This article was written by Donna Talarico with information from various press kits.
There was once a genetic engineer who spliced together the ruggedness of a professional bull rider, the smarts and strength of an LA police officer and the voice and talent of a country singer. When his project was complete, the end result was Shane Minor!
Okay, so it didn't happen quite like that....the road to being on the brink of country music stardom was a bit longer than that, and a bit more difficult. With a little detour here and there, Shane managed to find the road to Music City, USA!
Born and raised in Modesto, California, where his mother and step-father raised cattle on a 211- acre ranch, it was only natural for Shane to take an interest in rodeo. While most kids his age were throwing around a ball on the local baseball diamond, when Shane was nine, he was riding steers in the Little Leauge Rodeo! When he was 12, Shane rode his first bull (after lying about his age...you had to be 13), and kept on riding throughout high school. In fact, Shane's high school was among the top-rated teams in the California High School Rodeo Association. Huh! You thought he quarterback was the toughest guy on campus! After high school, Shane began pro bull-riding. After the tragic loss of one his friends and idols, Lane Frost, Shane and a few other guys quit riding.
Aside from bull-riding throughout his youth, Shane always had an interest in music. He's jam in his bedroom to 45's of Merle Haggard and Hank Williams, as well as southeren gospel, Elvis and Frank Sinatra. He knew that music was what he wanted to do. However, the high school appitude tests told a different story. The test told Shane that he was meant to be in law enforcement. He went on to college and then journeyed to the police academy and joined the LAPD.
While with the LAPD, Shane witnessed the horror and tragedy of gang-related violence with the Bloods and Crips and saw death first-hand at murder and brutal car accident scenes. Nothing hit him harder than holding a weeping man who just lost his child in a traffic accident, or the time when a man shot himself after hacking up his son with a machete. Shane is a father himself of a 13-year-old son.
During his tenure with the LAPD, Shane performed small gigs at local clubs and had jam sessions with other local musicians. He used the music as an escape from the violence he saw everyday on the dangerous crime-infested streets of LA. It was then that Shane asked himself the question, "Do I want to do this the rest of my life, or do I want to do music?" One of bull- riding pals had also told him, "Shane, what are you doing out here? I know you love music. THAT'S your bullride right there!" That piece of advice hit Shane and shortly thereafter he quit the LAPD.
Shane spent lots of time singing, writing and recording demos. After two years, he decided it was time to attempt to make his "big break". His demos were eventually forwarded to famed session guitarist and producer Dann Huff, most known for his work with Shania Twain and her producer husband Mutt Lange. Dann contacted Shane and told him it was time to get to work...a lot of hard work!! While Shane worked with Dann to create the "perfect sound", he took voice lessons, watched CMT, wrote reports on what he was learning, practiced and practiced.
When they found the sound they were looking for, Dann took Shane's demo to Mercury Nashville and the rest is history!!
Source: http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Rodeo/7208/bio.html
