About AlanPaul
Alan Paul is the author of the New York Times bestseller One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band and the acclaimed memoir Big in China. He is also a singer and guitarist who fronts the Big in China band and Friends of the Brothers, the premier tribute to the Allman Brothers Band.
Entries by AlanPaul
10 Years Ago the Beijing Olympics started and I was in the middle of them
Wow, it’s been a decade!…. I was in the middle of the Beijing Olympics in a most profound way, writing the Destination Beijing blog for NBC.com. Sadly, the material is all long gone from the site, and I only saved a small amount of my work. Much of it is gone into the digital ether. […]
The night the Allman Brothers shut down the Fillmore East
In honor of the 47th anniversary of the Allman Brothers Band’s epic show that closed the Fillmore East down on June 27, 1971, I present the following brief excerpt from One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. To read the full story and learn about the making of At Fillmore East, pick up […]
Exclusive Premiere: “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” From ABB Peach Picks
You can buy the album here. THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND last week released Peach Picks: Cream of the Crop 2003, a collection of the best performances culled from six shows in July and August 2003. The collection includes 36 tracks recorded between July 25 and August 10, 2003 in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Darien Center, NY, Hartford, Charlotte and Raleigh, with no song […]
Happy Father’s Day. Remembering a wild Great Wall hike with my dad
Almost a decade after moving back from Beijing, I no longer think about my three and a half formative years in China on a daily basis. Repatriation is a long process and now the whole experience has been processed through my system and simply become a part of who I am. Every once in a […]
The story of Texas Flood on the 35th anniversary of its release
Today is the 35th anniversary of the release of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’sTexas Flood. To celebrate, I present the following story of the making of the album. This was written for and originally published in Mojo circa 2001. A new version of the album was released five years ago and holds up really well: Texas […]
Derek Trucks’ first interview as a member of the Allman Brothers – 1999
Derek Trucks made his debut with the Allman Brothers band on June 12, 1999 at Red Rocks. He had just turned 20. To honor the anniversary, I present this Guitar World Inquirer, which ran that month. I’m pretty sure it was the first interview with Derek as a member of the Allman Brothers Band, and […]
RIP Gregg: Gregg Allman Come & Go Blues Story and video
In honor of the one year anniversary of Gregg Allman’s death… A couple of years ago, someone asked me to share a story about him that I had never told before, which got me thinking about this. Felt like a good time to share again. REST IN PEACE GREGG. You are horribly missed. In 1997, […]
The amazing, insane totally true story of Col. Bruce Hampton’s death
A year ago today, May 1, 2017, Col. Bruce Hampton died in the most dramatic possible fashion during his 70th birthday party concert at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta. I wrote the following story for the Wall Street Journal and was pleasantly surprised to watch it be one of the most read and most […]
Duane Betts New EP, available now
Big congrats to my friend Duane Betts on the release of his debut EP Sketches of American Music. You can buy it from Amazon here, or stream it on Spotify here. The collection features five original tunes with echoes of country and blues lacing the roots rock. Great stuff. Proud of Duane. We’ve been buddies since he […]