Breaking into the music industry has never been easy, but apparently it has now grown so onerous that some of our talented aspiring musicians are fleeing to the Third World. A few years ago, twentysomething Milwaukee native Brett Newski, having split from his previous band and desiring a change, booked a one-way ticket to Bangkok with nothing but a guitar and a computer.

“I’ve always been drawn to Asia,” he said. “The people are really friendly, and it’s a nice escape from the rat race and the intensity of the West. The cost of living is so low that I can make a living as a musician full-time there. I’ll never get side swept by a monstrous car bill. The cost to see a doctor is $3.”

After playing everywhere from small bars to rooftops to “porch parties,” Newski finally settled in Saigon, Vietnam.

His band is currently back to tour the home country, which includes a stop near Cincinnati and also in Dayton.

In Vietnam, the country that once fought a brutal and protracted war with the U.S., Newski found himself a bassist and drummer among the expatriate community and formed Brett Newski and the Corruption. They eventually recorded an album called “Tiny Victories” in a small studio amidst a busy marketplace where vendors “chopped up live fish and chickens.”

“It’s the best album I’ve ever been a part of,” Newski said. “I’m lucky to have a band that’s loyal and motivated. Bands crumble all the time because the commitment levels aren’t there or there’s a lack of creative flow. Fortunately, the music community (in Vietnam) is pretty small and the ex-pat community really unites.”

Tiny Victories has a garage alt-rock sound with whimsical, underdog-friendly melodies and lyrics that reflect Newski’s Green Day/Weezer inspirations (with perhaps a little Death Cab for Cutie tossed in) as well as his own adventures throughout the world.

“A lot of the album is about me running amok in Asia,” he said. “Kind of a cliched, soul-searching mission, where you get lost on purpose. But it ended up being really positive.”

Indeed, searching through YouTube or Newski’s own blog, you can learn about his freak side trip to South Africa or his potentially lethal run-in with a hustler while staying in a hostel in the Philippines.

“I make a point going to Third World countries,” he said. “It saves money, and I like viewing the U.S. lifestyle from a distance. Paying for plane tickets is always the kicker. I’ve gotten some free flights by signing up for random credit cards, which is probably not a good idea in the long term.”

Like numberless aspiring musicians before him, Newski has realized that those who succeed are those “who can withstand the beatings the longest without getting discouraged.”

“The financial end is hard, but there are ways to do it,” he said. “If you do your research, if you help out other bands, exchange favors, find a circle of friends where maybe one guy is a good videographer and another guy is a good sound engineer, etc. It becomes possible if you want it bad enough. There are weeks where I’ve worked 70 hours and 50 of it was on administrative stuff and only 20 was on music.”

Once this tour is over, Newski said he’d probably work some odd jobs, save some money and then record the band’s second album in Saigon. For the moment, though, regardless of his contented expatriate status, Newski said it was good to be home.

“There’s no better place (to perform),” he said. “There’s no other place that has the amount of cities, venues and appreciation. It’s still the greatest place in the world. There’s a reason everyone wants to play here.”