Can't Find My Way Home...

In this episode of Can’t Find My Way Home, I spoke with Jenny Apelmo Mattsson. Jenny describes her Expat journey from her native Gothenburg, Sweden to Hamburg, via Berlin. After graduating from music college, Jenny decided that she wanted to try something different and  has now called Germany home for the past 10 years. We talk about how she first got into bass playing and her musical backgro...

Caleb's Top 5 includes name-dropping a few of the famous celebs he's met over the years, being deafened by The Ramones at CBGB's, why Billy Joel is somewhat misunderstood, Bill Burr, Chris Farley, and knowing your type as an actor. We also ask how tall you need to be to play Hamlet. Quite...apparently. I've left this mostly unedited, so you'll hear me butchering the English language in all its glo...

In this episode of Can’t Find My Way Home, I was joined by Caleb Sekeres. Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Caleb has been resident in Gwangju, South Korea for close to a decade. You’ll hear Caleb tell how he made his way from the North-East of the US to Asia, first working as an actor in numerous professional productions, Shakespeare, and the Avant-garde scene in New York City. We talk Br...

I was joined by Trevor Clements and Chris Johnson for Episode 21 of Can't Find My Way Home. We set up a Zoom call between Dortmund and Bandar Seri Begawan, in Brunei and we talked Expat lifestyles and musical adventures. The guys tell us more about this small, South-East Asian country and what it's like to teach there. As is usually the case, there's more to it than meets the eye. On the musical f...

Chris Tharp is an American expat, originally from Seattle, and has been living in Busan, South Korea since 2004.. In this second part of the podcast we chat about his published writing on Medium and for the Asia Times, as well as commissioned work for National Geographic and his 2 books - Dispatches from the peninsula and The Worst Motorcycle in Laos. Chris also gives us a glimpse of travelling in...

In this episode of the podcast, I was joined by Chris Tharp. Chris is an American expat, originally from Seattle, and has been living in Busan, South Korea since 2004 We talk about what brought him to South Korea, his past life as a revolutionary theatre artist, and the adventures of starting out in a new country - from scratch. Moving to another continent to live and work, we hear how Chris was e...

On the first episode back after our summer break, I was joined by Justin Jardine. Justin talks us through his expat journey from Wisconsin to Hamburg...via Freiburg and Vienna...and we also dig deep into his musical exploits along the way. Discovering guitars and distortion at an early age, Justin really got into the thriving punk scene at home. We talk DIY, Under-The-Radar, and Pop-up gigs and Ju...

In this episode of Can’t Find My Way Home, I spoke with Zahra Jaan from her home in London. Zahra takes us through her Expat journey of several years living and working in Seoul, South Korea, on to  graduating with an MA in Sustainable Textile Design, and then working as a licenced designer for Disney and Warner Bros in London. We get into Zahra’s new business ‘JaanSmithStudio’ and how mother...

I was joined by Derek Hannon and we talk about his expat journey from Galway, Ireland,  to South Korea - via Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Derek tells of how he landed in Kwangju, South Korea, without knowing much about the country...and the ominous task of teaching several hundred Kindergarten students that lay ahead, in the early days. Derek explains how he got into the bar business a...

In part 2 of the podcast with Tommy Reynolds, we get into how musical experiences can really change your outlook on life as well as the realization that playing music is more than just feeding your own ego. Tommy name checks the bands and projects he played with during his time in South Korea...and a who’s who of some of the good dudes he met along the way. There’s capers at the Haebangchon Music...

In this episode of Can’t Find My Way Home, I spoke with Tommy Reynolds, an American expat, now residing in Guangzhou, China. We get into Tommy’s expat journey that took him from Boston, to South Korea, Thailand, and now onto China. As well as an honest recollection of dropping out of music school and everything that followed, Tommy and I wax lyrical about the magical voice of Sam Cook, opening up...

In this preview of a forthcoming episode, Tommy describes how singing in a couple of bands in Seoul, South Korea, really changed the way he looked at music.  It was while he was fronting The Spiritual Hustlers, a Grateful Dead tribute band, and Short Bus, a funk and soul, multi-national ensemble, that Tommy realized that it wasn't so much what the bands could do for him, but definitely more w...

In this episode of Can’t Find My Way Home, I was joined by Dimitri, all the way from Athens, Greece. We get into his musical roots, the joys of learning an instrument, why Norwegian Black Metal is so appealing, and the genius of John Frusciante. There’s also discussion of Americana, good Country Music, with a bit of Bluegrass thrown in for good measure. Finally, we get into Slipknot and their vari...

In this second part of the interview with Andy Knowlton, we chat about Andy’s Viva la Vida project, which he undertook in Seoul, South Korea. We discover how Andy brightened up a rather dreary and unimaginative 100 metre wall in his local neighborhood, as well as discovering how trash is turned into art. There’s a Top 5 featuring Tommy James and The Shandells, Street Art and the Andong Mask Museum...

In this episode of the Can't Find My Way Home podcast, I spoke with American expat, Andy Knowlton. In this first of a two-parter, Andy and I explore how he landed in Korea and his early expat life in France. There's talk of 'Street Poetry' and 'Guerilla Art'  and how Andy eventually wanted to bring those words and poems into a visual format. Among the plethora of artistic projects and challen...

Jim and Kevin joined me to talk about their musical expat journey from England and Northern Ireland to Seoul and Barcelona. We get into how they started playing music, real guitar heroes, memorable first gigs, and the contrast in playing live in the UK and South Korea. There's more about their on-going, global musical project U R SEOUL, the ten-year EP anniversary, and a look at their current musi...

In this episode, the  second of a two-parter, I spoke with Jason Boyd, an American expat, who’s now living, working, and making music in Guangzhou, China. Jason and I get into his expat journey and how it’s taken him to Honduras, Croatia and now, on to China. We chat about the unique and strange opportunities that come your way while living as an expat.  On the music front, we discover w...

In this episode, the first of a two-parter, I spoke with Jason Boyd, an American expat, who’s now living, working, and making music in Guangzhou, China. Jason and I get into his expat journey and how it’s taken him to Honduras, Croatia and now, on to China. On the music front, Jason describes how he started out in Washington State as a teenager and playing the bars and clubs of Seattle. We explore...

In Episode 7 of the Can't Find My Way Home podcast, I caught up Tom Daly. Tom's an American expat who has called South Korea home for the past 25 years or so. We get into Tom's influences, musical tastes and inspirations  that led him to front numerous bands over the years. We also cover some of the challenges of playing with local musicians as well as the changes in the live music scene in S...

In Episode 6, I spoke with 2 guests from Seoul, South Korea. about the 'A City of Han' project. Sollee Bae is the editor of 'A City of Han', as well as the founder and organizer of 'Fiction Writers in Seoul'. Joining Sollee, was Ron Bandun, one of the contributing authors to the project. Ron also writes a column for the Korea Times. A City of Han is a collection of short stories inspired by Seoul...

In Episode 5 of The Can't Find My Way Home podcast, I was joined by Jonas Künne. A couple of firsts! My first face-to-face recording (in the salubrious surroundings of my kitchen) and also my first German guest. In his career to date, Jonas has featured as the frontman/guitarist of the band Black Rust, as well as a prominent solo artist. His second solo album “Between The Bars And Blinding Lights”...

Can't Find My Way Home is a podcast where Expats from around the world talk about the music and arts scene in their new home.  In episode 4, I talk to Brian Aylward, a Canadian expat who now calls Bangkok home.  Brian has been a Comedian for 15 years, performing more than 3000 shows in 24 countries.  Based on a bet made back in 2005, Newfoundland native Brian Aylward stepped on stag...

Nick and I talk about his Garbage Art Seoul project. How it all came about, the creative process and the seemingly never-ending problem of recycling and what to do with it. We also go into detail on his recent exhibition in Seoul, the move-away from over-reliance on social media, into something more concrete. There's also our Top 5 at the end of the recording...with a bit of a twist.   Garbag...

Mark Will is a writer and musician in permanent exile. Currently based on the island of Taiwan, he is the editor-in-chief of Cadmus & Harmony Media. His most recent book is the story collection Jigs & Tales of Bawdry . Will is also the director of the Taipei-based musical collective [ai], whose album Carmina Formosa Deluxe is scheduled for release in March of 2020. Songs featured with perm...

In this episode of Can't Find My Way Home, I was joined by David Tizzard. David Tizzard came to South Korea in 2005, 15 years ago. Professionally he works at universities teaching politics, history, and Korean studies. He has a masters in Asian Studies and is finishing up a PhD in Korean Studies. He has made frequent appearances in the media, including hosting his own radio show, writing a weekly...