Jay Lane's roles on drums have earned him a place in San Francisco's music history. He started performing in the Bay Area in the early '80s, joining the original lineup of Primus with Les Claypool, but left the band due to prior commitments to the local cult band The Freaky Executives. Shortly thereafter Lane co-founded the hip hop/jazz collective Alphabet Soup. In 1994, Lane reunited with old friends, the 7-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and sax man Dave Ellis, to form the original Charlie Hunter Trio. Lane recorded "Bing Bing Bing!" with them, but left shortly thereafter when he started playing with Grateful Dead guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman in a side project that would eventually become RatDog.

After Jerry Garcia passed in 1995, RatDog began touring and recording more often, giving Lane the opportunity to jam with incomparable musicians and to perform worldwide. Evening Moods (1999) and Live as Roseland (2001) featuring his work with RatDog, are available through Grateful Dead Records. He has also appeared on Austin City Limits, VH1 Classic's All Star Jams, the Montreaux Jazz Festival and others in Europe, the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival and the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, and almost every state in the US.

In 2002, Lane earned accolades from his peers and fans, winning "Drummer of the Year" in the California Music Awards. His beats are urban, funky, and fluid, and demonstrate the physical power and stamina he's built over a lifetime on the drums.

In 2005 Lane has been touring with both Claypool (Skerik, Mike Dillon, Gabby La La) as well as Bob Weir & RatDog. Between tours, he still finds time to lay down the grooves with Alphabet Soup in SF, where he lives with his wife, his mom, and two beautiful daughters (who are forbidden from dating drummers).