Birth date: Sep 4, 1981 Death date: Apr 14, 2026
We are saddened to share that Paul Gilbert Appelman III passed away on April 14, 2026. The family is still gathering information and will share additional details when they are ready. Paul was a talented musician, known for his sk Read Obituary
Baron Von Swagger on Dickson Street, Fayetteville, AR. Great night and a great show.
This was his first return to music after getting his LVAD.
He felt the most alive while he was playing. His passion engrained in creating wonderful music.
"I thought you already went home," Paul would say when I left my office at 6:30 pm. Fair enough, usually I have by then, but sometimes there's a problem to get stuck on or something you want to finish because you won't be in tomorrow.
Paul would be hanging out in his office, that dark cave of an office, with monitors throwing light and his machine strapped on or nearby. Took me a while to realize what the machine was for.
Sometimes he'd be on the phone, but if he said something, he was usually between calls. He'd pause whatever he was watching and we'd talk about music or movies and just shoot the... breeze. We could really dig in, and I never ever felt like I could keep up my end of the conversation when it came to music.
I did recognize that he had a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, though. I'll miss you, Paul.
Much more than a single day:
I met Paul in the early 2000’s, through Jay Hunt.
Jay had invited me to jam with Him, Ira Strasser & Pauline, in an Originals Project. I was coming off a 4-5 year stretch in Cover Bands, & All I wanted was to be able to focus strictly on Writing, rather than chasing the next Club Gig. 1st night jamming with them, I was blown away by the 3 of them! As we went on, we decided to put together a studio at Jay’s house; the living room was Control, Ira brought the PC & ProTools, We soundproofed a bedroom, put in cubicles - the Whole Nine Yards. And for about a Year, all we did was write & record. Pauline’s cubicle was in my direct eye line, and we had numerous little jokes between us, that were only a glance, a grin, a head tilt, or a laugh, at different points it the song, where we’d be playing to, and off of, only each other. Countless hours of magic that we were capturing to disk - That was the Only time in my career, that I ever got to experience Pure Creativity, with a stellar group of players, and actually be able to go back and listen, and be able to Appreciate it.
Love you, Paulie - You are a Pure Soul, a Great Musician, a Genuine Brother, and a damned good Man.
You are missed
- Mark deVille
