Before Dirty Honey was "California Dreamin'," frontman Marc LaBelle was Europe Dreamin'.
The band took their music to the other side of the Atlantic for the first time in their career earlier this year and, in doing so, realized a lifelong goal for LaBelle.
"That was a big, big deal for me in particular, because it's just something I wanted to do my entire life," LaBelle tells ABC Audio. "I wanted to get over there in a van and just try and make it happen over there at one point in my [Los Angeles] journey."
"That was just an idea, like, 'Let's just move over there for a month, I'll book some shows, let's see if we can't get this thing going,'" he continues. "The goal for me since starting this thing was to go to Europe with my boys and have a good time and tour and play music and do what we love."
In a pleasantly surprising turn of events, the singles "When I'm Gone" and "Rolling 7s" broke big in the U.S., and Dirty Honey achieved success in their home country before they could get to Europe. So when the European tour finally did happen, LaBelle achieved not only his initial dream, but beyond that, too.
"Quite honesty, I got somewhat emotional," LaBell shares. "When I finally got through security and was coming home, I was, like, 'Wow. This is something I've been trying to do my whole life, and I just did it. And now I'm going back to my life as a musician on the road.'"
That life resumes with Dirty Honey's California Dreamin' tour, which continues Friday in Minneapolis. "Rest in Peace" rockers Dorothy will join the bill in September.