Shawn Lane
Encyclopedia
Shawn Lane was an American
musician
. Although piano was his first instrument, he quickly became a noted player in underground guitar
circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas
when he was just fourteen years old.
He is best known for his solo album Powers of Ten
and his long stint with former John McLaughlin
bassist Jonas Hellborg
. Lane is also well known for his shredding
skills. Guitar World
magazine writes, "Few, if any, guitarists can play faster than Lane could, and his arpeggio sweeps and precision-picked lines blasted more rapid-fire notes than the average human mind could comprehend."The Guitar World
's July 2008 edition had an article about NPS clocking project which rated Shawn Lane as the fastest alternate picking guitarist to date, based on cleanliness, accuracy and fluency in advanced positions.
. At the age of eight he accompanied his sisters on the piano
, but did not play guitar seriously until he was ten. Lane progressed very rapidly on the guitar, and he found it to be his natural instrument. At thirteen, he began to practice heavily, developing his technical abilities. Word began to spread around Memphis about a talented young guitar player, and at fourteen he auditioned for the lead guitar spot in Black Oak Arkansas
. Black Oak Arkansas had been a popular Southern rock
band but at the time when Lane joined the band's popularity was declining. At age fifteen Lane saw Allan Holdsworth
perform at a UK concert and was inspired to develop his own method of playing guitar. Shawn toured with Black Oak Arkansas for the next four years. As the original band members dropped out, Lane began recruiting players from his high school days and began to play a style closer to fusion
than the country rock style for which the band was known.
At eighteen Shawn Lane was married and burnt out from touring with Black Oak Arkansas so he decided to take a break and learn more about music. Over the next eight years he studied music and composing on his own and mainly worked on playing piano. Much of the material on Powers of Ten was written on his piano as Lane considered it his main writing instrument. He quickly developed his technique on keyboards as well, taking influence from pianists like Liszt
, Tatum
and Cziffra
.
He began to create demo tapes which garnered interest from Warner Brothers Music and Lane was offered a recording contract. Except for one cover song, Lane wrote all the material and played all the instruments on his debut album. The album did well and earned several magazine awards. During the production of the album Lane continued to play live shows and did session work. He also performed on the Mark Varney Project's Centrifugal Funk
album along with Brett Garsed
and Frank Gambale
and began recording and performing with drummer, Sean Rickman
.
Lane released two more solo albums following his debut. Powers of Ten Live!, recorded live in 1993, and The Tri-Tone Fascination
.
When Lane met Jonas Hellborg
a musical relationship was formed. They both enjoyed classical, rock
, Pakistani
, and Indian
music. Lane and Hellborg played with drummer Jeff Sipe
in a jam band commonly referred to as HLS (Hellborg, Lane, Sipe). Sipe was already well known in the jam band scene as the original drummer for Aquarium Rescue Unit
, and helped HLS get exposure all over the world. Later, Lane and Hellborg formed an East-West fusion band with Indian musicians V. Selvaganesh
and Umamahesh. In February 2003, Lane and Hellborg toured India
with drummer Andrea Marchesini. Lane's last concert performance was at Smilefest in North Carolina with Hellborg and Jim Britt.
For many years in the '80s and '90s Shawn played in a Memphis bar band called The Willys.
Saber
and Ghostrider, as well as a sunburst yellow Charvel
750XL. For amplification, he used Holmes Mississippi Bluesmaster amps—often four at a time set at various levels of delay
from one another. He used multiple amps because he liked to play in quadraphonic. In addition to the Holmes, Shawn used a Westbury (later Nady) overdrive pedal. Later in his career with Hellborg, he used and endorsed Vigier
guitars; specifically the Excalibur, of which a Shawn Lane signature model was made available in 2005. Throughout this time, Lane used various amplifiers. Lane used several Line 6 DL4 delay pedals
at the same time. In 2003, a video was shot of him playing a Martin Backpacker guitar in Shillong, India.
his whole life and also suffered from psoriatic arthritis
from the age of about thirteen. This did not impair his playing but caused difficulty walking, and required treatment with steroids which seriously affected his weight—so much so that he weighed over three hundred pounds in the years before his death. He also smoked constantly. His friend Vijay Raj Singh, a noted physician and a multi-instrumentalist Indian musician, had moved from Memphis but had remained close to him during his final years. On September 26, 2003, Shawn died in a hospital in Memphis, shortly after being told that he would have to remain on medical oxygen
the rest of his life. He is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Although piano was his first instrument, he quickly became a noted player in underground guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s with ten charting albums released in that decade...
when he was just fourteen years old.
He is best known for his solo album Powers of Ten
Powers of Ten (album)
-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar, keyboard, drum programming , bass guitar , arrangement, engineering, mixing, production*Sean Rickman – drums *Barry Bays – bass guitar...
and his long stint with former John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
bassist Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaganesh, Mattias IA Eklundh and Buckethead....
. Lane is also well known for his shredding
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
skills. Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
magazine writes, "Few, if any, guitarists can play faster than Lane could, and his arpeggio sweeps and precision-picked lines blasted more rapid-fire notes than the average human mind could comprehend."The Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
's July 2008 edition had an article about NPS clocking project which rated Shawn Lane as the fastest alternate picking guitarist to date, based on cleanliness, accuracy and fluency in advanced positions.
Biography
Shawn Lane was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. At the age of eight he accompanied his sisters on the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, but did not play guitar seriously until he was ten. Lane progressed very rapidly on the guitar, and he found it to be his natural instrument. At thirteen, he began to practice heavily, developing his technical abilities. Word began to spread around Memphis about a talented young guitar player, and at fourteen he auditioned for the lead guitar spot in Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s with ten charting albums released in that decade...
. Black Oak Arkansas had been a popular Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
band but at the time when Lane joined the band's popularity was declining. At age fifteen Lane saw Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...
perform at a UK concert and was inspired to develop his own method of playing guitar. Shawn toured with Black Oak Arkansas for the next four years. As the original band members dropped out, Lane began recruiting players from his high school days and began to play a style closer to fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
than the country rock style for which the band was known.
At eighteen Shawn Lane was married and burnt out from touring with Black Oak Arkansas so he decided to take a break and learn more about music. Over the next eight years he studied music and composing on his own and mainly worked on playing piano. Much of the material on Powers of Ten was written on his piano as Lane considered it his main writing instrument. He quickly developed his technique on keyboards as well, taking influence from pianists like Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
, Tatum
Art Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
and Cziffra
Georges Cziffra
Georges Cziffra was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist. He became a French citizen in 1968.Cziffra is most known for his dazzling recordings of Franz Liszt's virtuoso works...
.
He began to create demo tapes which garnered interest from Warner Brothers Music and Lane was offered a recording contract. Except for one cover song, Lane wrote all the material and played all the instruments on his debut album. The album did well and earned several magazine awards. During the production of the album Lane continued to play live shows and did session work. He also performed on the Mark Varney Project's Centrifugal Funk
Centrifugal Funk
- Personnel :* Frank Gambale – electric guitar * Brett Garsed – electric guitar * Shawn Lane – electric guitar * Mike O'Neill – electric guitar * T.J...
album along with Brett Garsed
Brett Garsed
Brett Garsed is an Australian guitar player. He plays with, among others, John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich and is a former member of the band Nelson...
and Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released eleven studio albums over a period of more than two decades, and is renowned for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.-Recording career:...
and began recording and performing with drummer, Sean Rickman
Sean Rickman
Sean Rickman is an American drummer, vocalist, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, producer and recording artist from Washington, DC....
.
Lane released two more solo albums following his debut. Powers of Ten Live!, recorded live in 1993, and The Tri-Tone Fascination
The Tri-Tone Fascination
-2000 reissue:-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar, vocals, keyboard , drums , drum machine, bass guitar , production*Luther Dickinson – guitar *Buddy Davis – guitar...
.
When Lane met Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaganesh, Mattias IA Eklundh and Buckethead....
a musical relationship was formed. They both enjoyed classical, rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, Pakistani
Music of Pakistan
The music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
, and Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
music. Lane and Hellborg played with drummer Jeff Sipe
Jeff Sipe
Jeff Sipe is an American drummer. He is a rock and jazz fusion drummer, however, he is proficient in many other styles which he has demonstrated in his decades of drumming. He is a founding member of Aquarium Rescue Unit along with Col. Bruce Hampton...
in a jam band commonly referred to as HLS (Hellborg, Lane, Sipe). Sipe was already well known in the jam band scene as the original drummer for Aquarium Rescue Unit
Aquarium Rescue Unit
Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit is an experimental rock group originally founded by Col. Bruce Hampton. The band gained popularity in the Atlanta club scene in the early 1990s and went on to tour with the first H.O.R.D.E. Tour. During the initial years, the band was composed of...
, and helped HLS get exposure all over the world. Later, Lane and Hellborg formed an East-West fusion band with Indian musicians V. Selvaganesh
V. Selvaganesh
V. Selvaganesh is an Indian percussionist working in the Carnatic tradition, and is one of the leading kanjira player of his generation. He is also known as "Chella S. Ganesh."-Early life:...
and Umamahesh. In February 2003, Lane and Hellborg toured India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with drummer Andrea Marchesini. Lane's last concert performance was at Smilefest in North Carolina with Hellborg and Jim Britt.
For many years in the '80s and '90s Shawn played in a Memphis bar band called The Willys.
Equipment
During the Powers of Ten years, Lane used an IbanezIbanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
Saber
Ibanez S
The Ibanez S Series is a guitar series produced by Hoshino Gakki. Introduced in the late 1980s, the S Series is notable for being a streamlined mahogany bodied guitar with a maple neck that plays comfortably while retaining the resonance of mahogany...
and Ghostrider, as well as a sunburst yellow Charvel
Charvel
Charvel is a brand of guitar originally founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and then later, Glendora, California. Charvel guitars became popular in the 1980s due to their association with famous rock guitarists such as Edward Van Halen , Richie Sambora , Warren DeMartini ,...
750XL. For amplification, he used Holmes Mississippi Bluesmaster amps—often four at a time set at various levels of delay
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
from one another. He used multiple amps because he liked to play in quadraphonic. In addition to the Holmes, Shawn used a Westbury (later Nady) overdrive pedal. Later in his career with Hellborg, he used and endorsed Vigier
Vigier Guitars
-History:1978: Patrice Vigier sets up as an independent luthier.1980: Exhibits at his first music show in Paris introducing the Arpege series and the following: A/ Trapezoid through body neck B/ Metallic reinforcement under the fretboard...
guitars; specifically the Excalibur, of which a Shawn Lane signature model was made available in 2005. Throughout this time, Lane used various amplifiers. Lane used several Line 6 DL4 delay pedals
Effects unit
Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
at the same time. In 2003, a video was shot of him playing a Martin Backpacker guitar in Shillong, India.
Death
Lane had psoriasisPsoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...
his whole life and also suffered from psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is a type of inflammatory arthritis that, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, will develop in up to 30 percent of people who have the chronic skin condition psoriasis...
from the age of about thirteen. This did not impair his playing but caused difficulty walking, and required treatment with steroids which seriously affected his weight—so much so that he weighed over three hundred pounds in the years before his death. He also smoked constantly. His friend Vijay Raj Singh, a noted physician and a multi-instrumentalist Indian musician, had moved from Memphis but had remained close to him during his final years. On September 26, 2003, Shawn died in a hospital in Memphis, shortly after being told that he would have to remain on medical oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
the rest of his life. He is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Solo
- 1992: West Side Boogie (promo single)
- 1992: Powers of TenPowers of Ten (album)-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar, keyboard, drum programming , bass guitar , arrangement, engineering, mixing, production*Sean Rickman – drums *Barry Bays – bass guitar...
- 1999: The Tri-Tone FascinationThe Tri-Tone Fascination-2000 reissue:-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar, vocals, keyboard , drums , drum machine, bass guitar , production*Luther Dickinson – guitar *Buddy Davis – guitar...
- 2001: Powers of Ten; Live!Powers of Ten; Live!-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar, production*Doug Scarborough – keyboard*Sean Rickman – drums*Barry Bays – bass guitar*Todd Bobo – saxophone*Les Birchfield – executive production...
With Jonas Hellborg
- 1995: Abstract Logic
- 1996: Temporal Analogues of ParadiseTemporal Analogues of ParadiseTemporal Analogues of Paradise is the second collaborative live album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 1996 through Day Eight Music; a remastered edition was reissued through Bardo Records in 2004.-Track listing:...
- 1997: Time Is the EnemyTime Is the EnemyTime Is the Enemy is the third collaborative live album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 1997 through Bardo Records; a remastered edition was reissued in 2004.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar...
- 1999: ZenhouseZenhouseZenhouse is the fourth collaborative live album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 1999 through Bardo Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – acoustic guitar...
- 2000: Good People in Times of EvilGood People in Times of EvilGood People in Times of Evil is the fifth collaborative live album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 2000 through Bardo Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – guitar*V. Selvaganesh – vocals, kanjira, udu...
- 2002: PersonaePersonae (album)Personae is the sixth collaborative live album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 2002 through Bardo Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar*Jeff Sipe – drums...
- 2003: Icon: A Transcontinental GatheringIcon: A Transcontinental GatheringIcon: A Transcontinental Gathering is the seventh and final collaborative album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 2003 through Bardo Records...
Other album appearances
- 1984: U.S. Metal Vol. IV - Unsung Guitar Heroes - Stratosphere II (Shrapnel RecordsShrapnel RecordsShrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
) - 1995: Two Doors – Michael ShrieveMichael ShrieveMichael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
- 1998: FissionFission (album)Fission is a studio album by keyboardist Jens Johansson, released in 1998 through Heptagon Records , Pony Canyon, Inc. and Shrapnel Records .-Track listing:-Personnel:...
– Jens JohanssonJens JohanssonJens Ola Johansson is a Swedish power metal keyboardist and pianist. He is notable for his high-speed neoclassical and fusion style.-Biography:... - 2004: Richard Hallebeek Project – Richard Hallebeek with Brett Garsed and Lalle Larsson