Bio

Paul Cullen and the Unplugged and Uncorked Story


  Inspired by Jazz Artists Pat Metheny and Weather Report and Bassist Jaco Pastorius, Cullen began playing bass at the age of 19. He worked diligently on his new found love, and his long hours of practice eventually paid off, as he spent ten years as a working musician, gigging across the country and playing every kind ofmusic possible. In 1989, a chance meeting with AC/DC members Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams sparked a friendship – and a recommendation that Paul audition for their friends, who just happened to be the band Bad Company. Cullen was hired on the spot, and through the early 90’s toured the world with Bad Company, playing in front of millions of people. For Cullen, it was a dream come true: “The instant respect and accolades I received was amazing,” he remembers, “To get to the point where I was playing in front of 20,000 people every night…it was incredible.”

  When Cullen’s run with Bad Company came to a close in the mid 1990s, he decided to take his career into his own hands. “I began to switch my focus to playing acoustic guitar and began concentrating on singing and writing songs,” remembers Cullen. “I had a vision and I knew it was highly marketable.” This vision centered on his love of wine, a love that had been nurtured during his time with Bad Company. “It was Mick Ralphs who turned me on to red wine - Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhone Valley in France – and it changed my life,” Paul says passionately. “My vision was that instead of conventional distribution of my music through record stores, I would take it to wineries, wine shops, restaurants, and wine-related events where I could both play live and sell CDs.”

Cullen took the vision one step further when he launched his own private wine label, Sonata, which offers three wines: Sonata Bianco, Sonata Rossa, and Sonata Rose. And the release of his CD Dreamdance proved to be the perfect vehicle for sharing the Unplugged and Uncorked message. With hints of Jazz, Latin, Country, Mediterranean, and a twist of pop, it became apparent that Cullen’s unique style was appealing to a wide range of age groups. “I’ve had everyone from their 20’s to their 60’s approach me and passionately convey how much they take pleasure in my music. It’s been even more than what I envisioned.” Eleven Sundays is his latest musical offering, and an extension of Cullen’s distinctive musical style.

  Cullen wasn’t finished with his creation just yet, though. Soon he added a third element to Unplugged and Uncorked: delicious recipes, which were inspired by Cullen’s Italian mother, who had instilled into Cullen a love of cooking throughout his childhood. The recipes are featured regularly in Coastal Style magazine, a publication for which Cullen serves as Food Editor. They can also be found in Cullen’s blog, “Tune Your Palette”, and pop up often in some unexpected places.

  “Just as in wine, with music there are so many varieties out there, you have to separate yourself somehow,” says Cullen. “I figured out how to make it work wonderfully for me.” Fortunately, what he’s discovered happens to work pretty wonderfully for the rest of us, too.