Going Out On Your Own Terms With JON TOOGOOD From SHIHAD

Interview by Kris Peters
For the better part of three decades New Zealand rock outfit Shihad have ruled the proverbial roost, with albums like The General Electric, Pacifier, and even their most recent offering Old Gods showcasing an unflinching course of rock DNA to satisfy even the harshest of critics.
Songs like My Minds Sedate, Pacifier, Home Again and Tear Down Those Names became the go-to-songs on pub jukeboxes everywhere, but it was in the live domain where Shihad excelled. Frontman Jon Toogood's energy and vibrancy each time the band hit the stage has always been infectious, enabling Shihad to thrive on a variety of levels to a mixed bag of audiences.
Put simply, they deservedly command respect in the same league of bands like AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Grinspoon in the annals of Australian/New Zealand rock history.
But, as inevitably happens to everything, Shihad's time is drawing to an end, choosing to go out on their own merits instead of waiting for the axe of public expectation to fall. With a series of farewell shows planned between Australia and New Zealand before the band's official changing of the guard in their hometown of Wellington on March 15, Toogood sat down with HEAVY to say goodbye.
The Shihad way.
"At the moment people are saying 'these shows must be emotional'," he smiled, "but it's more like, no, these shows are wicked because we've rehearsed hard, and we're playing a lot of stuff that's quite challenging and quite different to what we've played in the past. Obviously we're going to have to play the bangers - which is totally cool because we love those songs and there's reasons why they are bangers - but we're doing deep dives into records that we've never done before. It keeps you on your toes. We're not gonna be phoning these shows in. We have to work, which is great, and I like that."
In the full interview, Jon talks more about the shows and what to expect, the reasons behind calling it a day, the New Zealand shows late last year and how the fans reacted, maintaining energy and enthusiasm for performing as he gets older, playing The General Electric and Pacifier in full at select shows, what he will miss most about being in Shihad and more.

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