THIS IS NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST.

Semi-formal dance - circa 2012

I’ve been thinking for quite a while now about what kind of blog post I should start out with. Part of me wanted the first one to be lighthearted, and cool, but something about this just feels right. And I’m writing it on a whim. First off I wanna say, these blog posts are just an outlet for my thoughts, and for anyone who cares enough to read them. Thoughts are meant to be shared. They’re meant to provoke or inspire other thought. I don’t plan on writing things I feel are a waste of your time. In fact, that would be a waste of my time too. These will be unfiltered and raw. I’m an open book, no joke, and that’s how I like it.

Anyways, where I was going with this - LA Parties is not a popularity contest. LA Parties will not be a popularity contest. I will do everything of genuine character and practical approach that I can to make LA Parties accessible, likable, cool, and so on, with the key word being “genuine”. As I write this, I’m having anxiety over a decision I’ve made to start new social media pages, instead of converting my personals to such.

Now to most reading this, that seems like a simple, and minor decision, however in the reality of it, if the stars in my eyes were bigger than my stomach, I would be converting @andygorel to LA Parties pages, because of the notoriety and social weight of some of my followers.

On the Sunset Strip during my A&R days - summer 2018

As some of you know, I used to work in A&R at Atlantic Records. I was an A&R Scout as part of an internship program at the LA office in 2018. One of the first pieces of “data” A&R’s will see is a key followers section where it displays accounts of high popularity that follow the account, and how many followers they have. Through my travels I have made friends with quite a few people who are doing cool shit, and are in the limelight with lots of followers. I am incredibly aware of how much value a lot of people place on who follows who. It’s kind of a joke, but it is a VERY useful networking tool, even just within Instagram or Twitter themselves.

However, I made my own social media pages for LA Parties, that many of you have welcomed with open arms. I’ve sold a ton of merch already. I have so many people who want to help me promote LA Parties right from the drop. It’s mostly just friends of mine, like actual friends; some I’ve met through music, and some I’ve known forever. We are building a community here. It’s small, and real. Anyone following me at this point is genuinely interested in LA Parties, and I really hope it stays that way.

So while I am absolutely putting forth my best effort in order to get LA Parties in the ears of as many as possible, I want you all to know - this is not a popularity contest. It is going to be what I decide it is going to be. It will be super real, and honestly, I think it’s going to be quite fucking cool too.