Unsavory Elements: Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China, the anthology to which I contributed, is finally fully available in the USA via Amazon. It’s a very strong collection, featuring work from some writers with whom you are probably familiar, including Simon Winchester, Susan Conley, Peter Hessler, Deb Fallows, Michael Meyer, Michael Levy, Mark […]
Originally published in Guitar World, January 2011, this story is a bit outdated in terms of how the goldtop is being used… As many readers know, the guitar has been played by many since this was written, including Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks — the latter played it at the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013, reuniting it […]
Anthony DeCurtis, on One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band: “Open this book to any page, start reading, and I dare you to stop. Alan Paul captures all the momentum and energy of the Allman Brothers’ long, wild ride, which continues at a breakneck pace. One Way Out? There’s no way out of […]
KIRKUS REVIEWS, Starred Review One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band Author: Alan Paul “I have viewed everything with the eyes and ears of a journalist but the heart and soul of a fan,” writes Guitar World senior writer Paul (Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming […]
The great bluesman Albert “Iceman” Collins’ final US tour was opening for the Allman Brothers on a Midwestern swing. Every night he would come out and play with the Brothers. On 7/1/93 at Deer Creek in Indiana, he joined them for their version of Willie Dixon’s “The Same Thing.” I think Betts sounds a little […]
Freddie King, September 3, 1934 — December 28, 1976 It’s an appropriate quirk of fate that three of electric blues’ most revered guitarists share the same regal surname: King. But while Albert and B.B. became grand old men of the blues, Freddie King never received such an opportunity, dying of heart failure in 1976 at age […]
I bought Willin’: The Story of Little Feat yesterday and I am really looking forward to reading it. Long live Lowell George. Here’s two Fotos by my friend Kirk West, who also served as an ace photo editor for One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. Check out more of his great work at […]
In honor of the November 19 release of Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013 on Blu-ray and DVD, I present my report from the two-day festival. The story originally appeared in Guitar World. Crossroads DVD is also available from my friends at Hittin The Note. *** Eric Clapton spent a lot of time on stage at his two–night, 10-hour […]
“Robby Krieger of The Doors read One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. This is what he said: “I was struck by the similarities between the Doors and Allman Brothers, especially in our origins — the Eureka moment of certainty amidst a jam. Alan lets the people who were actually there tell the […]