A San Francisco native, Saskia Sunshine Lane (double bass, voice, composition, ukulele) began her classical training early on with the violin and took up the bass the day she turned 11. Her musical path eventually put her on a train bound for New York City (true story), where she received her Masters Degree from The Juilliard School. Currently, Saskia tours internationally with Dan Zanes & Friends and nationally with her critically-acclaimed trio The Biddies. She can also be seen playing klezmer and other raucous styles with the Isle of Klezbos, and bluegrass heehaw with her fun-loving quartet Hey Sailor. This year, Saskia had the privelage of performing with Beyoncé in a special week-long performance in New York and if you look closely enough through all the fog and lights, you can see her rocking out at the top of the screen in the DVD release that followed, Live At Roseland. And yes, those are feathers attached to her clothes! And speaking of Beyonce and other famous folks, Saskia can also be seen sharing the stage on occasion with the likes of Jay-Z, Natalie Merchant and Enya.
Recently, Saskia has broadened her direction by delving into the theater world. Three years ago she was invited to take part in the renowned extravaganza, Chekhov at Lake Lucille in upstate New York which wet her appetite for more theater-related projects. At the start of this year, she took up residence in London for a month where she made her debut appearance at the Barbican performing in a new play, The Devil and Mister Punch. A prolific song-writer, Saskia’s music can be heard in the upcoming play Massacre (Sing To Your Children) by José Rivera opening at The Rattlestick Theater later this spring. Additionally, she will be making her second appearance with T41 at Times Square this summer, presenting her songs in collaboration with playwright Emily Schwend. Saskia is also undertaking a new show with the esteemed designer/director Julian Crouch, it is yet-to-be-named but will involve found objects, newspaper, glue, sand, junk, trash, bottles and whatever else they can think of.
Dedicated to outreach and education, Saskia works as a Teaching Artist through Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections Program. Through this groundbreaking program, she and her fellow Biddies perform in homeless shelters, hospitals, correctional facilities and senior centers. She also has the privilege of leading more long-term in-depth programs, teaching songwriting to underserved populations throughout the New York area. Additionally, you can hear her sing and play with her bandmates in the children’s program they created for CarnegieKids (known here as the Itty Biddies), now moving into it’s third season.
DISCOGRAPHY
The Itty Biddies
Untitled, In-Progress
EP, 2012
Bass, Vocals, Composition, Co-Production
Hey Sailor!
Untitled, In-Progress
2012-13
Bass, Vocals, Composition
Dan Zanes, Little Nut Tree
CD, 2011
Bass
Dan Zanes, Fine Friends Are Here
DVD, 2010
Bass, Vocals, Dancing
Dan Zanes, 76 Trombones
CD, 2010
Bass, Vocals
Marc Farre, Secret Symphony
CD, 2008
Bass
Dan Zanes, Nueva York!
CD, 2008
Bass, Vocals
The Lascivious Biddies
A Very Biddy Christmas
EP, Holiday 2008
Bass, Vocals
Dan Zanes, Welcome Table
CD, 2008
Bass
The Lascivious Biddies
Love You Mean It
EP, 2007
Bass, Vocals, Composition
Father Goose, Bam-Bam Diddly
CD, 2007
Bass
The Lascivious Biddies
Live in New York City
DVD, Autumn 2005
Bass, Vocals
The Lascivious Biddies
Get Lucky
CD, October 2004
Bass,Vocals
The Lascivious Biddies
I Feel Biddy
CD, March 2003
Bass, Vocals,
Chili's Restaurants
National Television Commercial, 2003
"Girlfriends"
Bass, Vocals, Jingle writer
The Lascivious Biddies
The Bobby Flay Show
Musical Guest, 2002
Bass, Vocals aka Lip-Syncher
The Lascivious Biddies
Biddi-Luxe!
CD, May 2002
Bass, Vocals