| Shawn Lane Biography |
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| Shawn Lane, born March 21, 1963, in Memphis Tennessee, USA, started his musical odyssey at age 4 by accompanying the vocal lessons of his mother and older sisters. He also played cello in school and took some piano lessons. After stopping playing music for a couple of years, he picked up the guitar at age 10. He then realized he did a lot better on that instrument. Progressing very fast, he was playing professionally in clubs and recording by the age of 12. At 14, while playing in an original Heavy Metal band, Shawn auditioned for the guitar player slot in Black Oak Arkansas. One of the first shows he did was on the same bill as REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent. Imagine a 14-year old boy performing for about 50,000 people� Four years of stadium tours followed, sharing the bills with the likes of the Outlaws, Cheap Trick, and Blue Oyster Cult. They also played at the inauguration of Bill Clinton as Governor of Arkansas. BOA started out as a Southern Rock band, but, due to Shawn�s prodigious playing, the band gradually turned into a fusion band in the vein of UK. At 18, burnt out from touring, Shawn quit BOA, got married, and settled down to intensely study classical music for two years. During this time he didn�t play any gigs. Instead, he totally immersed himself in books and records. After this sabbatical leave, he started playing with various bands round the South. Between �86 and �89 he headed his own band, the Willy's. For a while, the Willy�s stinted as the house band at the legendary Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Rock stars like Kirk Hammet and George Lynch, staying at the hotel while on tour, caught Shawn in the act and spread the word about his amazing talents. He once mesmerized Billy Gibbons, who literally fell off his chair when hearing Shawn, and embarrassed Ted Nugent in an on-stage riff duel. Shawn was also invited to join Alice Cooper for a tour, but he declined. During his years as a Willy, Shawn did studio sessions with Larry Raspberry, Mark Lindsay, Robert Duvall (yes, the actor), Jimi Jamison (Survivor), DC Talk (Christian rap), Al Kapone (gangsta rap), Joe Walsh, Sam and Dave, Tony Joe White, and Alex Chilton. He also played on a Ringo Starr album that was never released. In 1989, Shawn was asked to play on the �Highwaymen 2� album featuring Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings. His leads on this record (check out �Angels Love Bad Men�), and Memphis session guitarist Reggie Young playing Shawn�s demo tape for Warner Bros. boss Jim Ed Norman, led to a deal for Shawn�s first solo album �Powers of Ten�. Shawn spent the following two years writing, arranging and recording POT in his home studio. He also recorded two instructional videos and toured the US in 1992 to support POT. Shawn was awarded Best New Talent in Guitar Player Magazine 1992 and placed second in the Best Keyboard Player category in Keyboard Player Magazine the same year. During �92-�94, Shawn produced records for other artists (e.g. David Ormonde Thomas) and was involved in teaching and developing curricula for conservatories in Europe. By the end of 1994, Shawn teamed up with Swedish bassist Jonas Hellborg. The two recorded �Abstract Logic� with drummer Kofi Baker and �Two Doors� with drummer Michael Shrieve. During 1995-1997, Hellborg and Lane extensively toured the US and Europe with drummer Apt. Q-258 (Jeff Sipe), playing a highly sophisticated, all-improvised style of music. �Temporal Analogues Of Paradise� and �Time Is The Enemy� evidence the intense musical chemistry within this trio. After parting with Sipe in the fall of 1997, Shawn and Jonas became increasingly interested in Eastern music. In 1999, Shawn released his long-awaited second solo effort, �The Tri-Tone Fascination� through his independent label EyeReckon. Not very pleased with the first master, Shawn decided to remaster the album and release a second version of TTF. This instantly turned the first release, with two extra tracks, into a collector�s item. In late 1999, Hellborg and Lane were joined by Indian percussionist/vocalist V. Selvaganesh Kanjeera for a European tour. This trio�s latest disc, �Good People In Times Of Evil�, presents a whole new dimension of Shawn�s playing. |