Much of his childhood was spent traveling state to state, but his passion for guitar remained a constant thanks to his father’s own love of the instrument. Once his family settled in Huntington Beach, California in 1979, this passion would become his career. His professional work began at the age of fifteen, often playing in top forty clubs and doing session work. In ‘89 he began playing with The Violet Burning, propelling him into the field of Contemporary Christian music. Within this field is the bulk of his session work, arranging and playing on multiple records for Crystal Lewis, playing for Thousand Foot Krutch and creating his own record, Jesus You are My Life. He has notably worked music labels such as Vineyard Music Group, Maranatha Music Group, and Integrity Music.

In ‘92 he played for Stone Temple Pilots on an episode of MTV Unplugged, followed by a performance with the same group on SNL in ‘93. Shawn would continue session work into the 2000’s, but would notably start touring with country artist Carrie Underwood in 2006, traveling the world and playing shows and stadiums for years. He retired from touring in 2017 and turned his attention toward online gear demo videos on his YouTube channel, shawntubbsmusic; which now boasts a large following of gear nerds and guitar lovers alike.