Five years of greatness ended in 1998 when Grammatrain decided to call it quits. Formed in 1993, Gramma's Train didn't really start to gain momentum until 1994 with the release of their Aaron Sprinkle produced demo tape. This gave way to a '95 independent release, which eventually led to their signing with Forefront and their first major CD, Lonely House. They also found time to record an old Larry Norman song for the '95 tribute CD.

Lonely House put them on the map, as it was nominated for a Dove Award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year in '96. This was also the year that they started touring heavily, as they joined the Salt Box Tour with Petra, Whiteheart, and Johnny Q. Public. And, once again, they found some extra time to pay tribute to a couple of their mentors, Petra and Stryper. They redid "More Than a Man" for Sweet Family Music (Stryper tribute) and covered the old 1974 song, "Wake Up" for the Petra Tribute, Never Say Dinosaur.

"In my loneliest years of high school, when the Christian kids were judging me and my old friends were mocking me because I found Christ, I found comfort in the message of Petra's music. They pointed me to Jesus, where I found the desire to keep living, and the love that healed my broken, confused heart." - Paul Roraback

1997 saw the second major Grammatrain release, Flying. This was the first Sprinkle-less album, as John Hampton got the call to produce. Once again, the group was nominated for a Dove Award for Hard Music Song of the Year with the song "Pain" in '99. In addition to this, many of the songs off of Flying ("Jonah," "Peace" and "Pain") found their way onto the Christian charts throughout '98 and the early part of '99. Despite their growing success and extended ministry though, they decided to call it quits, finishing up their prior commitments at a few of the '98 summer festivals with Juan Van Dunk on bass for the absent Dalton Roraback.

I got a chance to see them play one of their last shows at Sonshine '98 with a few of my friends, who were also big Grammatrain fans, and afterwards met them as we had them sign our copies of Flying. Pete was nothing less than awesome as he displayed his greatness on his double cherry axe and wowed the crowd. A great ending for a somewhat underappreciated Chrisian band.

All is not lost though, as the death of Grammatrain has given birth to a couple of new projects. Former drummer, Paul Roraback has formed a new band with Michael Blake called Gideon's Press, which is expected to have a release out soon. And Pete has joined up with Michael Tait, of DC Talk fame, to start his solo career. His new self-titled CD has already acheived success with a his chart-topping single, "Better Off."

"I love being able to thank Him through my songs, worship Him, and celebrate Him. Hopefully people will relate to that, and if not, at least be provoked to think about it." - Pete Stewart/Interview with Michael Tait for HM magazine

Demo Tape - 1994

Independent Release - 1995

Lonely House - 1995

One Way Larry Norman Tribute - 1995

Never Say Dinosaur - 1996

Sweet Family Reunion - 1996

Flying - 1997

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