California, here we come. Right back where we started from.

Four years. That’s how long it has been since we set foot in the U.S. – 4 years!

First stop: The NAMM Show.

NAMM was where we first connected to the music companies that helped us get started before we even became DPA, and this kicked off our first weekend back. We got to jam with our cousin and musical mentor Gregg Bissonette at the Dixon Drums booth, we saw old friends and made some new ones, and we reconnected with the gear companies that have fueled DPA over the past several years that we’ve been on the road.

After NAMM, our roadtrip took us north where we spent the following weeks with our family – our aunties, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews – reconnecting and catching up, sharing stories and food and laughs, and making amazing new memories.

It was the longest we’ve ever been away from the States, and it felt like coming home, which is confusing but we’ve officially lived in Munich longer than any other city in our lives, and these crossroads always make you question what something really means. Are you at home everywhere? or nowhere? Maybe a little of both? Songwriting comes from wrestling with these types of existential questions.

Speaking of the existential – donuts. Can we quickly talk about how American donuts are like no other fried pastry? There are, without question, amazing donut-like foods in Europe – beignets, Krapfen, Berliner, bomboloni, and Borrachuelos. But American donuts are their own special kind of wonderful.

We probably love donuts most because they connect with childhood memories of amazing weekends – sneaking a sugared donut (or three) from Fellowship Hall at church on Sundays, or easy Saturday mornings with donuts and cartoons and dance parties.

So we got to be kids again, and we got to relax. Home is where you can just be you. Hope all of you have the right people and places for that.

We have another roadtrip coming up soon! Any guesses where to?

Love always,
Sarah & Steph
DPA