Shawn Lane

Shawn Lane (March 21, 1963 – September 26, 2003) was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reggie Young, Joe Walsh, Jonas Hellborg, Anders Johansson, Jens Johansson and many others. After studying the piano, he learned to play the guitar, which he played with exceptional speed.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Lane began playing piano with his sisters at the age of eight, but did not play guitar seriously until he was ten. At age 12–13, he began to practice heavily. At fourteen, he became the lead guitarist for Black Oak Arkansas (BOA), and alongside members including drummer Tommy Aldridge, toured over the next four years opening shows for bands including REO Speedwagon, Ted Nugent, Outlaws, Cheap Trick, Molly Hatchet and Blue Öyster Cult. During 1979, Shawn played in The Streets, recording studio demos with Andy Tanas on bass, Chris Craig on drums and Jimmy Henderson on guitar.

At age fifteen, Lane saw Allan Holdsworth play guitar with the progressive band U.K., which inspired him to develop his own style of playing guitar. Lane also played in Savage Innocence with singer Jim "Dandy" Mangrum, keyboardist Billy Batte, drummer Chris Craig and bassist Kinley Wolfe who then played with The Cult. As the original members dropped out, Lane replaced them with players from his high school days. Lane began to play a style close to jazz fusion. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Lane played in The Willys, a band consisting of singer/keyboardist Sam Bryant, singer/bassist Rob Caudill and his brother, drummer Russ Caudill. The Caudill brothers had played in The Breaks with Susanne Jerome-Taylor. Lane also performed in the fusion band Out of Bounds, with Barry Bays and DeGarmo and Key drummer Chuck Reynolds.

From age eighteen to twenty-six, Lane studied music, composed music, and played piano. In 1983, he became a father to a daughter named Ashley. Much of the material on Lane's first studio album, Powers of Ten, was written on his home piano. He quickly developed his technique on the keyboard as well, taking influence from pianists such as Franz Liszt, Art Tatum and Georges Cziffra.

His demo tapes led Shawn to be sought out by Jim Ed Norman and a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Except for one cover song, Lane wrote all the material and played all the instruments on his debut album. The album sold well and earned several magazine awards. Following its release in 1992, Guitar Player magazine named him "Best New Talent" and Keyboard Magazine placed him second in the "Best Keyboard Player" category. During the production of the album, Lane continued to play live shows and do session work. On September 19, 1992, Lane played in Guitar Player Magazine's 25th anniversary concert at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco alongside Steve Morse, John Lee Hooker, Dick Dale, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Adrian Belew, Ry Cooder and others. He also performed on the Mark Varney Project's Centrifugal Funk album along with Brett Garsed, Frank Gambale, Jimmy Earl, T. J. Helmerich. To promote his album, he formed The Powers of Ten band with Barry Bays on bass, keyboardist Doug Scarborough, Todd Bobo on saxophone and drummer Sean Rickman; they opened for Robben Ford's US tour.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.