Articles

Shihad started off in Wellington, New Zealand and slowly creapt into the Australian market by not leaving us alone.

Through the years they've earned the admiration from the likes of Richard Patrick and Geno Lenardo (Filter), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Kirk Hammet (Metallica), Iggy Pop and Paul Barker from Ministry saying that Killjoy was his number one album around it's time of release.

The Shihad live experience is a blistering performance that should only be experienced to be believed, and I do mean experienced.

The boys, Jon Toogood and Karl Kippenberger, stopped by the Undercover offices to speak with Tim Cashmere on the Big Day Out, Brighton, AC/DC and Bryan from Westlife.

Tim Cashmere> The General Electric. It kicks ass. Great album. When did you guys decide that you were going to turn around and make the most in you face album of all time?
Jon Toogood> It was decided after our last record which had some really good songs on it, but didn't really catch the live intensity that we do. Like you've seen, probably, and we thought that next time around we could try and do that and that's basically it. To get it slamming out of those home stereo speakers as much as you possibily can. You never can make it as live totally, because live you've got a huge stack of PA speakers, but we gotta do our darnest to make it sound like your home stereo is exploding. And that's what we did. It was a conscious decision, for sure.

TC> What's your favourtie track off it?
JT> Bryan from Westlife. What do you reckon?
Karl Kippenberger> I think the surprising track for me that I really love is Pacifier, but I would have to say for the general rock thing, The General Electric, because its what gets me up in the morning and makes sound check worthwhile.
JT> When that riff cuts in you just cant help but move, it feels good.

TC> It's a kick ass video. Who came up with the idea for it?
JT> It was pretty much us. It was like, yeah, we just met with the 50/50 guys from Brisbane who are totally cool guys and we'd just seen some photos of David Lee Roth from Van Halen big era phase standing in front of millions of Marshalls. We wanted to di it with computer animation. We wanted to do it even bigger. So that was the idea. It was like The Matrix with the gun racks. We'll just turn them into Marshalls, so that's what we did.

TC> You've had a lot of kick ass video's and this is probably a question that no-one is going to care about but me, but I remember seeing an interview weith you saying that they're done on quite a small budget, so who's the director?

JT> Okay well for The General Electric video, it was the guys from 50/50, a Brisbane based company. Young guys, pretty inspired, that was a pretty small budget, but the ones before like My Mind's Sedate and Wait and see were done with this guy called Rubin Sutherand, who's a friend of ours from Wellington, New Zealand. We just shot them in his flat with a digital camera, and his art is all the post stuff, putting it into a computer and messing with it frame by frame. That's where the really expensive look comes from but they're done for ridiculous amounts of money. Just totally Arts Council Grants in New Zealand.
KK> Rubin's pretty much a one man show. He does all the D.O.Ping and he goes back and he just does all the computer stuff and it's his baby.
JT> Frame by frame! Digital video, i'm totally sold on that after working with him, for guys like us who aren't...we're musicians goddamnit, we're not actors. I hate being surrounded by a huge crew of people with someone loking at how many feet of sixteen mil film left and the pressures on because you're running out of film. With DV you just shoot whatever you want and you just keep shooting because it's only these little cassettes and that's what we did, he set up a little...he puts a scene up and he's the only crew member and when it's your mate filming it, you're a lot more relaxed anyway, so it's just more fun.

TC> Tell us about the Big Day Out, did you enjoy that?
JT&KK> Hell yeah!
KK> That was great. Well we were bumped up to the main stage and being able in front of lots and lots of people was pretty cool.
JT> Definitately, an unfortunate event turned into a fortunate event for us as far as Frenzal Rhomb pulling out. It was pretty handy for us.

TC> Why exactly did they pull out? All I heard was "sickness".
JT> Yeah well I'm pretty sure Jay's not been looking after himself like he should be basically. and yeah it is a shame. So they're taking a bit of time off, which is a bummer because they've been rocking pretty hard and we just turned it into a good thing for us. We revel at having that many people in front of us, so let's turn 'em all on as much as we can and I love that big stage thing, that arena rock vibe, running from one side to the other. It's so fun you know? It's like being Kiss! It's a lot of people when you look out, it's pretty surreal. No wonder when I get te photo's back from the showd my eyes are closed, I'm freaking out. No, well...it was pretty nerve racking I suppose I was getting really nervous, but the Big Day Out this year, what I really liked about it was the fact that they integrated the local acts with the international acts so well and there were egos, but it was mellow and everyone was cool with each other and totally approachable. Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters, Blink 182, they were all nice people. Everyone was on the same team it was really good. All the local acts were totally awesome. Maybe it's the millennium and everyone is feeling like a happy ship but everyone was loking after each other, it was really good.

TC> Well we'd better be friendly before the world ends.
JT> Yeah maybe that's what it is. It's like the pressure is off now. It's like it didn't end so we should try and be good to each other for a bit.

TC> Only another thousand years to go until...
JT> yeah until the next freak out.

TC> I have a feeling that you already know what my next question is because you've been looking, so you can ask.
KK> Okay, what city had the best crowd?
JT> Well I mean, Australia-wise Sydney was a pretty awesome reaction I've gotta say. But it's unfair because Melbourne was awesome, Adelaide was awesome apart from the fact that it was too hot and Perth the crowd went apeshit. Then Auckland of course which is our home town, well not our home town, but it's home. It's New Zealand. We had a slot which was like six o'clock on the main stage before Foo Fighters and it was like we just aniled it. It was like the big bouncing crowd arena rock deal and that was probably my favourite because of that, we had a whole 48,000 kids there and where Marilyn manson got them to do the big queen thing the year before, we totally got them to do that, it was awesome.

TC> Foo Fighters were talking about you guys on Channel [V]. All they said was that they've got to go on after you so there's a lot of pressure for them to perform well.
JT&KK> [laughing] That's good!
JT> I think they actually played a bit of My Mind's Sedate at the end of the Metro show in Sydney, so that was cool. It was a bit of an honour. He's still the drummer from Nirvana as far as I'm concerned and that's pretty cool. He was in one of the best bands of all time. I love Foo Fighters, but I loved his drumming in Nirvana. He was one of my favourite drummers.

TC> What about the Filter tour, how did you get on to that?
JT> Just the record company.
KK> It's a basic Warners thing. They're a Warners band. We're a Warners band and we're both sort of in the rock genre and that's pretty much it.
JT> it was like "we want to promote this band, and we want to promote you so it's a perfect opportunity to shove you out onto the same tour" which is cool, everyone's getting on pretty well, it's fine.

TC> Well like the other abundance of bandds you've played with, do Filter love you yet?
JT> Yeah, I reckon we're getting on really well. It's good. It's like they watch from the side of the stage and I cna see smiles and heads bobbing, which is always a good sign.

TC> Geno was dragged off from my interview with hime yesterday before I got to ask that question to him, so we don't get to hear his side of the story.
JT&KK> Awwwww

TC> Well we got Dirty Deeds Done Cheap last night. Why'd you pick that song?
JT was it Dirty Deeds?
TC> Yeah it was Dirty Deeds and Thunderstruck in the one riff.
KK> yeah, Phil was doing the tweedle-weedle.
JT> yeah he was doing the tweedle-weedle thing, but I distinctlt remember doing a bit of Shot Down In Flames while you [Karl] were tuning up.
KK> No, we didn't do Dirty Deeds.
TC> I swear it was Dirty Deeds!
KK> It was Shot Down In Flames!
JT> We did Shot Down In Flames, but there was one earlier. Ahhh I can't remember, maybe it was Dirt Deeds. How does that riff go?
TC&KK> DUn...dun dun...dun dun...dun dun!
JT> Oh yeah it was that's right it was the first riff!
KK> [in the background]...DONE DIRT CHEAP!
JT> it's funny because that is the best riff in the song. The starting riff. Dun! Dun dun! Dun dun! Dun dun!

TC> It really bugged me because I had to go home and listen to like every AC/DC album because I couldn't quite pick it!
JT> That's a classic riff, that was awesome.

TC> What about the St Kilda festival, what was that lke?
KK> That was great. We bowled on up, and we'd never been to a St Kilda festival before so all we knew to expect was the fact that they've always had a lot of people come along. But it was sort of a nice slot, we got the Nick Cave with the sun setting behind us. It was a good crowd out there and we live down in East Brighton, but for me St Kilda still gives the community vibe. It's the place for us. We like to go down to the Galleon and have breakfast down there.
JT> It's where we go and have coffee really.The Galleon, good breakfast. Bacon, poached eggs, bratwurst awesome!

TC> You live in East Brighton?
JT> Yeah. We got a fine Brady Bunch 70's house that we just found by chance that was quite cheap and it fits us all in and I really like it there. It's really nice.
KK> It perfect for barbecue's and yeah we got a spa pool there as well.
JT> Then we had all the local bands around the day before the Melbourne Big Day Out. Grinspoon, Jebediah. Who else was there? Magic Dirt!
KK> Magic Dirt didn't turn up!
JT> yeah they rung twice but didn't turn up.
KK> But they're from Geelong, they're bogans!

TC> But aren't they Melbourne now?
JT> Are they?
TC> I don't know...don't take that...
KK> No we're not going to quote you on that.
JT> It's the surrounding area.

TC>You've got a New Zealand tour coming up. Do you find it important to go back to New Zealand and remember that you're still...kiwi's?
KK> Now that we're living here definitely spending less time over there and we're probably going to end up only doing two tours a year in New Zealand. Getting back there this time around we're doing bigger shows that we've ever done before, we're doing all the town halls and main centres, so it's exciting.
JT> It's going to be huge. We're getting big PA's so the sound will be huge. It'll be huge. Huge. That's the most important thing, a big sound.
KK> ...and hopefully a home cooked meal from mum.

TC> Awww. Do you miss your parents?
KK> Yeah you know, but I never wanted to live with them my whole life. Well I did, when I was living with them it was fine, but you gotta leave the coup and spread the word.
JT> ...and they don't like it you know, when you're taking heaps of drugs around the place. hey mum! I'm just going to take some drugs, I'll be home in a minute.

TC> Not that Shihad endorse that kind of activity.
JT> No. That was a joke actually. We are claen living. I tell you with a metabolism like mine, all I need to do is have a cup of expresso coffee and I'm speeding off my tits.
KK> What about your chicken vindaloo?
JT> Exactly! Chicken vindaloo and I'm fully firing up!

TC> Well Karl, here's your part of the interview. Shihad.com. Tell us about it.
KK> Well we really decided that we need some sort of presence on the net and a few years ago we decided that we wanted to do our own artwork after being shafted in Germany with dodgy t-shirts and dodgy posters. So I took on the responsibility of learning PhotoShop and all the geeky stuff, so yeah we got shihad.com and people go and check it out because it's good.

TC> How many hits do you get on it? You can interview yourself!
KK> Well, we had about 5 million hits, that was about 6 months ago, but after the Big Day Out we've probably got another couple of million hits. We're like nine times platinum on hits on our site.
JT> We are the Brian of Westlife of websites asically.
KK> [laughs] Doesn't he look like Leonardo DiCaprio? Don't you think he looks like Leonardo DiCaprio?
JT> Going through the fat period though.
KK> Peanut butter and banana sandwich.

TC> Are there any other boy bands that you guys like?
JT> Tom really loves the Backstreet Boys and I understand where he's coming from. I don't like it, I can't stand it, but he loves it because its huge big pop and he loves big pop. The production is humongous on those records.
KK> It's just catchy and stuff.
JT> They're definitely my favourite out of the boy bands, the songs are.
TC> I think that I have to agree with you there.
JT> Yeah, they're big songs.