JP/Ezar P Darnadi

While many Indonesian bands can only dream about performing at major international music festivals, White Shoes & the Couples Company have done so -- twice -- in the space of a few months.

Accolades from respected music websites including All Music Guide and Rollingstone.com led to the Jakarta indie-pop sextet releasing their self-titled debut in the U.S. late 2007 under prestigious Minty Fresh Records. Since then, the band made its maiden voyage to the United States last March to perform at South by Southwest, a music festival in Austin, Texas known as a breeding ground for up-and-coming acts.

In late October, the group returned to the U.S. for an invitational performance at the New York-based CMJ, another music festival known for showcasing fresh talent from around the globe.

However, touring in New York was not without its problems.

The official invitation from CMJ arrived in September, meaning the band had less than a month to raise funds for the journey. To make matters worse, lead guitarist Saleh Husein Machfud ran into visa troubles for the second time. While he encountered problems on the last trip, he was able to hook up with the band eventually, but there was no such luck this time around.

Undaunted, the rest of the band -- singer Aprilia "Sari" Apsari, guitarist Yusmario "Rio" Farabi, bassist Ricky Surya Virgana, keyboardist Aprimela Prawidyanti Virgana and drummer John Navid -- made their way to America for a packed two-week tour.

At New York University, Rio shared the stage with musicians from Brazil, Australia and Canada to swap knowledge and experiences about their respective cultures and music scenes in a panel discussion titled "What's It Like over There?"

Indra Ameng, White Shoes' manager, took part in the Music Manager Forum, where he had the opportunity to interact with international band managers.

For the rest of the tour, the band ha a tight schedule of performances in Manhattan and Brooklyn, where famous Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche was among the crowd.

They also freed up time for several interviews with radio stations in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles for the release of their Skenario Masa Muda EP.

On the flight home they were able to keep track of the U.S. election results, culminating in Barack Obama's victory.

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