Where I’ve Been
Tbilisi 2022 - I bought this Red Army hat at a flea market from this babushka for 15 Lari
516 days. That’s how long it’s been since I wrote a blog here. To say I’ve thought about writing another one 516 times since then would be an overstatement, but to say I’ve thought about it less than 258 would be an understatement.
I’ve been asked for new music probably 1000+ times since the end of the Romance era, and let me get that out of the way now - yes it’s coming. LA Parties is not dead by any stretch whatsoever.
For those still anxiously awaiting the music, thank you so so much for being here. For those who stopped caring when it became clear I wasn’t explicitly an industry guy anymore, thank you equally as much for not being here.
LA 2021 - Proof that new music is coming
But back to the matter at hand. Several people told me their favorite thing about the whole LA Parties rollout was this blog. And I’ve wanted to update it for so long, but it never felt right - almost like I’ve been afraid of re-opening this can of worms without new music. Though I do want to take a minute to talk about where I’ve been.
Since my last blog, I’ve played an LA Parties show (believe it or not), dealt with the loss of a close family member, watched two of my cousins (brothers) get married, visited 10 countries, spent significant time in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Miami, taken two new jobs, been published in The Daily Beast, The Independent, Newsweek, Wondermind, Schön, AllSides, and UNILAD among others, met hundreds of incredible people, and that’s kinda just scratching the surface. I haven’t been on the stage, or in front of the camera as much, but I can proudly say, I’m still feeling like a rockstar.
LA Parties has been on a little pause, sure, but LA Parties is a derivative of me - and I’ve been on fast forward.
LA 2023 - Playing pickleball in Beverly Hills
In the past year and a half, my mind has expanded so much. I’ve seen lots, learned more, and gained valuable perspective along the way. There’s a world outside being a musician in America, and as it turns out, it’s pretty big.
My world really opened up when in April 2022, after 24 years spent exclusively in North America, I set foot in Budapest. It’s the kind of city you go to for a weekend, and end up staying in for a year (or more). In fact, I believe my friend Umong - the only person I know who’s played gigs in both Wembley Stadium and a Russian hotel room - famously went to Budapest one weekend for Sziget festival, and made it home to London about a month later.
During my first days abroad, I felt a warmth from Eastern Europe that I had never felt in America. And being away from the states, effectively the world’s stage, was a really healthy detox for the brain. Yes, the grass often appears greener, but find me someone who thinks America is a realer and kinder place than countries like Poland, Slovakia, or Hungary, and I will happily find them a good therapist.
London 2022 - Umong and I after a night of pubbing
I was going back, it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.
So in September, I booked a 5-week trip to Budapest, where I had ambitions to see more of Europe. I had concrete plans to go to Poland, and visit the village of my ancestors. Gorel isn’t just a name, it’s an ethnicity - who knew? I also planned to spend a week in Tbilisi, Georgia - a long-desired destination of mine where an American I barely knew was nice enough to invite me to stay at his place (thanks Braden).
Beyond that, I was expecting to spend a lot of time alone in Budapest. Since the US dollar is so strong there, and Wizz Airlines is so clutch, I figured I would fill my time with solo excursions. A three-day stint in Bulgaria, a bus trip to Belgrade, and perhaps even a few days in Italy were on my radar.
Budapest 2022 - One of several epic nights at our favorite ruin bar
After an incredible few days in Poland with my father, who came for the first week of my trip, when I got back to Budapest it was pretty clear I wouldn’t be going off the reservation. I made so many incredible friends so quickly and got swept into such a community of people that I didn’t want to leave. I did go to Georgia for a week - one of the coolest experiences of my life, and an equally stunning place I intend to go back to ASAP - but that only enriched my European experience.
Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Georgia, Armenia… the people I met, the places I saw. Just a few of the situations I found myself in:
Wandering into the backstage of a Sum 41 show looking for someone who speaks English… ✅
Getting on stage to sing for people who didn’t speak English in a 5-star hotel… ✅
Being chased down by police for filming at the Armenian border… ✅
Meeting two girls in a bar at midnight who invite me to a club show at 2 AM, and the performer ends up being an old friend of mine from Los Angeles… ✅
Some of these things that I experienced you’d have to see to believe. So I filmed them.
INTRODUCING: DIRTY AMERICAN
An LAPARTIESWORLD™ production
You may remember during the LA Parties rollout I sometimes made vlogs of the shenanigans we got into on a regular basis. I didn’t know that was something I would do more of at the time, but without further adieu, I want to introduce to you LA Parties’ cool younger brother - Dirty American.
As Americans, we are assholes abroad. The nicest and most obedient of us here, are complete toolsheds compared to the citizens of other countries. The first time I truly internalized this was when I was about 15 years old walking through downtown Ottawa. With not a car in sight, I jaywalked a city intersection, thinking nothing of it. I got halfway across and realized no one on either side had decided to walk, and would wait for the light to tell them they could. It was so jarring I actually giggled.
That feeling persisted as I got older when visiting Canada. About 4 years ago I turned it into a song called “Dirty American” that’s about this alter ego of mine that emerged when I was out of the country.
Ontario, 2022 - Waiting for the train. I couldn’t believe I just paid 22 CADs for a ticket that was basically part of an honor system.
Initially, when the debut single came out, I was planning to launch Dirty American as a podcast alongside it, but I deemed it would be too much work at the time. And it would have been.
So finally, after several years of just being an idea in my head, I am finally bringing Dirty American to life. While I also intend to launch a Substack and podcast as part of the brand sometime soon, for now, we’re gonna get rolling with these vlogs from Europe.
Prepare to laugh your ass off, often at my expense, as I, one of the only people with long hair in Eastern Europe, stumble through various overseas lands in search of perspective, knowledge, and most often, alcohol. If you liked LA Parties even a little bit, you’re not only going to love these videos - I think you’re gonna learn a thing or two about the world as well.
I’m so excited to launch Dirty American, and if it goes well enough, I might even record and release the LA Parties song of the same name too.
Please be sure to subscribe to Dirty American on YouTube, and follow @dirty.american on Instagram as well. There are a lot of videos coming in a short timeframe here, and each one is crazier and funnier than the last. First ones drop tomorrow - buckle up.
I could write so much more about where I’ve been, but for now, you’re just gonna have to see it yourself.
And as always, thanks for being here.
