Shawn Lane was a supernatural multi-dimensional being who briefly visited this universe... and for that short time he was the greatest guitarist in the galaxy.
I'm lucky to say that Shawn was a friend of mine and I have been watching him playing since the 80's, I was at his house when he was making his debut album Powers of Ten, he had a studio set up in his attic. Shawn was a true kind person and the only true genius I have ever known, his knowledge of music was off the charts and what people forget or don't know he was just as good on the piano as the guitar. Rest in peace my friend you have left us to soon.
Is it true that Shawn was actually left handed? That's even more amazing to think about, he played as if he were right handed. He was also so good on piano as well, he was just too good for this world. Thank God he left us with some of his brilliance to enjoy.
For those unfamiliar with Shawn Lane, take a night, and dive down the RU-vid hole that evidences his genius. NOT just a shredder, he could play all genres. A musician's musician and a truly gifted human.
@@Guitargate Mike, your musical IQ is high enough to better understand what’s going on with Shawn Lane than I am able. Your descriptions of what you were seeing and hearing were learned and go beyond the normal reactions to Lane’s speed to center around his phrasing and unexpected shifts of musical direction. For a bit of difference, check out Lane in “Aga of the Ladies” as he plays in front of an Indian crowd in 2003 with Hellborg and some Indian percussionists. It’s on the Shawn Lane RU-vid channel. If you stay for the whole song you’ll hear a master story teller take you for a musical ride. I would be very interested in your analysis. Love your work and thanks for the quality.
my favorite thing in the world is seeing guitarist's reactions to Shawn's playing for the first time. He was otherworldly, and inspires in a way I've never seen before. In my personal opinion, he was probably one of the greatest musical minds to ever walk this earth. (also, if ever you have a chance to play his signature Vigier guitar, DO IT. I managed to buy one earlier this year after fawning over them for half a decade, and I've never played anything like it. The action is microscopic, and combined with the 24.75 scale length, it is entirely effortless to play, just as he intended! So good that I'm seriously considering selling every other guitar I own, because I'll never need another guitar again.)
If you want to have your mind blown even more pay attention to how he uses accents in his ultra fast runs. that is one thing I have never seen from anyone else. I saw him play live four times and every time was an amazing experience. He was truly like no one else.
Always makes me happy when folks discover Shawn. Came and went like a comet. Almost as accomplished on piano as guitar by the way. Could play pretty much anything.
Shawn was the greatest guitar player to ever walk this earth. I'm so tickled how blown away you are. I'm glad you finally found him. He will blow your mind over and over and over again. As shown in this video. I've listened and tried to emulate Shawn for 30 years.
I think Guthrie Govan got his start transcribing Lane and Buckethead's multi finger tapping technique was to copy those lines of five where Lane slides his pinky. Shawn is the final BOSS. R.I.P. LEGEND
Fun fact: Buckethead invented his “knubbing” technique by trying to replicate Shawn lanes insane chromatic licks. Shawn himself said he did a great job at it even though it’s a completely different technique
I believe the specific song was Kaiser Nancarrow, which I guess buckethead got a bootlegged copy or whatever and didn't know it was just added effects or whatever shawn lane said. I forget the video where he talks about it, but it was pretty cool.
Apparently, when he was on tour he would often visit the local library and read 3-4 books. A day! He was a savant. No normal human can compete. He's gone back to his dad. Rip.
True story there.. I bought him some books when we were on tour in 1996... Next day he held up on of the books saying: pick a page number... So we did and he started reciting what was on that page without opening the book... When he gave us the book to check we were completely stunned that he was spot on... This guy's internal hard drive was at least 4 terabyte of SSD storage while other human beings still had to do with a single floppy disk...
@@FURDOG1961 Certainly a phenomenal memory for what he cared about or was interested in... Getting him on stage at showtime, that's a different story... 😉
Sad but true. Same with Jason Becker, dunno which is more tragic.... Least Jason can still write music and have other guitarist physically play it for him.
Still remember NAMM show of 1991. On that stage there were gods like Timmons, Satriani, Vai, Skolnick, Beach... the song was Down, Down, Down and each of them had a little space for solo. The moment Shawn steps in......all gods eyes were on him!!
I recall the first time I saw Shawn Lane. He seemed light years ahead of most, playing mind boggling phrases at the speed of light. His obvious grasp of deep musical concepts that just poured out of him like a river. A virtuoso who left us far too early.
I’m from Memphis and knew Shawn. What I want you to know is that he was as kind and humble as he was talented. We were not hang out friends, but I worked at a music store and he was a regular customer, and when I saw him out in public he always made it a point to say hello and talk about guitars.
It is something to watch, when someone plays the guitar like I breathe...... Just naturally and with no effort. Just flows.....GOD I AM JEALOUS!!!! so good.....
I went to school with him. I got to jam with him a couple of times. He was like that guitar, piano and at 14 he played drums in studio for a band 1st take on their originals. He was great.
There is no one faster than Lane. No Guthrie. No Metallhead. No-one. But the guy also knew how to play a melody. And the frightening thing is, that he might have been an even better keyboard player. An absolute monster of a musician. Died too soon. I remember vividly the loss I felt knowing I'd never be able to hear more of him. Shawn Lane was a guitar god to the guys we worship as guitar heroes. I still don't believe how some of the things he did on Centrifugal Funk are physically possible.
Shawn is certainly slightly faster as an alternate picker, but Guthrie does some stuff with legato and tapping that likely can't get any faster as played by human hands (Fives, Sevens, etc.).
@@MrStupidsignup shawn lane did with his left hand what buckethead taps :/ look up shawn lanes dimished technique and you will see it in action and hear the resemblence to buckethead, bucketheads stupid good but shawn lane could incorporate the fast stuff with such feeling even paul gilbert says hes a monster haha
That came as easily to Shawn as it was AS easy, as it was for him to breathe. EXTREMELY talented, that guitar was an absolute extension of him and part of him. When he doesn't even have to look 98% of the time and just play, and you can FEEL what he's playing, it doesn't get any more real and raw as this! I could listen to him all night! ✌️
He had the licks down by 14 years old. He rarely practiced guitar after that. He primarily played piano after that. Checkout the videos of him play piano. He was as accomplished at piano as we was at guitar. All while in his 20's. Not a normal human being.
@Michael Palmisano I love how at 2 minutes you going "I get what you're saying" but those of us that really know are just chuckling to ourselves and saying JUST WAIT 😁😁
Shawn was a genius whose purity and clarity of expression was boundless. People here have already said it, but a quick youtube dive reveals that pretty quickly. One thing to mention that I didn't see in the comments was that Shawn played almost exclusively in an indian fusion context for the last few years of his life. There's a DVD out there called "Paris" filmed in 2001 where he and Hellborg play with V. Umashankar and V. Selvaganesh. Some of his playing on that DVD is the most transcendent playing from anyone on any instrument, ever...imho :)
Thanks. I'll check that out. He was a savant with a passion for the guitar that went back to his early childhood. Be a long time 'till we see his like again. 😪
Check out his performance of get you back on the REH video series. The final solo section may be the greatest segment of guitar playing. Also his playing on MVP Centrifugal Funk is just alien, other dimensional stuff.
Michael you have just experienced the Shawn Lane effect... I met Shawn here in Memphis in 1985 and became friends with him and sat in his house or at his gigs with jaw on the floor.. your ear is so good you are going to realize that he always does lots of different intervals, lije one run will often be 4notes,5 notes, 4notes ,3 notes ,8 notes then 5 notes and that's just a slab... I've got litterally 10-12 hours of random gigs,sessions, clips,in his house ect.... hit me on Facebook messenger and I'll get you some super high quality material that will become part of your musical DNA..
Great video as usual, and so cool to see Shawn Lane getting some love! I've been coming back to this track since I started listening to him in '04 and after all these years I'm still blown away every time. RIP to one of the best to ever do it.
Jeff Sipe is a longtime friend of mine. I got to know Shawn through Jeff when they had Hellborg, Lane, and Sipe going. Shawn was a super nice cat, funny as hell, and knew even more obscure movie than me (and I know a LOT). His playing speaks for itself.
Epilogue For Lisa,a tribute to his sister,is one of the most emotionally loaded instrumental ballads I have ever heard. Give it a listen if you get a chance.
"I don't ever know where to start"...That was my reaction as well when I first heard Shawn. That and picking my jaw off the floor. lol One of the greatest if not the greatest guitarist ever. Setting the bar far higher than most will ever reach.
He did some instructional videos in the 80's. He exposes all of his techniques. It's just terrifying. Find those vids. he was super clean cut and much healthier back then. he played for Black Oak Arkansas at 15. That's Shawn Lane.
@@zombiereagan4813 yep. I bought the VHS tapes back in the day, and realised what a hopeless a proposition it was for me to play Shawn's stuff. And he just showed us the basics of what he could do. Watching him unfold his full arsenal live is a transcendent experience. Tri 7-5 and Black Market live at MIT for those who need convincing.
Yes Shawn Lane!! One of a kind player, great heart. He can shred like no else, literally, but it’s his phrasing that does it for me. He’s on my Mount Rushmore. Great vid 👍
What I enjoy most about Michael’s videos is that he’s just as knocked-out as we are when we see these amazing performances. It’s about the joy. Michael, if you ever come to Austin, the drinks are on me!
Shawn Lane, a monster player, that sounds about right. For me the enlightening moment was hearing his Powers of Ten live album the first time. Unique musician in some of the things he did and the way he did it.
Was a friend in the 80s when he was with The Willys. Can't count how many times we saw him/them. He'd usually come sit with us btwn sets. Then I moved... Awesome guy.
Shawn Lane deserves all the praise he gets, thanks for talking about him. I discovered him in 2009, he was just not a great guitar player but a monster pianist too. Check out his work with Jonas Hellborg, they spent a few years playing Indian fusion music with V. Selvaganesh, absolutely incredible playing that transcended all forms of music. Really sad to hear he suffered during his final years, I can’t even begin to imagine how far he would have pushed the boundaries of music if he was still alive. My personal favorite live performances of his would be Tri 7/5 at the Musicians Institute and Aga Of The Ladies with J. Hellborg and V. Selvaganesh.
He mastered econo picking and 3-4 notes per string before anyone else. Equaled in speed perhaps, but never surpassed, and those lovely melodies/improvisational skills.
I saw him play several times back in the day. To say he would leave you with your jaw on the floor is an understatement. Such a great musician and a cool guy
I've probably watched hundreds of hours of live Shawn Lane performances, but one of my favorite videos of him on youtube are his REH/Power Licks instructional tapes where he is teaching these insane mindboggling outside sounding licks, and assuming whoever is watching is going to be able to learn let alone comprehend what he is doing haha. If you go down a rabbit hole, what you saw here is only scratching the surface, his younger self before the medication for his illness took over his body to near completion like it's seen in this video, was absolutely something else, even some of the stuff that surfaced from when he was 16 and 17 years of age was complete insanity and that was just as EVH was breaking through the scene and Yngwie was getting started, crazy stuff.
Shawn Lane RIP to the most gifted guitarist I’ve ever heard… his first couple of records “powers of ten and tri-tone fascination” have some of the most beautiful compositions written.. yet so technical… simply the greatest of the guitar virtuosos in the last 30 years
Shawn Lane wasn’t a guitarist; he was a musician. He transcended any particular instrument, being equally adept on keyboards. But yeah, he could definitely play guitar. Check out “West Side Boogie,” from the album, “Powers of Ten.”
That flat 7 lick you were analyzing is a lick leading into the theme of the tune. The theme of Personae (that's the name of the song) is roughly in the key of C harmonic minor, with a few adjustments. He composed this song around the time he first hooked up with Jonas Hellborg, and it has a strong indian and pakistani influence. If you've never watched the clinic Shawn did in 1995 at AIM, I highly recommend it.
Also shawn lane, jeff sipe, and jonas album temporal analogs of paradise check that album out its incredible!! I layed in darkness and ate some acid and played that album probably the most insane psychedelic experience ive ever had with music. I felt the universe flowing through me with their playing traveling through the cosmos of the mind feeling every emotion. It was a great therapeutic experience that i will forever charish it made me feel the magic of life
For me, Shawn is the GOAT. So much to choose from, his 1993 gig at MIT is a paranormal experience. The note at 17:30 is actually a nod to the chord change in Personae, just to add some more awe. I've spent 30+ years trying to grasp his playing, his grace notes alone are worthy of study.
Speaking of Shawn Lane, I know you've already done Buckethead but Shawn was a HUGE inspiration to him as I'm sure you can tell with his monster yet beautiful shredding. I forget which song it was but in this particular song ,theres a section where Shawn lane edited in notes to make it sound like this impossible song that no human could play and Bucket didnt know that at the time so he thought Shawn was doing it all by himself so he came up with the 2 handed 4 finger tapping thing hes so good at and came very damn close to replicating the combined powers of SHAWN LANE AND A COMPUTER,INSANE! I think he talks about it in some Guitar clinic video i saw years ago on youtube. Love your shit keep up the good work!
haha funny if this is your first time hearing and seeing Shawn Lane. You first think (like I did back in the 80s) that he's a guitarist. Then you hear these liquid waterfalls of notes and just think my godz... that's a keyboardist! nope. He just had crazy speed and lots of finger independence and a great memory. yes, he'd flub a note here or there in the process but he was just physically made differently than your average human, I think. There's no way you're going to analyze that fast stuff unless you slow it down to maybe .25. haha He didn't pick each note although he does do some lines that way but mostly not. Terrifying player! haha
Michael, your comments on this guy is playing just make me smile. He is so clearly a master of the fretboard and I love how you commented at 1644 about his missing the tonic and then selling it anyway. Wonderful. Great break down on the man’s playing.
I have been listening to Shawn Lane since February of 1992. I know this because, this was the night I got to see Allan Holdsworth play (another genius) and I bought a Mike Varney CD that Allan was selling, and Shawn Lane was in it as well. I could not get over what I was hearing, and I was hooked since day one, literally... The man is a genius with his fluid speed, phrasing and his compositions. He died way too young...he will always be missed.
Back when I was in high school, RU-vid was just getting started and it was a real struggle to find Shawn Lane videos. I must have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours digging through the internet to analyze and practice his playing. But man, you nailed my obsession with him in just 20 minutes! Props to you, my friend!
Shawn is known amongst the technical players as the most Mythical creature of guitar, the scariest guitarist in our lifetime and the most talented guitarist to walk the face of the earth
Long time Shawn lane fan here, I remember hearing about him (as I was a teenager) in the late 80’s when The Willy’s were blazing around memphis, Tn. That was my initial introduction to Shawn, then powers of ten came out (mind=blown) and so forth.. A close friend of mine knew Shawn, and he always said Shawn had an encyclopedic knowledge of several diverse subjects- from literature, music history, movie/ film trivia.. a true genius and polymath… And given all that talent, he was one of the most gentle, kind spirited person you could’ve ever met, sharing his knowledge and always so humble. I can hear vast influences from Holdsworth to Eric Johnson, but Shawn truly had a unique voice on the guitar. He is truly missed but his legacy lives on through his music !
Anthony Stauffer (Sp?) also has a great channel called “Texas Blues Alley” which is dedicated (seemingly) mostly to Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Texas blues style of playing. I highly recommend the channel on RU-vid.
Yes, Jeff Beck, but also Allan Holdsworth and Mike Stern, but then the lick at around 5:11 - 5:16 is a Coltrane sax lick, he's pulling from Coltrane and Miles all day, just faster than they'd ever play.
Wow, you were almost constantly at a loss for words! Understandable, that was some absolutely amazing jam, made all the more cool by the laid back cigarette smoking attitude he projects, like napping through a plane crash. Jesus. Love your channel, keep ‘em coming.
... but, and, then, there has ALL-WAYS been Steve Hillage to contend with. HIZ tone, HIZZ note choice in delay chased harmoniteasing, is a right and propper blended balanced backup bandwidth non swamp, means that the recorded albums, Motivation Radio, and Green, can be played loudly without loss of sound quality. Drummer, Nick Mason, of Pink Floyd, was Steve's producer for Motivation Radio. And that's all, folks. Enjoy ...
To me, this is the guy. I am in awe of Shawn Lane's playing. His speed is just one of so many facets of his playing. Dissecting his ideas is a masterclass. For those unfamiliar, check out his solos on "Hey T Bone" and "Black Market" (from Powers of Ten Live). The way he played "out" is complete genius. He must of had an amazing ear. I'm a die hard fan, and I'm glad you get to discover some of his genius!
Michael, I must Quote Stevie Ray Vaughan here , “ I don’t think when I play , thinking about what I’m trying to play just gets in my way, I just let it flow out “ . Loved this video, and how you try to break down his run . I truly hope you master it now and it doesn’t drive you too insane 😉. Thanks buddy for posting this one for us all , Hopefully you had a Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year . C-ya 👍👍
I remember the very first time I heard and saw Shawn Lane on you tube! I literally could not believe what I was hearing and seeing. He will always be my most favorite player of all time!
Where are the Shawn Lane videos? There's no footage of him playing it, but his 3 minute solo on Let it Be with Gilbert, or tracks like Tri-7\5, One Note at a Time, Stellar Rays (Time is the Enemy).
I first heard of Shawn in ´93 as he was in Guitar Player. You should look up on YT old Black Oak Arkansas videos where he's 16 years old playing the hell out of his guitar! He himself said he had his technique down by 16, then he just worked on his musicality. So glad I got to see him live in ´96, total awesomeness 😊
Everyone misses his version of all song the watchtower it’s insane the one with the picture of him standing there his rhythm stuff is so cool worth checking out
Shawn Lane was in a band called Black Oak Arkansas I saw them in the California Dash 1974 concert in Ontario and been following him ever since I have every CD I've he's ever been in
Normally I get bored quickly with speed but he’s added some twist here. The pinky I never used until I took some classical guitar lessons. My instructor said “why not use all your fingers or at least 4-5 on your left hand?”. And so I practiced over and over and wow. Yep gotta check this guy out more.
Can't believe you didn't know about Shawn Lane !?!? Honestly...he's up there with Gambale/Holdsworth/Eric Johnson etc etc .....been blowing minds since he was 15/16...also ..he's a MONSTER MONSTER piano/keyboard player ..Drummer/bass player
