A DATE WITH KATE

Tonight, I am going to check out an Australian artist who's been creating buzz here in the US. Her name is Kate Miller-Heidke.

Kate is one of Australia's most beloved pop artists, a multiple ARIA nominee, and is a phenomenal, compelling singer/songwriter. This is her first tour in the USA.

You can listen to her winning song at http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.htm and find out more information about Kate Miller-Heidke at http://www.myspace.com/katemillerheidke.

You know I'm in love with the Aussies, so I'm super excited to have been invited to see Kate tonight. I will have a review after the show!

I'M BACK!

Hooray....I made it back from the land of Oz. Gosh, I don't even know where to begin and how to explain my time in Australia. I must say this was such a fantastic trip, and I'm truly amazed at how beautiful Sydney is. I had such a blast and met such amazing people over the week, people that I'll never forget and that will hopefully remain a part of my life. I wish I could pick up my computer and move, but I can't and now it's time to get back to reality.

The first couple of days were basically spent getting acclimated to the time change and my surroundings. A ton to see, hear, eat, see... I was on sensory overload! I spent most of the time in Australia reflecting on my life. I think when you leave the craziness of your life behind, it's definitely an eye opener and a perfect time to reflect. I am truly blessed and so grateful for the people in my life and the opportunities I have been given. It's so easy to get caught up in the superficial aspects of life and forget why we are really here. I know I have certainly taken things for granite and live life with blinders on. It's just nice to be able to get a clear vision of your life and have the opportunity everyday to make the necessary adjustments.

Australia was just fantastic! I met great people, did a lot of sightseeing, experienced a lot of unique things, and of course heard some great music! One thing I love about Sydney was the style. People of Sydney have amazing style!! Everyone looks so put together and styled in their own unique ways. I was obsessed! I wanna have style like they do in Australia.

I wasn't able to catch any shows; however, I was invited to see the Basement Jaxx one night, but just didnt have enough time to fit the show in. Australia has some great music! I'm really excited to hear more from the land down under. I will talk in detail in an upcoming post about one particular artist that I was mad crazy over. Stay tuned to find out!

I had a great time and I will definitely go back, but there is no place like home...

P.S. Shout out to Cory for the awesome work he did on musicbleep while I was gone! Wasn't he fantastic?

I'M BLOODY THE HELL OUT OF HERE!

ONE MORE DAY PEEPS!! Tomorrow is my long awaited departure from L.A. to Sydney, Australia! I am going to try and report back now and again about my adventures, but it gonna be scarce. I don't plan on having much free time to blog, which is why I'm leaving the next few weeks with someone we don't hear too much from. There will still continue to be post, but they won't be coming from me. My photographer and sometimes musicbleep writer, Cory Radke will be taking over musicbleep while I'm gone. He will continue to bring you daily news, reviews, updates and more! This is his time to shine!

I'm signing off...G'day Mates! See ya when I get back!!

GABRIELLA HITS HOLLYWOOD

VIMBY - Gabriella Cilmi Trailer

Aussie week continues with a sneak preview to a piece that Vimby.com produced while Australian sweetie, Gabriella Cilmi was in Los Angeles. Also, she has a new eCard with some behind the scenes video and a few new songs. Check it out below!

e-card: http://assets.umrg.com/widget/gabriellacilmi/lessons/

AUSSIE WEEK

I have 1 week until I leave L.A. and head down under. I'm super excited, but I'm freaking out about the 14 hour flight. It's hard enough to take a 5 hour flight back to the Midwest each year for x-mas, so it's hard for me to even imagine sitting on a plane for 14 hours. I'll I can say is that Simply Sleep or an Ambien will be my new best friend.

Like I told you before, I have been researching the music scene in Australia. This is my latest find, and it features the guy from The City. The City is that reality show spinoff of The Hills with Whitney Port.

Everything to Me


NEW YORK – Stepping from the sandy beaches of their native Sydney, Australia onto the hard but promising streets of New York City – under the very watchful eye of MTV – Universal Motown folk-rockers TAMARAMA are making a major multi-media entry into American consciousness as one of early 2009’s unmistakable breakout discoveries.

The release of the first TAMARAMA EP, WONDERLAND CITY, comes as the duo (Jay Lyon, Nicolas “Pottsy” Potts) play prominent recurring roles as themselves in the new MTV series THE CITY. Jay is in particular focus as the new love interest of series co-star Whitney Port, but the band itself will be integrated into the plot arcs of the show, as will its music and live performances. Already, print and broadcast media have responded to the juicy celebrity aura of the new series and its cast members: three episodes in, the show’s website has drawn an instant seven-figure hit total.

TAMARAMA’s warm vocal blend and spare but gorgeous acoustic arrangements instantly establish the band’s sonic signature, a relaxed and enveloping mix fusing American west coast folk-rock; the transatlantic singer-songwriter tradition that includes Paul Simon and Donovan; the softer side of Bob Marley; and the new acoustic style of Jack Johnson.

WONDERLAND CITY was released digitally on iTunes in late December to coincide with the series debut of THE CITY, and released to physical retail January 13, 2009. The band is currently finalizing a U.S. west coast tour. Aside from streams of four of the EP tracks, the band’s MySpace.com page also includes the reggae “Illusions” and two videos, the EP track “Everything to Me,” directed by Pottsy’s father, and “Middle of a Magazine.”

THE CITY debuted December 29, 2008 on MTV as a spin-off of The Hills (the No. 1-rated cable program among age12-34 viewers), and runs through April, 2009. Tamarama was featured in later episodes of The Hills and signed to continue in THE CITY. The second season of THE CITY begins shooting in April, 2009.

http://www.tamaramamusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tamaramamusic
http://remotecontrol.mtv.com/2008/12/16/video-see-why-rocker-jay-won-over-whitney-ps-hes-got-hot-friends/
http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2009/01/05/the-buzz-on-tamarama-whitney-ports-boyfriend-jays-band/
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/53152/

AUSTRALIA HERE I COME!!

I have just 12 more days until my big adventure down under - I'm FREAKING OUT! I have even been getting familiar with the Australian music scene in hopes I get a taste of it when I'm there. And so far I'm liking what Oz has to offer in regards to music. Empire Of The Sun is my latest obsession, and their song "Walking On A Dream" is FAN-EFFING-TASTIC!

YOU MUST listen to this song!!



EMPIRE OF THE SUN TO RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM
WALKING ON A DREAM ON ASTRALWERKS ON APRIL 21, 2009

"World domination quite literally awaits" - NME

Empire Of The Sun - an electro- psychedelic project led by Luke Steele, the enigmatic wunderkind behind Australia's The Sleepy Jackson and Pnau's Nick Littlemore, will release their debut album Walking On A Dream on April 21, 2009 on Astralwerks.

Exotic, lavish, larger-than-life, Empire Of The Sun brings together these two unlikely collaborators from Australian pop. Their friendship which Luke describes as "this fireball of electricity", eventually resulted in Walking On A Dream - a bold, visionary and brilliant album, which manages to sound exhilaratingly contemporary, audaciously forward-looking, yet also curiously archaic all at once. From Nick and Luke's collective unconscious arose a rare marriage of rock and electronica, immediacy and depth, futurism and tradition, hi-tech production and creative spontaneity, pop melody and the cinematic.

Walking On A Dream album and debut single of same name have both already achieved Top 10 status in the band's native Australia and are well on the way to Platinum. Empire Of The Sun has been widely tipped as one of the acts to watch in 2009 by BBC radio and the UK press. They have also received over 5.5 million hits on Myspace for the "Walking On A Dream" video and track and over 1.2 million YouTube views for "Walking On A Dream" video. You can check out the video which was filmed in Shanghai here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zmM2RwlxGt0

"Song of the year and it's still only January... "Walking on a Dream" has staked it's claim to that accolade for 2009, setting the bar extremely high for future songs to come..."- Clash

"Ladies and gentlemen we already have a contender for 2009 album of the year"- Guardian

"Already being talked up as one of the albums of the year…" Evening Standard

"4 Stars" - Q

http://www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound OR http://www.walkingonadream.com/

THE LAND OF OZ

In just under a month I am taking one of the biggest trip I have taken in my life. I have been wanting to visit Australia for years, and I finally just went ahead and planned a trip. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing, cuz I found such an amazing deal. There were all these signs, including this AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL commercial, so I was just like EFF it! I booked my trip and I head out on Feb. 28th and return on March 10th. I AM FREAKING OUT!! I will have lots of photos and stories to tell when I get back.

www.australia.com