Artist Information
Biography
Forced Call's John Parker is the leader and driving force behind the popular LA group. All the group's members have much more in common than just the love of great "Hot Rock & Blues" music - they are all Union brothers and work in the Film and Television Industry as well.
Five years ago, when they originally got together to play at a "JAG" wrap party, the band never anticipated the popularity they are currently enjoying.
John & Forced Call have performed at the following music festivals:
Redondo Beach Pier Summer Concert Series (4 yrs)
Santa Clarita Valley Blues Festival
Write 4 Hope Blues Festival
Blues For The Cause Festival
Ride Across America
South Bay Navy Days
Calimigos Ranch Concerts (5 Yrs)
Lake Elizabeth Music Festival
Celebration on The Hill
Ventura Art Walk
Orange County Cultural Fair
Ventura Street Festival
Beach Cities Summer Spectacular
Lousiana Lovesong Benefit
San Clemente Fiesta
Santa Clarita Valley Relay For Life
North Hollywood Relay For Life
Burbank Relay For Life
Beach Cities Relay For Life
They've also played at some great showrooms:
The Sunset Room
The White Lotus
BB King's Blues Club
Cozy's
The Sportsmans' Lodge
The Highlands Club
Arcadia Blues Club
Yesteryears
The Pearl Room
And of course, they've performed at numerous Film and Television Union events and wrap parties. A couple of years ago, John & Forced Call had the opportunity to open for The Beach Boys at their LA concert.
The band absolutely loves playing at the big outdoor events - some of our crowds have been from 8,000 to 12,000 people. "What an adrenaline rush that is!!"
John Parker & Forced Call is more than just a group of musicians who love to play together. The individual talents of each member have a lot of history...
John Parker was raised in the Santa Cruz area, playing for hire at age 14. He grew up loving the sounds of Django Reinhardt, BB King, Freddie King and Buddy Guy. A score of bands later, he wound up in the Atlanta, Georgia music scene where he found the blues calling. Now, he's back in California playing what he loves about Georgia the most - "the Blues". Respectable names he's had the pleasure to perform with include Chicago Bob Nelson, Big Joe Jackson, Butch Travette & the Alley Cats, the Late Piano Red, Tinsley Ellis, Delbert McClinton and Doug Kershaw. He's opened for Juice Newton, Eric Burdon, Bobby Bear and Coco Montoya.
Danny Costello is originally from New Jersey and began playing at age 13. His early influences were Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter. Their great technique and use of raw emotion was a great inspiration to Danny as he was moving on in his career and performing with members of Toto and Joe Cocker. Danny has also been privileged to open for Edgar Winter, B.J. Sharp, Dick Dale and Three Dog Night.
Steve Halter started playing piano at age 5 and worked as a full time session player/arranger for over 20 years. Steve grew up under the influence of the old time Rock & Roll piano and organ players like Jimmy Smith. When it's time for his solo, he just closes his eyes, feels the vibe and let's his soul take over.
Tom Costello also hails from New Jersey. His early influences were The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Toto and drummers Jeff Pocaro and John Bonham. Tom's had the good fortune to work with such great artists as Ike & Tina Turner, The DiFranco Family, Christopher Cross, Eddie Money, Rick Springfield, The Elton John Band, Joe Cocker and Jace.
Brian Dunnagan was born in New York to Kentucky parents who exposed him to a family full of Bluegrass Musicians and he started playing guitar at a young age. In his teens, he fell in love with the Bass and he switched from 6 strings to 4. His influences are Cream, Jim Hendrix, John Mayall and Tommy Shannon and he studied with Tim Bogert and Bunny Brunel. He's spent his time in the So Cal music scene playing blues, rock and country and has opened for Joe Diffie, Tammy Wynette and Ricky Van Shelton.
The Band's first cd "Off the Clock" was released in January, 2005 and has a little something for everyone; blues, rock and a little country gospel, all wrapped up in their own unique sound.
John has just put the finishing touches on his own new "Self Titled" Cd which will have a January 2008 Release and now is also in the midst of laying down some new Blues Instrumentals for another CD that should have a Spring Release. He is also preparing some new songs so he and Forced Call can go back into the studio during the Summer of 2008 and cut their second cd. "We have some great new songs and can't wait for the rest of the world to hear them. It should be released in the Winter of 2008". And with all this going on, for this talented group of union brothers, is nothing short of spellbinding!
Instrumentation
John Parker - Lead Guitar & Vocals
Danny Costello - Guitar & Vocals
Steve Halter - Keyboards
Tommy Costello - Drums
Brian Dunnagan - Bass & Backup Vocals
Discography
"Off The Clock" - Parker/Costello 2005
1) No Place Left To Hide
2) City Nights
3) So Good So Bad
4) The Only Thing
5) Rock N Roll
6) Things Are Gonna Be Different
7) Red White And Blue
8) Walkin Out on You
9) The Truth Will Set You Free
10) When I Reach My Destination
"Off The Clock" is currently on sale at CDBABY and for download at numerous sites including BROADJAM and ITUNES. It is enjoying well recieved airplay in different areas of the US and Europe.
Links
Photo Gallery
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John Parker, Rockin' Bluesman
Download print quality (high-res) version -
"Off the Clock" CD Cover
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John Parker, Lead Guitar & Vocals - Forced Call opening for Beach Boys
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Steve Halter, "Lord of the Boards" at the Redondo Beach Summer Concert Series
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John Parker & Danny Costello perform for crowd of 6,500 at 2006 Calimigos Ranch IATSE Concert
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John Parker @ 2006 Write 4 Hope Blues Festival, Simi Valley, CA.
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John Parker, Redondo Beach Pier Summer Concert Series
Download print quality (high-res) version -
John Parker & Forced Call Hosts 2006 SCV Blues Society IBC Competion at Cozy's
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Tom Costello, Drums at a Calimigos Ranch Concert in Malibu Canyon
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Bryan Dunnagan, Bass
Press
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John Parker & Forced Call Wins "Best Blues Band" Trophy at 2007 Rock City Music Awards
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John Parker & Forced Call was awarded the "Best Blues Band" Trophy at the 2007 Rock City Music Awar...
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John Parker is Chicago Music Guide Featured Artist - July/07
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Interview with John Parker of "Forced Call" 07/07 Dennis: Now John, you�ve played music for hi...
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"Off The Clock" Songs Appear On The Hit TV Series "NCIS"
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We've recently signed a deal with CBS/Paramount for the songs on our "Off The Clock" cd to appear on...
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John Parker & Forced Call Songs Hit Broadjam's Top 10 World Charts
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07/13/06 "Off the Clock" Songs hit Top 10. JOHN PARKER & FORCED CALL'S songs from their lates...
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John Parker Spills Guts at Redondo Pier Show
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Forced Call's John Parker spills guts, (not quite) literally at pier show! Forced Call's John P...
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The Joy of Blues Shows
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John Parker, Lead Guitar and Vocals, previously with Chicago Bob Nelson, Big Joe Jackson, Butch Trav...
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The Lord Of The Boards
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It has been said of Steve Halter, Forced Call's "Lord of the Boards", that "When its time for his so...
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Hottest Tracks I've Heard In Years
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In a day when most of what you hear is techno-hi speed sampling, this is raw music, directed to the ...
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What A Great Blend of Rock & Blues
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A DJ friend of mine turned me on to "Off The Clock" by Forced Call and I was amazed when I gave it a...
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I Was Completely Blown Away
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Just caught these guys at a concert at the Redondo Beach Pier and I was completely blown away!! They...
Setlist
John Parker & Forced Call's Master Song List
Note - This list varies with venue and amount of playing time alloted. For a two hour concert, we will play for the full two hours. For several sets, we usually play a long first set (one and a half to two hours), then the second set will be one hour and so on. For a Festival setting with limited time, we perform our best songs to showcase our music. We often mix the songs up within the sets depending on our audience.
John Parker & Forced Call has plenty of our own original songs to play for almost 2 hours. Our original set will consist of songs from "Off The Clock" as well as these new songs from John's soon to be released "Self Titled" CD:
Forget All Your Fears - John Parker
A Man In Love - Danny Costello
Hopeless Romance - John Parker
Queen of the Damned - John Parker
City Nights - John Parker
New Car - John Parker
Things Are Gonna Be Different - John Parker
My Valentine - John Parker
The Price Of Fame - John Parker
We Had It All - John Parker
I Get The Blues Most All The Time - John Parker
Long Distance Caller - John Parker
So Good So Bad - Danny Costello
Out On The Town - John Parker
Sunday Mornin' Blues - John Parker
Loves Gonna Find You - John Parker
Never Give Up - John Parker
We also do cover songs from some of our favorite artists:
Hell Or High Water - Tinsley Ellis
Mess Of Blues - Delbert McClinton
I've Had Enough - Tommy Castro
Healin In Her Hands - Popa Chubby
Oreo Cookie Blues - Lonnie Mack
Don't Deny Your Love - Robben Ford
Fish Net Body Suit - Duke Robillard
I'll Be There - John Mayall
I Called Up San Francisco - Tommy Castro
Angel On My Shoulder - Popa Chubby
You Better Not Touch - Jimmy Thackery
Along For The Ride - John Mayall
Head Shrinker - Corey Stevens
Shot From The Saddle - Delbert McClinton
Red House - Jimi Hendrix
Lay Around And Love On You - Delbert McClinton
Rattle Snake Shake - Fleetwood Mac
Best Days We Never Had - Ragin Sun
Life Is Hard - Johnny Winter
One In A Million - John Mayall
Lousiana Blues - Muddy Waters
I've Got News For You - Edgar Winter
Satisfy Suzie - Lonnie Mack
Fever - Neville Brothers
Grab The Rafters - Jimmy Thackery

