you can promote indie bands anywhere online. the best place is on a similar but more popular band's message board. there are ezboards for discovering artists, jambands and all sorts of other stuff, but I think the most effective place is at targeted artist's boards. pollstar.com has a lot of indie bands listed, but the best way to find good music in my hometown is to find my favorite local venue and check their calender. Paper indie publications are good too. shows are the best place to find out about any new music because what's promoted is usually similar to the show you came to see. if anyone enjoys reading good music journalism, check out
www.treblezine.com ...late