Adulthood and Piano
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, his only child. 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 19 September 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 and Frank Gambale. To promote the 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.
Lane released two more solo albums following his debut, Powers of Ten; Live!, recorded live in 1993, and The Tri-Tone Fascination in 1999.
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