Someone told me last night at the Nico Vega show
(which BTW was totally badass and they are returning in December for show sponsored by MCB)
"that we were very lucky at MCB"
(which BTW was totally badass and they are returning in December for show sponsored by MCB)
"that we were very lucky at MCB"
My response was
"no we are not lucky - we simply make our own lane"
Here is an instance where we ARE lucky
Which in turn translates into YOU needing luck on your side to win this killer contest
Here is an instance where we ARE lucky
Which in turn translates into YOU needing luck on your side to win this killer contest
Detroit legend on superstar
NIAGARA
has released a new CD with her backup band The Hitmen
put out by Steel Cage Records
What transpires when you pair the most enigmatic and alluring female vocalist of the the Detroit music underground with a band of resolute, hard-bitten street-fighters? What happens when you put them in a packed rock and roll pub, with no holds-barred and a bank of microphones running? “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”—the live album from Niagara and the Hitmen, recorded in Australia on one special night in February 2008—delivers the answer.
Today she’s a well-known artist with a worldwide following, but for most of the 1970s and a good part of the ‘80s, Niagara was the singer for Destroy All Monsters, an amazing collision of art rock and Stooges skronk.
Starting life as an atonal musical experiment by a group of film students with no grounding in rock and roll, DAM developed an altogether different sensibility with the recruitment of guitarist Ron Asheton, late of the Stooges. The band unleashed a succession of singles (allof which are now prized collectors items), toured the Midwestern US, Canada and Europe and carved out a committed audience of fanatics still revelling in the wake of punk rock’s wave and the legacy of it’s forebearers like the Stooges.
Asheton became Niagara’s muse and long-time collaborator, with the pair going on to be the only constants in Dark Carnival’s rotating cast of Michigan punk and underground luminaries.
It was Dark Carnival’s 1991 tour of Australia that sowed the seeds of “Valentine’s Day Massacre”. Supports were the Hitmen, one of the country’s pre-eminent regiments of rock and roll soldiers, featuring Radio Birdman guitarist Chris “Klondike” Masuak and Birdman’s backing vocalist Johnny Kannis.
The Hitmen were a mainstay of the thriving ‘80s Australian scene, impeccably qualified and one of the hardest-working outfits to grace a stage anywhere. Consider their record and some of the people to pass through the ranks: At one early stage, the band contained two ex-Birdmen - and a Saint. One line-up (without Kannis) was borrowed by Rob Younger to become the first live version of the New Christs. They were a launching pad for guitarist Brad Shepherd and drummer Mark Kingsmill to join the Hoodoo Gurus.
They were a perfect match to tour with Dark Carnival and they did so for 43 shows across the length and breadth of Australia.
Fast forward 16 years…
It was 2007, Niagara had long retired from the stage but was back in Australia for an exhibition of her art. Masuak and Kannis had been hatching a plan to re-form the Hitmen. It was an opportunity too good to miss. The re-constituted Hitmen set the scene in a suburban beer barn called The Crest Hotel, in the southern reaches of Sydney, Australia. Their ranks now included Kannis, Masuak, longtime comrade Tony “The Kid” Robertson on bass, ex-Fun Things/Screaming Tribesmen drummer Murray Shepherd and Kannis solo band guitar sideman Tony Jukic. A crack line-up. They played a riotous mini-set, lead vocalist Kannis departed… and Niagara materialised. Now you can hear the result.
“St Valentine’s Day Massacre” is 10 tracks of brutish rock and roll, the kind you don’t hear very often any more. It’s a steel-edged, uncompromising set of Destroy All Monsters and Stooges classics, projected in a way only Niagara can. The set’s capped by a new Hitmen tune (“Another Lost Weekend”) and a lesser-known Radio Birdman song (“Death By The Gun”).
The package features Niagara’s artwork, stunning photos and two videos shot on the night.
Rumor is that there will be a few live shows in Australia early in 2010 so get your tickets to the land of OZ now...
MCB has a fresh of the press copy ready to roll
be the 13th emailer - motorcityblog@earthlink.net
AS AN ADDED "MCB KICKS EVERYONE ELSE MOTHER FUCKING ASS" BONUS
I am including out of my own personal collection a limited edition signed Niagara print personally given to the MCB by the young superstar herself...this is simply because even though we aren't lucky persea we do feel lucky and want to hook your ass up
I think this is an unreleased print because I do not see it on the website
good luck