Jay Lane (born December 5, 1964) is an American musician. He is a founding member of

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

RatDog RatDog is an American rock band. The group began in 1995 as a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. After the Dead disbanded later that year, RatDog became Weir's primary band. They performed some Grateful Dead songs, a mi ...

, with Weir and

Rob Wasserman Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952 – June 29, 2016) was an American composer and bass player. A Grammy Award and NEA grant winner, he played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Bob Weir, Bruce Cockburn, Elvis Costello, Ani di ...

, Wolf Bros, Furthur, Golden Gate Wingmen, Dead & Company and Alphabet Soup. He was the 5th and then later the 8th drummer to play in Primus, 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.

Biography

Lane was born in San Francisco, California. Lane began learning to play the drums at age nine, taking lessons with Bob Rose, and later Steve Savage, founder of

Blue Bear School of Music Blue Bear School of Music is a nonprofit organization founded in San Francisco, California in 1971. Blue Bear has trained over 25,000 students in voice, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, bass, drums, horns, songwriting, bands and ensembles. ...

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 group

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon a ...

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 at Cazadero music camp in Russian River California where he met the rest of his best lifetime friends to this day: future Ratdog/Charlie Hunter Trio/Uptones saxophonist Dave Ellis, future Spearhead guitarist Dave Shul, brothers Alcide and Andre Marshall ( sons of local jazz legend drummer Eddy Marshall ). 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.

1980s

In 1982, Lane played with Dave Shul in the band Ice Age. In 1983, he joined Bay Area

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band The Uptones when their saxophonist left, prompting drummer Dave Ellis to switch instruments. They released an album, '' K.U.S.A.'', before Lane left in 1985 to join the Freaky Executives. After four years of gigging the Executives landed a record deal with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. It was during this time that Lane met Primus bassist

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American rock music, rock musician. He is the founder, lead singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the band Primus (band), Primus. Listed as one of the greatest bassists of all time by ...

in the bands' shared warehouse rehearsal space in Emeryville and would converse in the hallways, eventually jamming together. Claypool, Lane, and guitarist Todd Huth played together as Primus for about eight months, and recorded a demo cassette tape named ''Sausage''. at Fungo Mungo's modified storage container rehearsal space, mixed by Matt Winegar.

1990s

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 virtuoso

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. After the session Wasserman asked Lane if he would do a session at

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

guitarist

'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 with

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

player Wasserman and

guitarist

. Lane was reunited with Cazadero Music Camp friend Dave Ellis when he joined

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

combo the Charlie Hunter Trio, and co-founded the

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

/jazz fusion group Alphabet Soup. The Charlie Hunter Trio released their debut album, '' Charlie Hunter Trio'', in 1993. 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 band

Sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

, named in recognition of the Primus demo they recorded together six years prior. They recorded a single album, 1994's '' Riddles Are Abound Tonight'', followed by a short tour in support of

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

and

Rollins Band Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag (band), Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "L ...

. In 1995, Lane released his last album with the Charlie Hunter Trio, ''

Bing, Bing, Bing! ''Bing, Bing, Bing!'' is a 1995 album by jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European ...

'', as well as Alphabet Soup's debut, '' Layin' Low in the Cut'', and following the death of

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

, the trio of Lane, Weir and Wasserman became the basis for the band

. In 1996, Alphabet Soup released their second album, '' Strivin''', and Lane guested on Claypool's debut solo album '' Highball with the Devil''. In 1997, Lane guested on Christión's debut album, '' Ghetto Cyrano'', playing keyboards.

2000s

Throughout the 2000s, Lane continued to tour with RatDog, playing hometown shows with Alphabet Soup whenever they had a break in the schedule. In 2000, RatDog released their own debut album, ''

Evening Moods ''Evening Moods'' is the only studio album by the band RatDog, featuring former Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. Released on 26 September 2000, it consists of a number of new songs introduced by RatDog during the previous year and a G ...

'', followed by ''

Live at Roseland ''Live at Roseland'' is a 2001 live album by the band RatDog, featuring former Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. In contrast to studio album ''Evening Moods'', this release contains mostly songs from the Grateful Dead song book. It w ...

'' in 2001. Also in 2001, Lane appeared once more alongside Claypool and Huth, plus others, on the Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade albums '' Live Frogs Set 1'' and '' Live Frogs Set 2'', the latter of which is a complete performance of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

''. In 2002, Lane guested on the Frog Brigade's studio album, '' Purple Onion'', and was named "drummer of the year" by the California Music Awards. In 2005, Claypool released his retrospective DVD '' 5 Gallons of Diesel'', featuring many projects that included Lane, and Lane toured with him as part of his Fancy Band. In 2006, many members of Alphabet Soup branched out to form the hip hop/

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

fusion group Band of Brotherz, and Lane joined shortly after. They released their debut album '' Deadbeats and Murderous Melodys'' in 2009, featuring covers of Grateful Dead songs, supported by a tour of the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

and a number of dates nationwide with special guests, including the trio of Lane, Weir and Wasserman reunited under the name Scaring the Children. At the end of 2009, Weir put RatDog on hiatus in order to dedicate his time to forming the band Furthur with

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024) was an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he developed a unique style of improvised six-string bass guitar. He was their bassist throughout their 30 ...

, and Lane joined them as a charter member.

2010s

In 2010, Lane left both Furthur and Band of Brotherz to rejoin Primus with Claypool and long-standing guitarist Larry LaLonde, and they released the free '' June 2010 Rehearsal'' digital EP, followed in 2011 by a new album, titled '' Green Naugahyde''. As of 2012, Lane's official site still credited him as an active member of RatDog despite the hiatus, as well as Alphabet Soup, and Scaring the Children. In September 2013, it was revealed that Lane had left Primus to rejoin RatDog, who were ending their hiatus. In 2014 Jay Joined The Golden Gate Wingmen. They are a jam band formed in November 2014, featuring

Jeff Chimenti Jeff Chimenti (born October 21, 1968) is an American keyboardist, best known for his ongoing work with former members of the Grateful Dead. Since May 1997 he has played with Bob Weir & RatDog, and has also played on every tour of The Dead (in ...

, John Kadlecik from

Dark Star Orchestra Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band formed in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. They serve now as an tribute band, international touring tribute band to the rock group the Grateful Dead. Since 1997, the band has been "celebrating the Gra ...

& Reed Mathis from Tea Leaf Green. They record every show and release them to download. In 2018, Lane joined Weir and bassist

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was (), is an American musician, record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker and radio host. Since 2011, he has also served as president of the ...

to form Wolf Bros, a trio which undertook a North American tour in the Fall of 2018, and continued with a second tour of twenty more shows in the Spring of 2019. Lane currently endorses Ludwig drums, Sabian cymbals, and Innovative Percussion drumsticks.

2020s

Lane joined Dead & 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 for

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

starting with the Bethel, NY show. With Kreutzmann stepping out for the final Dead & Company tour in 2023, Jay Lane has played each show on the tour.

Discography

:1984 – The Uptones – '' K.U.S.A.'' :1988 – Primus – ''Sausage'' (demo) :1993 – Charlie Hunter Trio – '' Charlie Hunter Trio'' :1994 –

– '' Riddles Are Abound Tonight'' :1995 – Charlie Hunter Trio – ''

'' :1995 – Alphabet Soup – '' Layin' Low in the Cut'' :1996 – Alphabet Soup – '' Strivin''' :1996 – Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel – '' Highball with the Devil'' :1997 – Christión – '' Ghetto Cyrano'' :2000 –

– ''

'' :2001 – RatDog – ''

'' :2001 – Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – '' Live Frogs Set 1'' :2001 – Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – '' Live Frogs Set 2'' :2002 – The Les Claypool Frog Brigade – '' Purple Onion'' :2005 – Les Claypool – '' 5 Gallons of Diesel'' (DVD) :2009 – Band of Brotherz – '' Deadbeats and Murderous Melodys'' :2010 – Primus – '' June 2010 Rehearsal'' (EP) :2011 – Primus – '' Green Naugahyde'' :2022 – Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros – '' Live in Colorado'' :2022 – Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros – '' Live in Colorado Vol. 2''

References

External links

* – Official site (archived)
Primusville.com
– Official Primus site
Rat-Dog.com
– Official RatDog site {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Jay American rock drummers Primus (band) members Living people 1964 births RatDog members Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade members Furthur (band) members Les Claypool's Fancy Band members 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers American male drummers Drummers from San Francisco