Jon Shain

Infobox musical artist
Name = Jon Shain


Img_capt = Jon Shain publicity photo from 2006
Img_size = 180
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Jonathan Bruce Shain
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1967|11|18
Died =
Origin = Haverhill, Massachusetts U.S.
Instrument =
Genre = Folk, Americana, Piedmont blues
Occupation = Guitarist
Singer/Songwriter
Years_active = 1980 - present
Label = Flyin' Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.jonshain.com www.jonshain.com]
Current_members = Jon Shain Trio
FJ Ventre: upright bass
John Currie: dobro and guitar
Bill Newton: harmonica
Past_members =
Notable_instruments = Acoustic Guitar
Slide Guitar

Jon Shain (born Jonathan Bruce Shain, November 18 1967, Haverhill, Massachusetts) is an American folk musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter and recording artist. Since 1986, he has been based in Durham, North Carolina.

Shain has produced several solo albums, and has also recorded with the bands 'WAKE' and 'Flyin' Mice'. Since 1988, he has performed live with Jorma Kaukonen [ [http://worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20030514171106971] World Music Central web site [http://worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20030514171106971 worldmusiccentral.org] February 20, 2000.] , David Grisman, and others. Shain played electric guitar as part of North Carolina blues great Richard "Big Boy" Henry's backing band in the 1980s. [ [http://efolkmusic.org/ArtMusic/ViewArtist.aspx?aid=81] "Jon Shain @ efolkmusic" [http://www.efolkmusic.org www.efolkmusic.org] , August 1, 2007.]

Early life

Shain was born into a Jewish family, the eldest of three children to Steven and Carol Shain, who were also Haverhill, Massachusetts natives. His father and grandfather operated a small but successful textile dyehouse.

Shain got his first acoustic guitar after being influenced by watching childhood friend Fran Cleary play a cheap Univox electric model. Things went poorly, as within a short time, he accidentally broke the rented instrument in half. At age 12 he started up again with another borrowed model, this time showing more serious interest and taking lessons.

For high school, Shain attended Governor Dummer Academy (GDA), in Byfield, Massachusetts, where he met up with other aspiring musicians among its small student body. Almost immediately, Shain joined a student rock band called "Positive Feedback", where he played electric rhythm guitar. At age 14, he was the youngest member of the band. It was during this experience that he got his start playing before live audiences. The following year, Shain and childhood friend Jim Barr, along with fellow GDA students FJ Ventre and John Miller, formed another rock cover band called "The Partisans" (the band's name unknowingly matched an already established punk band from the UK). This experience further sharpened his skills as a live performer, as he was responsible for most of the arrangements performed by the band. "The Partisans" achieved minor notoriety throughout the region, playing dances and private parties during Shain's remaining years in high school. Eventually mixing in originals by Shain and Barr, "The Partisans" live set mainly consisted of classic rock staples from Chuck Berry, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, R.E.M., and U2.

Shain graduated from GDA in 1985.

College Years

Shain attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he majored in history. It was during this time that Shain was introduced to the folk music of the region. In addition to playing in a frat-rock cover band, "The Blind Mice", Shain began to research and play Piedmont Blues. Shain joined "The Slewfoot Blues Band", led by Mickey "Slewfoot" McLaughlin and "Sleepy" Tom Forsythe. Through Slewfoot, Shain met NC blues artists such as Big Boy Henry, John Dee Holeman, Lightnin' Wells, and jazz pianist Brother Yusef Salim. Shain also took opportunity of Duke's great jazz program, studying one semester with saxophonist Paul Jeffery, a veteran of Thelonius Monk's group. Shain graduated from Duke in the summer of 1989, and immediately began pursuing a career in music.

Professional career

In the spring of 1989, Shain and bassist John Whitehead formed a blues-rock duo and named it "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 - comprised 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.

Recordings

olo Albums

Family life

In 1997, Shain married graphic designer Maria Bilinski. The couple have one daughter, Johanna, born in 2002. Shain has written a song for each of them, both of which can be found on "Army Jacket Winter".

External links

* [http://www.jonshain.com Shain's website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/jonshain Shain's MySpace page]
* [http://www.efolkmusic.org/ArtMusic/ViewArtist.aspx?aid=81 Shain at eFolkMusic.com]
* [http://www.larryweaver.com/entertainment/artists/default.asp?artist=jonshain Bio of Shain at Larry Weaver's web site]
* [http://72.166.46.24//boston/music/otr/documents/04236201.asp Review of "No Tag, No Taillight" by the Boston Phoenix]

References