His career spans four decades and in that time he has worked as a solo artist and with bands such as Chris Gaffney and The Cold Hard Facts and Dave Alvin's Guilty Men.
Shea was born in Annapolis, Maryland to a military family and lived in several eastern states before moving to San Bernardino, California at age eleven.
Shea draws inspiration from the folk, country, blues, and rock genres and has been compared to Tom Russell, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Chuck Pyle among others.
In 1992, Shea was included in the Town South of Bakersfield series of albums that featured Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, and Rosie Flores among others.
He is revered as a master Telecaster player, and performs regularly in Southern California with his group, consisting of sidemen David Hallgrimson on bass, noted percussionist Steve Mugalian., and session whiz Stephen Patt.