Jay Lane | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1964-12-05)December 5, 1964 (age 60) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | JayLane.net[usurped] (archived) |
Jay Lane (born December 5, 1964) is an American musician. He is a founding member ofBob Weir'sRatDog, with Weir andRob Wasserman,Wolf Bros,Furthur, Golden Gate Wingmen, Dead & Company and Alphabet Soup. He was the 7th drummer to play inPrimus, playing with the band for around eight months in 1988 and later rejoining the band from 2010-2013. Lane was a member of San Francisco Bay Area bands The Uptones from '83-'85, and The Freaky Executives '84-'89.
Lane was born in San Francisco, California.[1] Lane began learning to play the drums at age nine, taking lessons with Bob Rose, and later Steve Savage, founder ofBlue Bear School of Music in San Francisco. Lane continued to take lessons for two years. In 1979 during the 7th grade at Everett Jr. High School, his jazz band teacher and local tenor sax great Jerry Logas turned him on to the Jazz/Fusion groupWeather Report and that was it, music was going to be his choice. He and best buddy Ray Paul Carter took turns torturing their beloved jazz band teacher between classes. At sixteen years old, he took a summer sanitation job atCazaderomusic camp in Russian River California where he met the rest of his best lifetime friends to this day: future Ratdog/Charlie Hunter Trio/Uptones saxophonistDave Ellis, futureSpearhead guitarist Dave Shul, brothers Alcide and Andre Marshall ( sons of local jazz legend drummer Eddy Marshall ).[2] It was at this Summer music camp the decision to play music as a way of life was solidified for this tight group of friends. Some of the counselors at Cazadero Music and Arts Camp during that time ('80-'83) included Bobby McFerrin and Whoopi Goldberg, among other local jazz greats like John Handy, Eddy Marshall, Pete Escovedo, and the great Ed Kelly.
In 1982,[3] Lane played with Dave Shul in the band Ice Age.[4] In 1983, he joined Bay Areaska punk bandThe Uptones when their saxophonist left, prompting drummer Dave Ellis to switch instruments.[2][4] They released an album,K.U.S.A.,[3] before Lane left in 1985 to join theFreaky Executives.[4] After four years of gigging the Executives landed a record deal withWarner Bros. Records.[4] It was during this time that Lane metPrimus bassistLes Claypool in the bands' shared warehouse rehearsal space in Emeryville and would converse in the hallways, eventually jamming together. Claypool, Lane, and guitaristTodd Huth played together as Primus for about eight months, and recorded a demo cassette tape namedSausage.[4][5] at Fungo Mungo's modified storage container rehearsal space, mixed by Matt Winegar.
After a 4 year dry spell, In 1994 Les Claypool called Lane for a recording session at San Francisco's famed Hyde St Studios that Grammy winning upright bass virtuosoRob Wasserman had hired him for. It was to be acoustic bass, electric bass and drums recording one quick jam for a Levi's 501 jeans ad. After neither bassist wanted to, Lane added the vocal speaking part.[6][3] After the session Wasserman asked Lane if he would do a session atGrateful Dead guitaristBob Weir's home studio for a broadway musical Weir was working on with avant guard saxophonist David Murray about legendary baseball player Satchel{{ }} Paige. They were looking for a drummer that could play quietly with brushes. Lane then joined the Weir Wasserman Duo withdouble bass player Wasserman andGrateful Dead guitaristBob Weir.[4] Lane was reunited with Cazadero Music Camp friend Dave Ellis when he joinedjazz combo theCharlie Hunter Trio,[4][5] and co-founded thehip hop/jazz fusion groupAlphabet Soup.[4][5] The Charlie Hunter Trio released their debut album,Charlie Hunter Trio, in 1993.[7] Lane Wasserman and Claypool also then later performed a song at the Bammies as 3 Guys Names Shmoe.
Lane later reunited with Claypool and Huth as the bandSausage,[5] named in recognition of the Primus demo they recorded together six years prior.[8] They recorded a single album, 1994'sRiddles Are Abound Tonight,[9] followed by a short tour in support ofHelmet andRollins Band.[4][5] In 1995, Lane released his last album with the Charlie Hunter Trio,Bing, Bing, Bing!,[10] as well as Alphabet Soup's debut,Layin' Low in the Cut,[11] and following the death ofJerry Garcia, the trio of Lane, Weir and Wasserman became the basis for the bandRatDog.[4] In 1996, Alphabet Soup released their second album,Strivin',[4] and Lane guested on Claypool's debut solo albumHighball with the Devil.[12] In 1997, Lane guested onChristión's debut album,Ghetto Cyrano, playing keyboards.[13]
Throughout the 2000s, Lane continued to tour with RatDog, playing hometown shows with Alphabet Soup whenever they had a break in the schedule.[4] In 2000, RatDog released their own debut album,Evening Moods,[14] followed byLive at Roseland in 2001.[15] Also in 2001, Lane appeared once more alongside Claypool and Huth, plus others, on theColonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade albumsLive Frogs Set 1[16] andLive Frogs Set 2,[3] the latter of which is a complete performance ofPink Floyd'sAnimals.[17] In 2002, Lane guested on the Frog Brigade's studio album,Purple Onion,[18] and was named "drummer of the year" by theCalifornia Music Awards.[4]
In 2005, Claypool released his retrospective DVD5 Gallons of Diesel, featuring many projects that included Lane,[3] and Lane toured with him as part of hisFancy Band.[4] In 2006, many members of Alphabet Soup branched out to form the hip hop/reggae fusion groupBand of Brotherz, and Lane joined shortly after.[4] They released their debut albumDeadbeats and Murderous Melodys in 2009,[3] featuring covers of Grateful Dead songs,[2] supported by a tour of theEast Coast of the United States and a number of dates nationwide with special guests,[4] including the trio of Lane, Weir and Wasserman reunited under the nameScaring the Children.[19] At the end of 2009, Weir put RatDog on hiatus in order to dedicate his time to forming the bandFurthur withPhil Lesh, and Lane joined them as a charter member.[4]
In 2010,[3] Lane left both Furthur and Band of Brotherz to rejoin Primus with Claypool and long-standing guitaristLarry LaLonde, and they released the freeJune 2010 Rehearsal digital EP, followed in 2011 by a new album, titledGreen Naugahyde.[20] As of 2012, Lane's official site still credited him as an active member of RatDog despite the hiatus,[3] as well as Alphabet Soup,[3] and Scaring the Children.[6] In September 2013, it was revealed that Lane had left Primus to rejoin RatDog, who were ending their hiatus.[21] In 2014 Jay Joined TheGolden Gate Wingmen. They are a jam band formed in November 2014, featuringJeff Chimenti,John Kadlecik fromDark Star Orchestra &Reed Mathis fromTea Leaf Green. They record every show and release them to download.
In 2018, Lane joined Weir and bassistDon Was to formWolf Bros, a trio which undertook a North American tour in the Fall of 2018,[22] and continued with a second tour of twenty more shows in the Spring of 2019.[23]
Lane currently endorses Ludwig drums,Sabian cymbals, and Innovative Percussion drumsticks.
Lane joinedDead & Company as a stand-in drummer for their October 19 and 20, 2021 shows at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO, their October 22 and 23 shows at Fiddler's Green in Greenwood Village, CO, and their October 31 show at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA. For the Dead & Company 2022 Summer Tour, he sat in forBill Kreutzmann starting with the Bethel, NY show.[24] With Kreutzmann stepping out for the final Dead & Company tour in 2023, Jay Lane has played each show on the tour.[25]
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