BLUE 22S / Members

Brack Key

Guitarist Vocalist

Born and raised in Texas, Brack Key has had the luck of being exposed to a plethora of musical styles and genres from an early age. Brack started his musical endeavor as a bass player, eventually playing with the likes of Kacey Musgraves and Tyler Bryant. Finding a calling for the guitar, Brack changed lanes and became a well-admired guitar player in Northeast Texas, sharing the stage with notable artists including Stoney LaRue, Kevin Fowler, Lance Lopez, Mike McClure, Randy Rogers Band, Rusty Weir, Jason Boland and The Stragglers, Mark McKinney and many others… Brack has the reputation as an adept player in almost every style of music; Blues, R&B and Country being his forte. His venture into the world of Reggae has been an amazing journey and he has found a unique way to blend his musical background into the reggae beats of Blue 22s.

Shane Parker

Vocalist

Shane Parker has been singing since he was a small kid kicking dirt for fun in the small town of Whitewright, TX. In 2004, Shane decided to expand his fan base from friends, family and the shower stall by creating the Texas-Country band, Grayson County Line. It was great timing for the group as the ‘Red Dirt’ style of music was just blowing up and Shane had fallen in love with the new style of Country music. Shane grew up on the Outlaws of Country and the rock bands of the eighties, but it was the nineties music that really stuck with him. As a lyricist, he loved the rap and rock music that came out of that decade; his tastes diverse as he listened to anyone from Alice in Chains to Snoop Dogg, while still maintaining his old-school roots, rocking out to Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Grayson County Line eventually ran its course but singing professionally was still in the cards for Shane when he met a couple of his Blue 22s bandmates, Lole Pua (keys) and Brack Key (guitar).

John Lolesio-Pua

Keyboardist Vocalist

John ‘Lole’ Lolesio-Pua was born in Christchurch, New Zealand to Samoan parents. His father recognized the musical talent in his six kids at an early age. By the time he was eight, Lole was playing the keyboard at church, after learning to play by ear from a Samoan cousin that lived with his family. His brothers were all given their own instruments to learn, and when Lole was ten years old, his father decided that his kids were talented enough musically to create income to help the family, so they formed the successful New Zealand Band, ‘Club Notion’. Club Notion was a hit with the local scene until the family decided to relocate to Carson, California due to the death of his father’s sister. In Samoan culture, “it takes a village” is a very real part of their heritage, so taking care of the kids and reconnecting with his family living in America was his father’s priority. After arriving in the U.S., It didn’t take long for the family to realize that music was missing from their life so they formed a new group, Local Culture, which started as a house band for a local Polynesian club in Carson. The name for the group was inspired by the Samoan community in this city. Local Culture stepped out of their normal realm. The group started playing gigs for non-Polynesian crowds and was received warmly. They had no idea at the time that Local Culture would grow into a local phenomenon in the Southern California Island Reggae scene. After a successful ride with Local Culture, Lole and his own family decided to make a fresh start by moving to Dallas, TX in 2008. Always following his dream to keep music part of his life, Lole hit the streets, trying to book gigs in Dallas for Local Culture, but became frustrated when he was met with resistance at the local Dallas bars due to his ethnicity and passionate promotion of Island Reggae, in a concrete city built around Country music. Luck changed for Lole when he met a couple of his Blue 22s bandmates, Shane Parker (vocalist) and Brack Key (guitar).