The life of an expat

Spreading the word about music is an important aspect of being an Aussie in America. You Am I are well received - always the first band I tell people about. Others include Something For Kate and Jebediah.

In the US, Missy Higgins and John Butler Trio are getting good airplay, and when the new Wolfmother cd comes out, I expect that will be popular here too.

Another aspect is hearing new music... unfortunately I achieve this mostly by trusting the US site pitchforkmedia.com as i don't listen to the radio.

But the true challenge is keeping up with new Aussie music. Most new stuff I got into back home was found at gigs. So it's frustrating. There are a few Aussie bands touring - in fact this Thursday night I'll be seeing the John Butler Trio in DC. EXciting stuff indeed.

So how do I keep track of new music? There is a sad dearth of good alternative music news in Australia - we need a pitchforkmedia equivalent actually - but I don't have the time to do it! Not the internet experties.

I listen to JJJ steraming twice a week, which helps me keep track of some new music. I also check out the websites of my favourite bands for new releases... but clearly this doesnt generate 'new' music finds for me. It's really hard to do - in fact most new stuff comes from emails from friends raving about a band.