Guitarist Shane Theriot, was born in Louisiana. Originally from the New Orleans area, he now resides in both La. and Nashville where, in addition to his work with the world renowned Neville Brothers, he's busy in the recording scenes of both Nashville and New Orleans. Beginning guitar at age 9, Shane was exposed to many kinds of music in the area, from Cajun/Zydeco to Rock and Jazz. He performed his first “professional gig” at age 11, during the New Orleans World Fair. “My family was into music all the time. My aunt was a pianist with the New Orleans Symphony and my uncles all played guitar” he says.
Soon after graduating high school, Shane headed for the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, where he studied with such names as Joe DiOrio, Paul Gilbert and Scott Henderson (then with pianist Chick Corea), who would later recommend Shane for a teaching position at the Atlanta Institute of Music. He graduated from the Musicians Institute in 1990 with top honors in all styles. Only 3 students out of a class of 300 were granted this honor.
After teaching and performing local gigs for two years, Shane took the advice of fellow instructor/guitarist Jimmy Herring (Jazz is Dead, A.R.U., Phil Lesh & Friends) and moved to Nashville. Since moving to Nashville, Shane has performed and recorded with such artists as Joel Sonnier, Lee Greenwood, a compilation record for Schoolhouse Rock, former Allman Bros. keyboard man Johnny Neel, Crystal Taliefaro, Sam Moore (Sam and Dave) and done countless other jingles and demos, as well as a recent release by bassist Adam Nitti featuring Dave Weckl, Victor Wooten, and Joe Zawinul drummer Kirk Covington. Shane has recently performed on a new recording with Jewel and was instrumental in putting together a New Orleans band with Willie Nelson for the upcoming major movie, The Dukes of Hazard.
On the last Neville Brothers recording (to date), "Valence Street" (Columbia Records),Shane is present on every track with the exception of “Mona Lisa.” The recordings were split between sessions in New Orleans and Nashville. Shane has also written several instructional books and columns published in Guitar Player magazine and Guitar Nine. One of the more successful and well known of these is the instructional book/C.D. entitled “New Orleans Funk Guitar”, available from Warner Bros. Publications.
Shane is proud of the amount of music and culture in New Orleans. “Growing up in the area,you take for granted the impact the music of South Louisiana has had. There’s Funk, Dixieland, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Cajun and Zydeco.
"Playing with the Neville Brothers has made me really value the music even more because they invented some of that stuff” he laughs. His solo record, Highway 90, features hometown rhythms and sounds, which he describes as “second-line grooves with a touch of Zydeco and burning guitar.”
Being a member of the Neville Brothers band has proven to be a great education for Shane, musically and culturally. He met his wife Shiho, on a tour of Japan and has made many friends around the world. “No other session can give you the feeling of playing in a great band,” he says. “For me the Neville Brothers gig is the best of both worlds- I get to go home and play great music. And for that I’m very grateful."
