed in 1972, the band took its name from the Greek word for "rock". Though it disbanded formally in 2006, incarnations have played reunion shows in the years since and released two albums in November 2010, and in November 2017. In 2013, it reformed with a new drummer, Cristian Borneo, and recorded a new song titled "Holy is Your Name", before going back on tour.
Jekyll & Hyde is the twentieth studio album released by Christian rock band Petra. It was released in 2003 by Inpop Records. It is the most recent studio album released by Petra to date. The music features a progressive metal sound that drew comparison to Dio and Queensrÿche.
Gregory Xavier Volz is a Christian rock singer. He is most noted for being the lead singer of Petra from 1979 to 1985. He has continued to sing, sporadically, for different iterations of Petra such as Classic Petra (2010-2012) and Classic Petra Resurrection.
John Lawry is a Christian rock musician, composer, producer, and songwriter. He was the keyboardist of Petra from 1984 to 1994. After his departure, Lawry dedicated himself to producing and record engineering. From 2010 to 2012, he rejoined some of his former Petra bandmates to record and tour under the name of Classic Petra. In 2013, he officially rejoined Petra as their keyboardist.
Farewell is the second live album released by Christian rock band Petra. It was released in 2005. A DVD of the concert was released in 2006.
More Power to Ya is the fifth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in 1982. This was the first album to feature Louie Weaver as the official drummer. It also features the vocals of bassist Mark Kelly in the song "Disciple". The album climbed to number 3 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.
Captured in Time and Space is the first live album of Christian rock band Petra. The concert was re-released on DVD in 2006.
Never Say Die is the fourth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in 1981. "The Coloring Song" was a radio hit for the band and sales were higher for this album than the previous. This album set the stage for Petra's success in the 1980s and their next few albums duplicated much of the formula, as well as repeated the "guitar" theme on the album cover.
On Fire! is the tenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in 1988 by StarSong.
Revival is the nineteenth studio album of the Christian rock band Petra and their third praise album. It was released on November 20, 2001.
Beat the System is the seventh studio album of the Christian rock band Petra. It was released in late 1984.
Back to the Street is the eighth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in 1986 and is the first album to be produced by John and Dino Elefante.
This Means War! is the ninth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in 1987.
Unseen Power is the thirteenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in November 1991.
Wake-Up Call is the fourteenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released on November 9, 1993. The album was one of the most successful for the band garnering them both a Grammy Award and a Dove Award.
No Doubt is the fifteenth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released on August 26, 1995.
Double Take is the Grammy Award winning, eighteenth studio album of the Christian rock band Petra. It was released on February 29, 2000.
Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out is the eleventh studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra and their first praise album. It was released on October 3, 1989 by DaySpring Records, marking the band's return to the Word family as the early version of Petra was signed to sister label Myrrh.
Not of this World is the sixth studio album of the Christian rock band, Petra. It was released in 1983. It is very similar to its predecessor, and Bob Hartman has stated that he considers it to be the musical equivalent of a sequel. This album includes some of the group's most popular recordings from the 1980s.
Petra Means Rock is Petra's first compilation album. It was released by StarSong in 1989.