It is with great sadness that I announce that my longtime friend, Paul Fasulo will be leaving my band effective immediately for health reasons. Paul underwent surgery on August 31st at UC Irvine Medical Center for liver cancer. Paul was diagnosed with cancer just before our United by Music Tour in May, 2011. Paul has been a friend of mine for many years and was my drummer when both Marco Fiume and Kyle Jester played guitar with me back in the day. He is featured on our new CD, Sister Vagabond. He, as always, did a wonderful job.

Paul has been a full time musician for decades, playing on countless records for the JSP label. He has toured and recorded with the Mighty Flyers, Janiva Magness, James Harman, JT Ross, Frank Goldwasser, Jimmy Morello, Kirk Fletcher, Carol Fran and many more outstanding artists and myself. He is a fantastic drummer. Paul is known for his greasy laid back shuffle style of drumming. He is always a great guy to have on your team. He is never boring.

I used to love hearing his elaborate stories in the van. Paul has a rootsy and primitive outlook on life. It’s really hard not to fall for his inventive imagination… hook, line and sinker. Everything he says and does just sounds sincere. After Paul told me a funny story about cheating on his wife 27 times, I wrote the song 27 Times. That tune can be heard on my CD, Whole Lotta Love. He can be abrasive sometimes and even irritating. He has this loud voice and a Bronx sense of humor that can be a bit blunt. Paul, however, has a huge heart and is the kind of guy you can depend on in a pinch. Paul has been sober for over 30 years and was always there for anyone who needed a word of advice about sobriety or how to work the steps in the big book.

Recently divorced from his wife Lydia, Paul is almost entirely alone in this world. His grown son lives in NYC and he has two other children from whom he is estranged. He told me quite calmly that he has been given less than a year to live, but in spite of his cavalier attitude about this, I know he is scared witless. He will undergo surgery and chemo and will be unable to work for a while. He has very few close friends and almost all of his relatives are deceased. Although he has Medi-Cal to pay for the surgery, he will be without income for several months while he is recuperating from the surgery and subsequent chemotherapy. If you can help Paul, myself and a lot of folks in the blues community would appreciate it very much. He is a one of a kind human being and I really love him. I know if you went into your CD collection right now, you would find several tracks he has played on. He has been part of the Southern California blues scene for decades.

Please send checks or money orders to:

Paul Fasulo
PO BOX 4039
Costa Mesa, Ca 92628

You can also use my pay pal account if that is more convenient for you.
My paypal i.d. is candyekanetour@aol.com

Editor's Note: Thanks in advance for your support. I don’t want to live in a world without Paul Fasulo behind the skins.

We encourage you to check out the info on the upcoming benefit for Paul Fasulo in Long Beach: Jumbo Jam