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Jay Lane
Jay Lane's roles on drums have
earned him a place in San Francisco's music history. He started
performing in the Bay Area in the early '80s in a band called "Ice Age"
that featured childhood friend and current guitarist with Spearhead,
Dave Shul. Another childhood friend, saxophonist Dave Ellis, got Lane
his next gig with a local ska band, The Uptones, which he played with
for two years before joining another popular Bay Area group, the Freaky
Executives, in 1985. After four years of steady gigging and a huge
record deal with Warner Bros. that eventually was shelved, Lane then met
Les Claypool in the halls of the rehearsal space the bands shared, who
invited him to join his group Primus. After about eight months with Lane
on the gig (that included a recording session for the Primus cassette
called "Sausage"), Claypool was ready to hit the road. Lane bowed out
due to prior commitments to the Freaky Executives.
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Shortly thereafter, Lane co-founded the
pioneering hip hop/jazz group Alphabet Soup with saxophonist Kenny
Brooks, N.Y. keyboardist Dred Scott, rapper Chris Burger (The
Mo'fessionals), and vocalist Zachariah Mose. Alphabet Soup recorded two
albums: '94's "Layin' Low in the Cut" and '96's "Strivin'" and shot a
video that featured regularly on BET. Also during those years Lane
reunited with old friends, the 7-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and sax
man Dave Ellis, to form the original Charlie Hunter Trio. The trio
recorded two albums. The first on Claypool's Prawn Song label and the
second, "Bing Bing Bing!" on Blue Note records. Touring schedules
conflicted shortly thereafter when he started playing with Grateful Dead
guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman in a side project,
that would eventually become Bob Weir's Ratdog. About the same time, Les
Claypool called Lane and origional guitarist for Primus, Todd Huth, to
put together a band called Sausage. They recorded an album, "Riddles" on
Interscope records in 1994, shot a video of the title track that was
played on "Beavis and Butthead" several times, and did a tour with the
Rollins Band and Helmet that summer. When it rains it pours! After Jerry
Garcia passed in 1995, RatDog began a steady touring schedule. Playing
with a great like Bob Weir gave Lane the opportunity to also meet and
play with many incomparable musicians such as THE TRUE FATHER OF ROCK &
ROLL , Pianist Johnnie Johnson (the Johnnie Johnson Trio - that hired a
then UNKNOWN Chuck Berry!).
At the ’96 Inaugural Ball, Ratdog performed for President Bill Clinton!
Evening Moods (1999) and Live as Roseland (2001) featuring Lane's work
with RatDog, are available through Grateful Dead Records. He has also
appeared on Austin City Limits, VH1 Classic's All Star Jams, the
Montreaux Jazz Festival and others in Europe, the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival
and the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, and almost every state in the US.
In 2002, Lane earned accolades from his peers and fans, winning "Drummer
of the Year" in the California Music Awards. His beats are urban, funky,
and fluid, and demonstrate the physical power and stamina he's built
over a lifetime on the drums. In 2005, Lane was touring with both Les
Claypool's Fancy Band (Skerik, Mike Dillon, Gabby La La) as well as Bob
Weir & RatDog, laying down beats in his home studio, and playing Bay
Area shows with Alphabet Soup between tours. Lane is currently out on
the road with Bob Weir & RatDog through the summer of '07! |
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