My friend and producer Paul Bryan needs our help

Hello, my name is Aimee Mann.

Like so many people in the Los Angeles area, my longtime producer and bass player Paul Bryan had his home destroyed in the recent fire. He had a studio set up in his house in a small converted garage space, where I have spent countless hours recording with him. I did my last five records here in this little space, populated with bits and pieces of instruments and equipment gathered over the years. He had a little vocal booth area set up in the laundry room, where you had to make sure the spin cycle was finished. Sometimes the dog would bark and ruin a take.

Paul was just finalizing a list of equipment to renew his insurance but hadn’t sent it out yet, and so NOTHING was insured at the time of the fire. The Steinway from the 1800’s that he’d found 30 years ago, that all of my record Mental Illness was played on, all of my last album Queens of the Summer Hotel. The Chamberlain that was almost impossible to find. Vintage basses and guitars, vintage equipment that would now cost a fortune to replace. Because of an extra shitty twist of fate, Paul’s car was in the shop when the evacuation was called, and he was hardly able to rescue anything. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

Let me tell you about Paul. He is most dedicated musician I know, a tireless worker and practicer, someone who will go way out of his way to help you do what you need to do. For him, the show really must go on, and it doesn’t matter what terrible thing has just happened to him, he is going to show up. All he cares about is making what you are doing better. He has gone out of his way for me a thousand times, and so I want to go out of my way for him. I know a lot of people are asking for donations right now, so if you can only give a little, I get it. But the hope that he can one day rebuild and have a place to make music in is worth its weight in gold right now. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Aimee