FOR more than 20 years Gareth Liddiard has been delivering brutally charismatic performances with The Drones and Tropical F--k Storm, but his upcoming solo tour will be the most vital of his career.
In January Liddiard's partner and Drones and TFS bassist, Fiona Kitschin, began chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
It caused the cancellation of TFS' planned US tour and ruled out live performances in Australia this year.
Kitschin's treatment was initially expected to end in October, but she recently received medical advice to continue chemotherapy until next April.
Unable to afford the growing financial burden alone, Liddiard and Kitschin have launched a GoFundMe page to reach the target of $80,000.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the page had already raised $26,000 without being publicly announced.
Liddiard said Kitschin was responding well to the treatment, but the recent news that the chemotherapy would need to continue was a crushing blow.
"She'd had chemo and radiotherapy and she thought after radiotherapy she'd have to have an operation," Liddiard said.
"But they thought it would be a good idea to keep going with the chemo until April, which is horrible, as she'd thought she'd finished chemo.
"It seems like a really weird way to get sick, chemo, it's like you've just done a shift at Chernobyl."
In order to help finance the growing costs Liddiard is reissuing his acclaimed 13-year-old solo album, Strange Tourist.
The nine-date tour visits Newcastle's King Street Warehouse on November 18.
The ARIA Award-nominated Strange Tourist was released in 2010 at the height of The Drones' popularity, following their Australian Music Prize-winning album Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (2005) and equally-acclaimed successor Gala Mill (2006).
Following the explosive noise-rock of The Drones, the stripped-back acoustic sound of Strange Tourist was welcome departure for Liddiard.
"It was a great thing to get a break from that and do something that I don't come off stage half deaf and completely buggered," he said.
"There was space is the music too. It was nice working with the gaps in the music, that you don't have with The Drones' wall of noise."
Liddiard said he contemplated reforming The Drones - who went on hiatus in 2016 - to raise funds for Kitschin, but said timing was an issue and "we wouldn't want to put on a B-grade show."
The couple also knocked back a charity show performed by their friends.
"If someone put a gig on for us it would feel weird going to that gig and being the centre of attention," he said.
"When you watch Australian or American Idol, everyone's going, 'boo hoo, what a sob story', they love it and everyone is fawning over them.
"I don't feel comfortable with that, and neither does Fi."
Gareth Liddiard plays King Street on November 18 and the GoFundMe page is open for donations.
