Professional Career
In the spring of 1989, Shain and bassist John Whitehead formed a blues-rock duo, Flyin' Mice. They began to play shows at local clubs and festivals in The Carolinas and Virginia. Catching the ear of soundman and recording engineer Charles Jones, Flyin' Mice was signed to Jones' fledgling independent label Dr. Lime Records. The Mice expanded to a trio with the addition of drummer Mark Simonsen. In 1992, John Whitehead left the band and was replaced by bassist Aaron Oliva and Ben Saffer on guitar and banjo. Flyin' Mice earned the tag "psychedelic bluegrass" due to its incorporation of vintage bluegrass influences into its jam-rock performance style. This incarnation of the band gigged steadily up and down the East Coast until the band's breakup in 1996.
In the spring of 1996, Shain and Simonsen started a new group called WAKE, with Kirsten O'Rourke Simonsen on vocals and Stu Cole on bass. In 1997, Cole left to join Squirrel Nut Zippers and he was replaced by Darrell Dixon on bass and John Currie on guitar. WAKE leaned more towards an alt-country sound. WAKE broke up in early 1998.
In the fall of 1998, Shain and Simonsen began work on what would become Jon Shain's first solo album, Brand New Lifetime, which ranged from the alt-country of WAKE to a more stripped down re-discovery of Shain's acoustic blues background. Shain began to play shows solo and with his new group, The Jon Shain Trio - composed of FJ Ventre on bass, John Currie on dobro and guitar, and Bill Newton on harmonica. This group has stayed together the longest of any of shain's musical associations. Shain has recorded several critically acclaimed albums on his own Flyin' Records and continues to tour regularly.
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