Musician and painter Niagara is back on stage touring with iconic 70s Sydney punk band The Hitmen.
Niagara’s association with The Hitmen dates back to 1991 when he band at the time, Dark Carnival featuring the Stooges Ron Asheton, played 41 dates with The Hitmen.In 2007, The Hitmen reformed and played a one-off gig with Niagara in Sydney. More dates followed in 2008 and now they are doing another round.
“I guess we knew Johnny (Kannis) from booking a gig with Dark Carnival in the 90s,” Niagara tells undercover.com.au. “He was a great guy, he put together a beautiful tour. I was with Ronny (Asheton) then and Ronny loved it here. It was our funnest tour we did in the whole world. When he suggested it again I totally trusted him. It was his band. They are brilliant. I am a sucker for a lead guitarist and Chris Masauk, in fact everyone in this band. These guys are so smart. Who knows what will happen live? It might be a mess but that's not the point”.
For Niagara, fronting a band again means juggling two creative careers. She has become one of the world’s most exciting and successful painters. Her original artworks sells for thousands of dollars. She is content juggling her careers. “It is that damn Gemini moon that I have,” she tells Undercover. “My astrologist said I would never do just one thing and I just want to do one thing”.
A decade in the art world made Niagara withdraw from society in some ones. “I have been painting so long and I have been in a band so long but recently I realized that I was in my room for maybe a decade happily painting, it’s snowing, I’m stuck there. It’s all going well. I’m playing music on the radio while I paint but I forgot how to talk to people,” she says. “I haven’t gone out. I love talking to the guys in the band. It is a whole other world. Its what I miss. Then suddenly I decided to come back. Even last year I didn’t want to but it suddenly made sense and I am planning to enjoy it. I normally plan to not enjoy it and get it over fast but I am going to enjoy it”.
Dates for Niagara and The Hitmen are:
April 2, Geelong, National Hotel
April 3, Melbourne, Ding Dong
April 4, Melbourne, East Brunswick Club
April 9, Brisbane, Stepp Inn
April 10, Byron Bay, Great Northern
April 11, Gold Coast, Beer Garden
April 16, Sydney, The Crest, Sylvania
April 17, Sydney, Gaelic Club
