| Right here, right now SHIHAD have been a 'band's band long enough, now they're set to convert the rest of us. By Benedict Watts |
| There is an unmistakeable nervous energy about Jon Toogood as he sits on a black leather couch inside the offices of Warner Music, his band Shihad's new record company. Well actually, 'sits' would be the wrong word. Throughout our interview, he remains poised on the edge of his seat as if ready for a starter's gun to go off and allow him to expel this pent-up energy. Toogood and Shihad have been on the starting blocks before. Over their ten years of exsistence, the New Zealand four-piece have toured tirelessly and released three albums which showed promise (and sold out steadily in New Zealand). But Shihad always failed to bottle their cracker-jack live energy. Along the way, they have also earned a reputatuion as a 'band's band', with virtually every band they have supported on a bill singing their praises and expressing disbelief that Shihad is not one of Australasia's biggest acts. But everything points to it now being Shihad's time. Last year's Magoo produced EP, Blue Light Disco, created a groundswell of interest on this side of the Tasman. The single, ""Wait and See" was flogged heavily on Triple J. The band have also relocated to Melbourne in order to make them more readily available to tour. Then there is the new album, The General Electric, recorded in Canada, with it's blistering lead single "My Mind's Sedate." The latter is already blowing all contenders off the airwaves. "For the first time, I think we've managed to get a bit of fire down on the CD," says Toogood of The General Electric. "We've got no expectations after being in the music industry for ten years, but we know we've made a fucking good record this time." "Yeah, it's an exciting time for us," agrees Shihad bass player karl Kippenberger, who shares Toogood's enthusiasm. "We've been the band that other bands liked for so many years, and now it feels..." "Yeah that seems to be because we put out every fucking night, even if we're just playing to the bar staff somewhere in Europe," Toogood cuts in. "But that's the work ethic of this band." With their crunching hard rock/metal tinged sound no longer placing them out of step with the Zeitgeist of popular music, as it did in the post-grunge days, you might expect Shihad to align themselves with the new metal or punk scenes. But Toogood is quick to disassociate. "OK, let's talk about the state of modern music: Southern Californian punk bands aren't punk bands, they're barber shop quartet with metal guitarists. Wire's a punk band, Joy Division's a punk band." That leads to the obvious question: Are Shihad a punk band? Toogood considers the question carefully before starting his answer. "My Mind's Sedate is a punk song, but I don't think we're a punk band." |