Alan received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington State University in 1979. After completing his degree he was an assistant professor of psychology at Emory University.  In 1986 he joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi and is currently professor of psychology and director of clinical training for the clinical psychology graduate program.

Alan has been in love with the guitar and the blues since he was a teen. Like many of his generation he was introduced to the blues as a result of the music of British bands like the Rolling Stones and Cream. It is now his great fortune to be living in Mississippi, where the blues remains a vibrant force in music culture.  For a decade starting in 2002, he regularly gigged with Terry "Harmonica" Bean, a true original bluesman and great performer. This association resulted in gigs with Frank Vick (drummer for Willie Foster, Little Milton, Albert King, and Howlin’ Wolf), Lightnin’ Malcolm, Eric Deaton, Kenny Kimbrough, Calvin Jackson and R. L. Boyce (a mainstay of Otha Turner's Rising Star Fife and Drum Band).  

In 2012, Alan teamed up with renowned blues harp player Adam Gussow and formed the Blues Doctors.  This 2 man band plays a mix of originals, Chicago and Delta blues standards, along with some funk and jazz tunes.  Their album “Roosters Blues” reached #10 on the Living Blues national radio airplay chart.  

Alan recently became interested in incorporating the cigar box guitar into his music and began building CBGs. The wood (red oak, cherry, walnut) used in these guitars comes from Carroll County Mississippi. The logs were rough cut into boards at a local sawmill in Montgomery County Mississippi, and air dried for 8 years in Lafayette County. With the help of noted woodworker Ken Sufka, each guitar neck and bridge are hand crafted.