Thanks Dead boy, will be ther with bells on.

Yeah, received this today!

The Gods of Mt Olympus have smiled down on Johnny Fukn Kannis! The Rock n Roll
Soldier received some good news during his recent tests in Hospital this week.
His heart condition, although serious, does not require an operation. So, no
Baboon heart for him! The big hearted Zeus is well on his way to recovery, so
stay tuned for a sooner than expected return of the Rock n Roll Soldier. We
just have to keep the Zeus Juice away from him!

Select Music finalised negotiations today for a one off Hitmen performance in
their home Town of Sylvania @ The Crest Hotel on Saturday February 23rd. The
night will also commemorate Chris 'Klondike' Masuak's 50th Birthday. Tickets
will be on Sale from all usual outlets for $22 pre sale and $25 on the night.
Don't miss out!

Punk Rock Diva NIAGARA from Detroit, has confirmed that she will perform half
a dozen songs with The Hitmen on the night! This Pop Art sensation is in
Australia for 2 exclusive Art Exhibitions 16th Feb in Melbourne and 23rd Feb
in Sydney.

More guests and support bands are being confirmed right now!

So, Lenny Flotski, this won't be "Another Lost Weekend" after all, it will be
a "St Valentines Day Massacre"

Johnny would like to thank the hundreds of people who've written in wishing
him well! Your love and support means so much to all of us!

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW FOR A HUGE PARTY!

Muzz, Klondike, Juke and The Kid
oh yeah... and Johnny

"Rock n Roll keeps you ALIVE - In The War Against the JIVE!"

Thanks Dead Boy, keep us informed.

I received from this message from the Barman. ;)

"Zeus got a very good medical report. He's not out of the woods yet but
if he continues to feel better, there's a chance 1-2 Sydney shows with
Niagara will be salvaged."

I was looking forward to the Sydney shows FARK !!! Get well Johnny, wanna see the "Hitman" rock again. Well here is the info from the "Hitmen" Myspace page. Monday, January 14, 2008 JOHNNY IN HOSPITAL - FEBRUARY SHOWS CANCELLED! From the desk of Lenny Flotski… lennyflotski@hotmail.com January of the New Year, 2008. Subject: "HITMEN" FEBRUARY 2008 AUSTRALIAN TOUR WITH NIAGARA POSTPONED What is it with Johnny Kannis, The Hitmen, and near death? We've all had our minor brushes with same. I remember looking up at some big hulking bastard. "What are you looking at?" he says. I was a bit unclear. "I think I just had a heart attack", sez I. That must have been the wrong answer because he commenced to laying into me with what I remember as a rather oversized pair of Doc Martens. But, enough about me. And I only have so much time before the meds kick in. Now, if you were there at the last brace of rivet poppin' Hitmen shows you know (as Niagara says) that these bully boys Don't Dick Around. And Kannis is prone to throwing himself around in the manner of a pit bull with a teddy bear. Normal stuff. But maybe he went a bit too far this time. I dunno. He wouldn't pull back, refused to pull his punches. He Was Warned! It's a huge shock but Kannis has been wounded in battle (again) but this time folks, it's serious. We need some time to get in under the hood and rebuild that sucker. He's laid up in hospital. Tests, more tests. It looks like his heart is a lizard and it's trying to kill him. Dream on. He's determined to beat this latest challenge but that means a minor spanner in the touring schedule. The band hopes you understand and that you will extend to Johnny your best wishes for his recovery. In the meantime the boys are recording a couple of tunes exclusively through the usual electronic media. Embedded with weird ass shit no doubt. You can expect Savage Beat / Shock Records to do their typical bang up job. I had hoped to get out of this bughouse for the European tour. Bugger...it looks like Another Lost Weekend. Lenny Flotski. SHOWS AFFECTED Fri 15th Feb Northcote Social Club, Melbourne Vic Sat 16th Feb Barwon Club, Geelong Vic Fri 22nd Feb Manly Fishos Club, Sydney NSW Sat 23rd Feb The Crest Hotel, Sylvania NSW Stay tuned for progress reports. http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID...

Have you read this gig review? http://www.i94bar.com/gigreviews/hitmen.html And their interview? http://www.i94bar.com/ints/hitmen.html

Saw the "Hitmen" at the Gaelic club in Surry Hills Saturday 15th December, enjoyed the night greatly, Johnny Kannis was on fire. Looking forward to more show's in the future, Great night of Rock n Roll.

Isn't Dead C from New Zealand? they are a bit more "noise" than garage but they have been around for a long time......

The Eastern Dark were a brilliant band from Sydney, cut down in there prime. http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=1175 I can't praise them enough, so go listen to their music. And the name comes from the Phantom comix.

Are they Australian? There is also a band called the Western Dark right?!

Thanks!

And not to hijack the NZ thread but there's a live video of the Eastern Dark on there too, doing Julie is a Junkie.

http://antipodeanunderground.com/blog/ Has some old Flying Nun clips, if anyone is interested

Cool! I'll be sure to catch you this time 'round.

Ms Springolator pretty much said it all! there's Boss Christ as well. New Zealand has a great history of bands and especially Garage stuff. Recently there was a concert of reformed 60's bands playing and it was amazing!
We're coming back to Oz! maybe the U.S soon too...

Can't tell you about any current Kiwi bands but I have always been a big fan of the Gordons and Bailter Space for that almost No wave noise they produce.
Head Like A Hole, The D4 also have spent a bit of time on my turntable. Gimme some time and I reckon a few more bands will spring to mind.

PS I forgot to say that Antipodean Screams Vol 2 (Off the Hip) has nearly all of these bands on the comp, plus a whole swag of Australian goodies.

Great, thanks!

There's definitely some great bands kicking around. Most of them haven't even made it as far as Oz yet, or if they do they come so infrequently that it's easy to miss them, so I've been digging them up on Myspace. Here's a few that I like... Knife Fight
Hories
Bloody Souls
The Tape Men
Stood Up
The Damned Evangelist

Is there a big scene for garage rock and related noise from here? Just curious... I always hear of great bands from Oz, but I wasn't sure about New Zealand.

From Lindsay Hutton's Next Big Thing Blog: The esteemed Antipodean info-portal is now a label and what better way to kick off such a venture than with Chris Masuak’s current outfit. I know that most of you folks of a certain vintage are familiar with this guy’s guitar slinging prowess. However, there may be readers that fell by here by accident so let’s address that possibility. Chris is the Australian Ross The Boss and Scott Kempner sort of rolled into one. His work with The Hitmen (Shock has just reissued two sets to prove it) and Radio Birdman is the stuff of legend. Heck, he was even on the Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom album. We’re not dealing with chopped liver here. Several generations of rock’n’roll kudos are wrapped up in all this. Old and in the way but positively bustling with that trademark stringbending. “Recipe for Disaster” takes place in the good old Four Winds bar. A tale of a bona fide catastrophe. “The Straight Path” is a head-banging example of a man wearing his indulgences well. It might introduce younger folks to these at the same time as it pushes the buttons for those of us who miss those rolls in the thunder. BOC fans will find much to transport them back to their old haunt. Screamin’ dizbuster cocktails all round. The place where this would work most effectively is presumably in a club, louder than hell in a churchlike environment. The surf/metal cut and shut of “Gershwin May Consider” is a prime example of what is and always shall be the holy grail of our raison d'être here at this cyber rag.