The Call

The Call officially began as a band in Santa Cruz, California, in 1979, when vocalist/bassist Michael Been and drummer Scott Musick teamed up with locals Tom Ferrier and Greg Freeman. But their true origins go back to Oklahoma City, where Been’s life was forever altered by his first sight of Elvis Presley on TV. By age 7, Been was performing weekly on local television and radio, giving a dose of Chuck Berry and Little Richard to the country-western crowd. From that moment on, music would be his only occupation. At 16—soon after discovering Bob Dylan and The Band, a strong influence both musically and lyrically—Been moved to Chicago and found himself drawn into the blues scene by Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Junior Parker. He later moved to California, connected with Musick, and ultimately formed The Call. Although The Call’s first demos were rejected by every major American label, nearly every major producer was eager to join forces with this passionate new band. In the end their debut LP was produced by Hugh Padgham (best known for his work with David Bowie and The Police), and The Call were quickly playing major venues as an opening act for artists like Peter Gabriel and Simple Minds. Over the next eight years, The Call would release seven heavily praised albums and earn considerable airplay with iconic hits songs like “Let The Day Begin” and “I Still Believe (Great Design).” After a seven-year break, the band reformed in 1997 to release the well-received Heaven & Back. The Call then disbanded, paving the way for Been to begin serving as sound engineer for his son Robert Levon Been’s band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. But while working with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the 2010 Pukkelpop festival in Belgium, Been suffered a heart attack and passed away backstage. The one-off shows were filmed & recorded on April 18th: San Francisco, CA @ Slim's and April 19th: Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour where Robert Levon Been filled in for his father on bass and vocals with original members Scott Musick, Tom Ferrier, and Jim Goodwin. There is a pledge campaign underway to fund the release of this one time event at http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/thecall Release date: Sept. 2, 2014 THE CALL- A Tribute to Michael Been Deluxe CD/DVD & limited vinyl & download See http://tinyurl.com/CALL-CD-DVD ORDER NOW!!