As many of you know, one of the things we at the AU love to do is travel the world and see how our Aussie artists are fairing overseas. Right now, we have a man on the scene at Bonnaroo checking out The Temper Trap, and I myself was in the US and the UK over the past few months seeing dozens of Australian bands along the way. In my journeys I met Tova from New York based publication Ustralian – a website for Australians living in the USA. We’re all for the idea, so we thought we’d share it with you and learn a bit more along the way…
1. For those not in the know, what is Ustralian?
Ustralian is a website dedicated to Aussie life in the USA. We basically cover Aussie news, events, culture and businesses in the States. We also profile Aussies living over here and provide articles with advice on settling in or traveling here – from an Australian perspective. The name itself is obviously a cross between USA and Australia. We pronounce it “you-stralia” and like it that way, but we hear people say “us-tralia” and we like that too.
2. What lead you to set it up?
When I first came to the States in 2007, I was really keen to become part of my new surroundings. As I settled into life here in New York, I felt myself losing touch with what was going on back home, and I noticed that I was missing out on the latest from Australia in music, tv, film and culture. I also noticed there was a lot of Aussie activity over here that I had no idea about. I think that while it’s important to fit into your surroundings, as an expat identifying with each other is such a big part of who we are – so when I couldn’t find anything in one place that gave me the news I needed to know, I thought about making it. I suggested the idea to some Aussie and American friends. Rafe Baron, who’s now our editor, loved the idea and took it on board and we went from there. The idea came about in late November 2011 and we were up and running by January 2012 – just in time for Australia day.
3. What have been the main challenges
The main challenges, I think, are spending the time to keep up to date with what’s happening and also making sure we write, edit and run that stuff regularly (we try to post articles every day). That definitely takes up a chunk of our time which we have to juggle with our jobs and other responsibilities. There’s also trying to be everywhere at once – shows, events and more – especially since there’s already so much happening every day here in New York. But on the positive side, it’s been really fun – we’ve had some great experiences and met some great people already, and we’re still only just over three months old!
4. What has the feedback been like from Australians and non-Australians alike?
We’ve gotten some great feedback from Aussies, especially expats appreciating the stuff that we post. The non-Aussies who have been in touch usually have lived in Australia or have some type of Aussie connection, so they appreciate what we do to keep them in the Aussie loop.
5. What Australian artists have the most buzz over in the US at the moment?
Well, the obvious answer to this is Gotye. ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ just hit number 1 on the charts here, and he just played Coachella and Saturday Night Live and had the song covered on Glee and American Idol. Linked to that is, of course, Kimbra – (is it ok yet that we claim her as being Australian?). I think a lot of her shows have been packed, if not sold out. In different genres, Keith Urban just received the huge country music honour of being inducted into the Grand Ol’ Opry – it’s an institution with some really rich history, so that’s pretty amazing whether or not that’s your type of thing. And Cody Simpson is totally the next Justin Bieber. Not only is he making teens everywhere go crazy, he’s also getting celeb attention of people like Kim Kardashian and Eva Longoria.
6. What do you think has set them apart from the rest?
I think for some of them – like Keith and Cody – they fit very well into their respective genres completely independently of being Australian. Keith Urban makes contemporary country music that the multitude of country music fans in the USA enjoy. Cody Simpson brings American teenagers some foreign charm and Queensland surf culture, but beyond that, his music fits into this decade’s version of young R&B music so very well. I also think Cody has the teen social media market cornered – like Beebs, he was discovered on youtube, and I think that makes a huge difference for artists in that generation.
With Gotye, I think the above is certainly true, but song the itself – and video – also played a huge part in his success. It’s quite different from his other material, and the other songs on the same album. It’s catchy with really wide appeal, but since the video went so viral on youtube, it definitely helped the buzz spread and helped him cross those intercontinental barriers. The skit that played on SNL was proof enough of that – the center of it wasn’t the song, really, it was more the video. Andy Samberg and Taran Killim were naked and covered with paint, and that was the gag pretty much. (I didn’t say it was a particularly good skit.)
7. What advice would you give to Australian artists trying to make their mark in America?
Living here in the USA, we’re really lucky in a lot of ways compared to back home. Gigs are relatively cheap to go to, and you can see pretty much all of your favourite artists, sometimes in smaller, intimate venues than you’d be able to in Australia. But because it’s such a huge market, it’s a double-edged sword. Coming over here and doing as many shows as you can is definitely a huge advantage, especially if you’re on a bill with other bands of the same genre. Getting to festivals like SXSW and the CMJ music marathon are really important, because they’re obviously attended by the cream of the industry crop, but A & R reps here are literally everywhere – independent venues as well as the big ones. So definitely know your booking agents and venues, because just being put on the bill at some venues, even though they may not be glamorous, will make people pay attention to you. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say that publicists and tour managers should make sure that bands get all the blog/website exposure they can. Once a band’s gone back to Australia to do their thing there, it’s the online coverage over here that will resonate far longer and keep the buzz going until the next time they’re back.
8. What 3 artists do you hope will become more popular in the US in the coming year and why?
Bleeding Knees Club blew us away in NYC and at SXSW with their energetic style and garage/surf/rock music, so I really hope they find a wider audience here in the USA. Their song Have Fun is – dare I say it – a really great party anthem. Iggy Azalea is an Australian rapper who’s based in LA, and I think we’ll be hearing big things from her shortly. Finally, I really enjoyed the Voltaire Twins sets I got to catch while they were in the USA in March. I really hope to see more from them soon.
9. What 3 American artists should we all be keeping our eyes and ears open for back home?
MNDR. She’s a French Canadian turned Oakland resident turned Brooklyn dweller who has some funky electro-pop moves and great light shows. I’m pretty sure she’s known in Oz for being the chick from Mark Ronson & The Business Intl, but her solo stuff is worth checking out.
I’m also a fan of Big Freedia, who MC’s in this Hip Hop sub-sub-sub genre known as sissy bounce. She’s from New Orleans and her shows are always full of fun for everyone, and plenty of great dancing which I’d love her to bring to Australia.
Screaming Females are an amazing punk band from New Jersey who are just as intense as the name would suggest. The lead singer, Marissa, has this incredibly powerful voice and plays amazing guitar solos that make everyone jealous.
10. What do you hope the future holds for Ustralian?
We hope to keep focusing on Aussie life as much as possible, and keep meeting amazing Aussies who inspire us to do great things. It’s been a really fantastic experience so far, and we only hope that we get the opportunity to keep improving and keep building up our list of resources for Aussies who want to find their way in this big country.
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Learn even more at http://www.ustralian.com/
