March 12, 2025 • 11 mins
Jon Toogood is perhaps one of Wellington’s best musical exports.
His musical career started at Wellington High School when he met Tom Larkin and the pair went on to form chart-topping New Zealand rock band Shihad.
The band returns to Wellington this week for their final ever performance, fittingly at Homegrown festival, which will be held in Wellington for the last time.
Toogood joined Nick Mills to discuss Shihad's legacy and what fans can expect at their final ever performance before they split.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
He'd be good morning that how are you.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
I'm great. I mean coming back to Wellington this week
for your final gig, I mean there's got to be
some emotion there, doesn't.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
It without a doubt. But I think what we're doing
is we're just enjoying each show and being in the moment.
I'm sure Wellington is going to be extremely emotional, not
just because it's our last gig, but because of the
fact that there's people that won't be there that would
(00:44):
have always been there in the past, like my parents
who are now gone, and Tom's parents who are now gone,
and Carl's dad who's now gone. So it's going to
be that's going to be emotional, for sure. But I
think all the shows we've done so far, we're playing
two hours a night, the biggest shows we've actually ever played,
(01:06):
and all we're concerned about is how do we make
this show as good as it possibly can be. So
we go on play two hours, then afterwards we debrief,
we go through what worked, what didn't. It's extremely We've
got a very I don't know, but we're determined to
make sure that we leave the legacy on as high
(01:29):
as we can. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, any discussions during this last tour about look at
each other and just chatting a go, does it really
need to end?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You know what? I know We're not. We're literally going
what can we do tonight that we haven't played in,
say Melbourne or Brisbane, that we can play in christ
Church to make sure that the fans go, Wow, I
saw something unique and so not thinking that far ahead.
All I'm thinking as far as the future goes for me,
(02:00):
I just want to be home with my children for
a little bit, you know, Like I personally, I would
be quite happy never to see the inside of an
airport again. I've been traveling a whole adult life, and
I think COVID came along and we were forced to
not work for the first time and what thirty thirty
(02:22):
plus years, and all of a sudden, I was like, Oh,
there's my children in front of me. I've been working
so hard to provide for them that I'm totally missing them,
you know. So I just made the decision around that
time to just spend as much time with my family
as possible. So that's what I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Are you still based in Melbourne?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
No? No, I live in TOMMACKI Makoto. We live in Avondale.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Wow. One not Wellington one.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Wellington, well living in Malvine. Yeah, well Melbourne's like what
four and a half. Well, Melbourne's the population of New
Zealand and one city. So I was quite used to
that anonymity. But also the the the music industries here,
I mean, you know, the entertainment industries in Auckland. So
we just I mean, I love I love coming home
(03:14):
to Wellington, Don't get me wrong, I love it, and
but I just for me and the family, it works good.
My wife's got actual, you know, relatives that live out
East and East Auckland, and so yeah, now my parents
are both gone. You know, I have I have nieces
and nephews that live down there, but I don't really
(03:36):
have a home base there anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Why why if there was one reason why you're breaking up?
And I get the family thing, and I understand that totally,
and I understand I come from a family of entertainer,
so I understand that whole whole thing. But if you
took that out of it, why, I mean, you could
scale it back down. You could do five concerts a
year or seven concerts a year. What was the reason
why you're actually breaking up?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I think I think were It was always front and center.
It always came first in everybody's lives. From when we
were eighteen years old, not actually even younger, when we
were sixteen at Wellington High School, it was always like,
this is the number one thing. Yes, I've got other
(04:21):
people in my life, but they were always coming second,
you know, like they're always coming second to this dream
that me and Tom came up with when we were
little kids in Wellington High School music room. And I
just priorities changed, you know, like I've just it's now
time for me in my life to put my family first.
(04:44):
So I just that's the call I've made, and I
think everyone sort of call with that as well. And
don't get me wrong, I love being on stage with
these guys so much fun, but all decisions in my
personal life had to always be based around what was
best for the band, and I just need to have
(05:06):
a bit of space from that.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
What do you reckon that your legacy will be as
a band? What do you think you know? I mean,
if we look back at bands from yester year and
we think about them and we go, oh, remember them
and remember that. What do you think she has? Legacy
would be.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Well, I mean we've made our name on being a
pretty good live band, you know, like I think that
was always the number one thing for us. We supported
ac DC at you know, an athletic Park on the
Razor's Edge tour when we were just kids pretty much,
and we watched those guys work for three and a
half hours and went right, We thought we were a
(05:42):
good band, but we are not putting anywhere near enough
effort to to you know, do a show like ac
DC does. So basically we just spent our whole career
going how do you get tight like you know, like
an international band? How do you sound like that? And
we just went on that journey and I think, I
(06:03):
think that the legacy for me will be you know,
that that feeling of elation that people get from a
good live show of not having to worry about your
worries for an hour and a half or two hours,
feeling that humans can do something good, you know, so
and do it together. That's a real communal vibe. Song wise,
(06:26):
I mean, obviously home Again's got to be one of
those songs that people bring up and which is great.
I take that as a real compliment because yeah, it's
cool that people have that as part of their sort
of you know, cultural landscape. Yeah, but I personally, I
(06:47):
think it's it's more to do with the fact that
if you came and saw us on a good night,
we'd be pretty hard man to follow. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Yeah, Homegrown last gig this week? Was it planned? Was
it all planned that you're going to play your final
in Wellington and home Grown I mean Homegrowns? I mean
we both lived in Wellington and know Wellrington. Homegrowns as
big as it gets, isn't it for life gigs? So
to finish your last gig as you know, one of
(07:19):
the great bands of New Zealand at your hometown. Was
that planned?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah? I think we did base it on that. I
mean we were asked to play home Grown quite a
few like a while back, and we thought, well, it's
we're going to do this. It'd be good to end
up where we started. You know, this is where we
wrote all the first two, three, three albums you know,
(07:45):
of our career in Wellington and and they you know,
the actual city itself and the culture, you know, the
culture there had a massive impact on why they those
records sound like they do. So yeah, I mean we
it made sense to end up where we started. You know,
it just makes sense now.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
We're both we're both reasonably connected in the rock and
roll world. Where are you hearing that? Do you know
where homegoing? Groans going? What are you hearing?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
I have absolute no idea, mate, Like I mean, outside
of Seathart, I spent my time making school lunches from school,
making dinner, going shopping, doing laundry. That's my life.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Okay, let me tell you where I'm hearing. Let me
tell you where I'm hearing through through my sources, and
it's not official, and I don't want listeners to say,
you know, and I am saying that's what I'm hearing.
I was out at the Hot Sounds on the weekend
listening to some live stuff and someone from there told
me that it's going to Hamilton. There you go, so
it's not too far from you. You might be able
(08:49):
to do a solo GIF there. What's next for you personally?
I know that you've done Last of the Lonely Gods,
your first solo album, which sounds amazing. You be rapped
with that what's next for you? Are you going to
are you going to be John too good? Are you
just going to keep going as yourself?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
I mean, you couldn't drag me off the guitar. I
mean I spend an hour a day still with my guitar,
So yeah, I write constantly what form it's going to
be next time around? I'm not one hundred percent sure.
The first My first priority though, straight out of finishing
this tour is Leeds, grabbing my family and going on
(09:28):
holiday because I haven't had one for a while. So
that's literally what we're doing. And then when I get back,
I'll make it up from here.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Okay, a couple of real quick questions for me personally personally,
your favorite all time X your favorite guitar that you
cannot ever see yourself not playing.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Okay, So from an acoustic perspective, Martin D eighteen absolutely
the best sounding guitar on the planet for me. I mean,
that's what Elvis hughes, that's what Dylan news, that's what
you know. Everyone used it, and that's why it sounds
like those records when from your childhood an electric guitar,
probably a fifty two standard blonde telling just because the
(10:13):
telecaster is telecasters. It's like how a border Collie is
a dog, the telecast is a guitar.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Oh my god, yes, I agree with you, pre CBS telecast. Wow,
imagine that that's an X. That's an ex Absolutely break
a leg on the weekend. Very sad to be having
to do this, I've actually got I'm actually quite emotional
talking about the breakup as she are because for the
past i don't know thirty years have been such a
(10:42):
piece of Wellington that we're all so so proud of
and we all feel like we all own you in Wellington.
So for us as Wellingtonian's, we're sad to see it
to the breakup of the marriage. But I'll guarantee, I'll
absolutely guarantee live here that it won't be the last
time we hear as she have. They'll do something somewhere.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
We know that it's going to be a joyous occasion.
Trust me. These shows have been some of the best
shows I think we've ever played, so it'll be it'll
be special, you.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Know, enjoy it and one word thank you, two words
is okay, thank you for everything that you and your
your your mates and your band and time have done
for New Zealand and the world.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Our Pleasure, Our Pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd Be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
He'd be good morning that how are you.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
I'm great. I mean coming back to Wellington this week
for your final gig, I mean there's got to be
some emotion there, doesn't.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
It without a doubt. But I think what we're doing
is we're just enjoying each show and being in the moment.
I'm sure Wellington is going to be extremely emotional, not
just because it's our last gig, but because of the
fact that there's people that won't be there that would
(00:44):
have always been there in the past, like my parents
who are now gone, and Tom's parents who are now gone,
and Carl's dad who's now gone. So it's going to
be that's going to be emotional, for sure. But I
think all the shows we've done so far, we're playing
two hours a night, the biggest shows we've actually ever played,
(01:06):
and all we're concerned about is how do we make
this show as good as it possibly can be. So
we go on play two hours, then afterwards we debrief,
we go through what worked, what didn't. It's extremely We've
got a very I don't know, but we're determined to
make sure that we leave the legacy on as high
(01:29):
as we can. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yeah, any discussions during this last tour about look at
each other and just chatting a go, does it really
need to end?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You know what? I know We're not. We're literally going
what can we do tonight that we haven't played in,
say Melbourne or Brisbane, that we can play in christ
Church to make sure that the fans go, Wow, I
saw something unique and so not thinking that far ahead.
All I'm thinking as far as the future goes for me,
(02:00):
I just want to be home with my children for
a little bit, you know, Like I personally, I would
be quite happy never to see the inside of an
airport again. I've been traveling a whole adult life, and
I think COVID came along and we were forced to
not work for the first time and what thirty thirty
(02:22):
plus years, and all of a sudden, I was like, Oh,
there's my children in front of me. I've been working
so hard to provide for them that I'm totally missing them,
you know. So I just made the decision around that
time to just spend as much time with my family
as possible. So that's what I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Are you still based in Melbourne?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
No? No, I live in TOMMACKI Makoto. We live in Avondale.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Wow. One not Wellington one.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Wellington, well living in Malvine. Yeah, well Melbourne's like what
four and a half. Well, Melbourne's the population of New
Zealand and one city. So I was quite used to
that anonymity. But also the the the music industries here,
I mean, you know, the entertainment industries in Auckland. So
we just I mean, I love I love coming home
(03:14):
to Wellington, Don't get me wrong, I love it, and
but I just for me and the family, it works good.
My wife's got actual, you know, relatives that live out
East and East Auckland, and so yeah, now my parents
are both gone. You know, I have I have nieces
and nephews that live down there, but I don't really
(03:36):
have a home base there anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Why why if there was one reason why you're breaking up?
And I get the family thing, and I understand that totally,
and I understand I come from a family of entertainer,
so I understand that whole whole thing. But if you
took that out of it, why, I mean, you could
scale it back down. You could do five concerts a
year or seven concerts a year. What was the reason
why you're actually breaking up?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I think I think were It was always front and center.
It always came first in everybody's lives. From when we
were eighteen years old, not actually even younger, when we
were sixteen at Wellington High School, it was always like,
this is the number one thing. Yes, I've got other
(04:21):
people in my life, but they were always coming second,
you know, like they're always coming second to this dream
that me and Tom came up with when we were
little kids in Wellington High School music room. And I
just priorities changed, you know, like I've just it's now
time for me in my life to put my family first.
(04:44):
So I just that's the call I've made, and I
think everyone sort of call with that as well. And
don't get me wrong, I love being on stage with
these guys so much fun, but all decisions in my
personal life had to always be based around what was
best for the band, and I just need to have
(05:06):
a bit of space from that.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
What do you reckon that your legacy will be as
a band? What do you think you know? I mean,
if we look back at bands from yester year and
we think about them and we go, oh, remember them
and remember that. What do you think she has? Legacy
would be.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Well, I mean we've made our name on being a
pretty good live band, you know, like I think that
was always the number one thing for us. We supported
ac DC at you know, an athletic Park on the
Razor's Edge tour when we were just kids pretty much,
and we watched those guys work for three and a
half hours and went right, We thought we were a
(05:42):
good band, but we are not putting anywhere near enough
effort to to you know, do a show like ac
DC does. So basically we just spent our whole career
going how do you get tight like you know, like
an international band? How do you sound like that? And
we just went on that journey and I think, I
(06:03):
think that the legacy for me will be you know,
that that feeling of elation that people get from a
good live show of not having to worry about your
worries for an hour and a half or two hours,
feeling that humans can do something good, you know, so
and do it together. That's a real communal vibe. Song wise,
(06:26):
I mean, obviously home Again's got to be one of
those songs that people bring up and which is great.
I take that as a real compliment because yeah, it's
cool that people have that as part of their sort
of you know, cultural landscape. Yeah, but I personally, I
(06:47):
think it's it's more to do with the fact that
if you came and saw us on a good night,
we'd be pretty hard man to follow. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Yeah, Homegrown last gig this week? Was it planned? Was
it all planned that you're going to play your final
in Wellington and home Grown I mean Homegrowns? I mean
we both lived in Wellington and know Wellrington. Homegrowns as
big as it gets, isn't it for life gigs? So
to finish your last gig as you know, one of
(07:19):
the great bands of New Zealand at your hometown. Was
that planned?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah? I think we did base it on that. I
mean we were asked to play home Grown quite a
few like a while back, and we thought, well, it's
we're going to do this. It'd be good to end
up where we started. You know, this is where we
wrote all the first two, three, three albums you know,
(07:45):
of our career in Wellington and and they you know,
the actual city itself and the culture, you know, the
culture there had a massive impact on why they those
records sound like they do. So yeah, I mean we
it made sense to end up where we started. You know,
it just makes sense now.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
We're both we're both reasonably connected in the rock and
roll world. Where are you hearing that? Do you know
where homegoing? Groans going? What are you hearing?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
I have absolute no idea, mate, Like I mean, outside
of Seathart, I spent my time making school lunches from school,
making dinner, going shopping, doing laundry. That's my life.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Okay, let me tell you where I'm hearing. Let me
tell you where I'm hearing through through my sources, and
it's not official, and I don't want listeners to say,
you know, and I am saying that's what I'm hearing.
I was out at the Hot Sounds on the weekend
listening to some live stuff and someone from there told
me that it's going to Hamilton. There you go, so
it's not too far from you. You might be able
(08:49):
to do a solo GIF there. What's next for you personally?
I know that you've done Last of the Lonely Gods,
your first solo album, which sounds amazing. You be rapped
with that what's next for you? Are you going to
are you going to be John too good? Are you
just going to keep going as yourself?
Speaker 2 (09:05):
I mean, you couldn't drag me off the guitar. I
mean I spend an hour a day still with my guitar,
So yeah, I write constantly what form it's going to
be next time around? I'm not one hundred percent sure.
The first My first priority though, straight out of finishing
this tour is Leeds, grabbing my family and going on
(09:28):
holiday because I haven't had one for a while. So
that's literally what we're doing. And then when I get back,
I'll make it up from here.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Okay, a couple of real quick questions for me personally personally,
your favorite all time X your favorite guitar that you
cannot ever see yourself not playing.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Okay, So from an acoustic perspective, Martin D eighteen absolutely
the best sounding guitar on the planet for me. I mean,
that's what Elvis hughes, that's what Dylan news, that's what
you know. Everyone used it, and that's why it sounds
like those records when from your childhood an electric guitar,
probably a fifty two standard blonde telling just because the
(10:13):
telecaster is telecasters. It's like how a border Collie is
a dog, the telecast is a guitar.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Oh my god, yes, I agree with you, pre CBS telecast. Wow,
imagine that that's an X. That's an ex Absolutely break
a leg on the weekend. Very sad to be having
to do this, I've actually got I'm actually quite emotional
talking about the breakup as she are because for the
past i don't know thirty years have been such a
(10:42):
piece of Wellington that we're all so so proud of
and we all feel like we all own you in Wellington.
So for us as Wellingtonian's, we're sad to see it
to the breakup of the marriage. But I'll guarantee, I'll
absolutely guarantee live here that it won't be the last
time we hear as she have. They'll do something somewhere.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
We know that it's going to be a joyous occasion.
Trust me. These shows have been some of the best
shows I think we've ever played, so it'll be it'll
be special, you.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Know, enjoy it and one word thank you, two words
is okay, thank you for everything that you and your
your your mates and your band and time have done
for New Zealand and the world.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Our Pleasure, Our Pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd Be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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