October 12, 2025 • 13 mins
Shihad frontman Jon Toogood joined John MacDonald ahead of the Christchurch Full Metal Orchestra concert. He talked about performing with Phil Rudd of ACDC, his passion for heavy music and the joy it brings the crowds, and how his health has become a priority in his later years.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talks ab.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well she had of course. John Tukan from she Hard
is coming to christ Church on the first of November
with ac DC's Filled Runt and James Read from the
Field is going to be performing with a full live
orchestra as part of Manuka Fuels Full Metal Orchestra Now
in a few minutes of a chance for you when
take us to the Chip. But first John too Good
himself as well us guy.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
John, Good morning, John, how are you very well?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Can you describe for me what Full Metal Orchestra is.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
It's a celebration of hard rock and heavy metal played
by an amazing band, the same band that does all
those come together shows who are fantastic, and then you've
got an added bonus of a orchestra, a full orchestra
playing these amazing arrangements. So it's a really a celebration
(01:23):
of heavy music which ends up being one of the
more joyous shows I think I've ever been a part of.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
You knows that.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I found it really interesting. We played our first show
at Spark Arena in Tomachimikoto and I just worked out
onto this, you know, six and a half thousand people
and every face was just beaming with joy. And there's
something about heavy music. I think it really just takes
(01:54):
you away from everyday life and transports you to this
awesome place. And I just think it's a spectacle. The
whole thing is, I knew it was going to be good,
but when we're when we did it, it was. It
was like one of the best shows. I think it
did a play at end.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Tell me what I'm curious about is I I was
reading you know back when you finished up with shehad
that one of the things that one of the reasons
was that you had this tonightis and you had to
stop doing or you had to start doing more acoustic shows.
How does how does that fit in with doing the
full metal orchestra.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Well, the great thing about modern technology, You've got We've
all got our own any monasors nowadays, so I can
control the volume going into my head. So it may
be loud on stage, but I'm completely isolated from that,
and I just get a mix of what I need
to hear, so I can control that the volume. Like
(02:51):
I said, but beyond that, these are one off shows.
It was more about the fact that you know, when
you're on tour, it's the constant sort of noise day
after day out to day, and this is like one off,
you know, off, big spectacular show.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And yeah, fine, because it was COVID that caused that
for you, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, well, I had pre existing tonight this which I've
been sort of managing pretty well since I was probably
nineteen or twenty, and then for some reason when COVID
got in. I'm an asthmatic, so I was watching the
reports coming out of Europe and seeing how it was
attacking the respiratory systems. So I was really worried that
(03:35):
it was going to get into my lungs. But it
didn't do that. When I caught it. It went straight
into my finuses and so that's my ears, my nose,
my throat, and it just messed with that sort of
system in my head. So two weeks after I caught it,
I got woken up out of a dream like that
(03:56):
sounded like a carline was going off in my head
and it just stays. So it was a strange complication.
I went to the tops and throats specialists around in Thoma, Chemikoto,
and they said that Yeah, Unfortunately, if you had pre
existing tonight as COVID can turn it up.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Okay, because because Ryan Adams, not Brian, but Ryan Adams,
he's had a real problem with Tonight's over the years.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah, a lot of a lot of musicians do. I mean,
and because it's it's one of those things you know
when you when you as a as like a fan
of yous that go and see a show and it's
loud you you you then go home and then the
next day it's just back to normal, so you get
your ears get a chance to recover. But when you
when you're playing constantly, you're constantly being bombarded by that
(04:45):
that volume, and it's exciting and it's fun, but it
also is a little bit unnatural to do that to yourself,
especially I mean with Shee Hard for thirty eight years,
it's a long time to be and Tom Lark and
our druma is not exactly the clientist drummer in the world.
So yeah, so we all had to turn up our
(05:08):
volume to match him.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
But nineteen to have Tonight, I mean, what would you
say now, because I remember you were probably the same
parents telling you, you know, you'll be deaf by the time
you're thirty, if you keep that up, I mean, what
would you say to young people now.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Well, you've sort of follow your passion. I wouldn't discourage
people from following their passion. I do think with modern technology,
like when we first started, we didn't have things like
any monitoring systems. It was purely just whatever the pub
had that we turned up at, and we just turned
up loud so that we could hear ourselves. Nowadays, with
(05:45):
one of technology, you can actually afford to do this
and play regularly, but still control the volume that's going
into your ears. So I would just say invest in
a good set of their monsorsh.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
When you were growing up, you were a big ac
DC fan, I understand. So what's it been like rehearsing
and playing with Phil Runt.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
It's a dream, I'm true. I mean really she had
for all its you know, changes in different little pars
we went down musically, would always come back to agree
on the fact that a CDC was the blueprints Fuffard
and Kenny music. So we studied that band, like you know,
(06:28):
people would go to university and studies something. We studied
a CDC's music, the way they played, how to get
rhythm guitars fit in with the drums, how how they
arrange songs. We studied that for years and still continue
to this day to do so so to actually be
playing music alongside the guy that provided the pulse of
(06:49):
that that stuff. And I'm a rhythm guitarist, so I
really listened to a lot of Phil Rudd's the detail
of Phil Rudd's work, you know, all through Back and
Black and power Age and all the early albums and
then the big albums. So yeah, I have to control
the fanboy and me.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
That's exactly what I was going to say, is it.
Do you just let yourself be the fan boy or
your plant? Cool?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I played? I played it pretty cool. I mean, you
know he's he's a bit older now, but I mean,
you know, so I just like wait for him to
if he wants to have a chair, I'm totally up
for it. But we meant us to have a really
good chin wag after the show at Spark and and
and really got into the detail of how Malcolm Young's
(07:37):
rhythm plan fit in with you know, Phil Rudd's guitar
drumming and how you and I think he was pleasantly
surprised and I knew that much about it.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I remember we were talking about the show a few
weeks back. We were doing some giveaways and things, and
I mentioned that that Phil Rudd and James Reid and
also yourself, your three Rock and Roll survivors, it hasn't
been easy. There is there a certain camaraderie between you
guys in that respect.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Well, I think everyone's journey is different. I've you know,
I'm fifty four now, I haven't drunk for twelve years.
I quit smoking and so, and I exercise regularly. So
I think I'm doing all right. Part from the tonight,
which can be a bit annoying at times, I'm actually
(08:30):
I was feeling pretty good. Like I had children late
in my life sort of, so I've got a seven
and a ten year old, so it's important for me
to stay healthy and that has a really good role
on effect into my professional life. So I think I
probably sing better now than I did when I was
twenty six, because back when I was twenty six, I
(08:51):
was smoking a pack and a half a cigarettes to
day and not looking after myself. So nowadays I'm pretty
clean living and I really take it seriously my job,
you know, every time I walk on stage. That's what
you see is like, you know, a month and a
half preparation, rehearsal beforehand. I take it very seriously.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I'm not being morbid, but performers, especially that they never
know if it's going to be the last time or not.
I remember seeing footage of Tom Petty at the end
of that tour and he had no idea that that
was the last time he was going to walk off
stage because he'd taken all those painkillers.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Well, and that's so funny you say that, because I
literally my friend Nick Gaffney, who played in another great
museum game called Kurra and Knife Fight, was in the
front row of that Hollywood Bowl Tom Petty show and
he was live streaming and I was watching it, going
so jealous. I wish I was there, but it's fine.
I'll get to see him eventually.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
And he limped he limped off, didn't he limped off?
He just wasn't a great shape.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Yeah, he was in great shape, but it's I heard
an interesting stat about a year ago that I think
the music industry has a higher mortality rate than the
armed forces. So we don't we don't tend to live
very long, but there is definitely more awareness because there's
a lot of mental health issues in the arts. People
(10:16):
who find the normal everyday life a bit too hard
tend to get attracted to the arts because that's a
world that makes sense to them, and up until now,
that marriage of commerce and art tends to not work
so well. But there is definitely a better awareness of
making sure you look after yourself mentally and also physically
(10:39):
as well. So it's a different time now than when
we started here, for sure.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I was interested to read that you say that That's
Entertainment by The Jam was one of your top five
acoustic guitar songs, and I read that you were really
into the sound Effects album that that song was on
when you were young. The Jam when nothing like she Hard.
What does that say about you as an artist?
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Well, I mean, you know, the first record I bought
was No Firse two. I bought two records at once,
and I bought Bob Legends, which I still listened to
this to this day, and Human League Dare So Yeah,
So that was and I can still listen to that
record to it. I love it, you know. So, So
I just happened to meet the members of sheehard at
(11:21):
the age of fifteen or sixteen, when I was in
my rebellious sort of well Metallica and Slayer and all
the sort of speed metal is music that my parents
will hate. So I like that, you know, as you
do at the age of fifteen or sixteen. So that's
where we cut our teeth as a band, was learning
how to play that music because that really spoke to
us at that age. That didn't mean to say. I
(11:43):
had an older brother and sister growing up, and my
brother had the Jam sound Effects, which I listened to
inside out that album, and he also had Queen Life Killers,
which I loved, you know, Leed Zeppelin stuff. My sister
was a bit younger, so she had things like early
U two and Stiffed Little Fingers and a lot more
(12:04):
punk sort of New New Way stuff. So so I
had it a very musical music loving family that I was.
No one really played, but we all had pretty big
record collections, so and it all and it was all
very important to us. Can I say, lucky? Can I?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
So I said with you, I reckon, there's a song
on that Sound Effects album that you would do brilliantly.
Know what that is, which is Man in the Corner Shop.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I love Man in the corner Shop, Love Man in
the corner Shop. Great lyrics, great great way of summing
up the class system and written fantastic. What a great song.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
All right, Well, next time, next time I see you
doing one of your solo warm up backs, or indeed
you have solo headlines, I want to I want to
see you do that, all.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Right, Jacob, John, I love it. I love the idea.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
All right. How We'll see you the first of November,
Full Middle Orchestra at the wolf Brook Arena. John two good,
very nice to talk to you. Absout you John brilliant,
Thank you. So John's going to be with a c
DC's Phil Rund, James Reid from the Feelers and that
full Live Orchestra in the Manucure Fuel Full Metal Orchestra
Treatment So Saturday November, the first of the war Brook Arena.
(13:12):
Tickets are available online right now at Ticketmaster.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks at be Christchurch from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talks ab.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well she had of course. John Tukan from she Hard
is coming to christ Church on the first of November
with ac DC's Filled Runt and James Read from the
Field is going to be performing with a full live
orchestra as part of Manuka Fuels Full Metal Orchestra Now
in a few minutes of a chance for you when
take us to the Chip. But first John too Good
himself as well us guy.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
John, Good morning, John, how are you very well?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Can you describe for me what Full Metal Orchestra is.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
It's a celebration of hard rock and heavy metal played
by an amazing band, the same band that does all
those come together shows who are fantastic, and then you've
got an added bonus of a orchestra, a full orchestra
playing these amazing arrangements. So it's a really a celebration
(01:23):
of heavy music which ends up being one of the
more joyous shows I think I've ever been a part of.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
You knows that.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I found it really interesting. We played our first show
at Spark Arena in Tomachimikoto and I just worked out
onto this, you know, six and a half thousand people
and every face was just beaming with joy. And there's
something about heavy music. I think it really just takes
(01:54):
you away from everyday life and transports you to this
awesome place. And I just think it's a spectacle. The
whole thing is, I knew it was going to be good,
but when we're when we did it, it was. It
was like one of the best shows. I think it
did a play at end.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Tell me what I'm curious about is I I was
reading you know back when you finished up with shehad
that one of the things that one of the reasons
was that you had this tonightis and you had to
stop doing or you had to start doing more acoustic shows.
How does how does that fit in with doing the
full metal orchestra.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Well, the great thing about modern technology, You've got We've
all got our own any monasors nowadays, so I can
control the volume going into my head. So it may
be loud on stage, but I'm completely isolated from that,
and I just get a mix of what I need
to hear, so I can control that the volume. Like
(02:51):
I said, but beyond that, these are one off shows.
It was more about the fact that you know, when
you're on tour, it's the constant sort of noise day
after day out to day, and this is like one off,
you know, off, big spectacular show.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
And yeah, fine, because it was COVID that caused that
for you, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, well, I had pre existing tonight this which I've
been sort of managing pretty well since I was probably
nineteen or twenty, and then for some reason when COVID
got in. I'm an asthmatic, so I was watching the
reports coming out of Europe and seeing how it was
attacking the respiratory systems. So I was really worried that
(03:35):
it was going to get into my lungs. But it
didn't do that. When I caught it. It went straight
into my finuses and so that's my ears, my nose,
my throat, and it just messed with that sort of
system in my head. So two weeks after I caught it,
I got woken up out of a dream like that
(03:56):
sounded like a carline was going off in my head
and it just stays. So it was a strange complication.
I went to the tops and throats specialists around in Thoma, Chemikoto,
and they said that Yeah, Unfortunately, if you had pre
existing tonight as COVID can turn it up.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Okay, because because Ryan Adams, not Brian, but Ryan Adams,
he's had a real problem with Tonight's over the years.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah, a lot of a lot of musicians do. I mean,
and because it's it's one of those things you know
when you when you as a as like a fan
of yous that go and see a show and it's
loud you you you then go home and then the
next day it's just back to normal, so you get
your ears get a chance to recover. But when you
when you're playing constantly, you're constantly being bombarded by that
(04:45):
that volume, and it's exciting and it's fun, but it
also is a little bit unnatural to do that to yourself,
especially I mean with Shee Hard for thirty eight years,
it's a long time to be and Tom Lark and
our druma is not exactly the clientist drummer in the world.
So yeah, so we all had to turn up our
(05:08):
volume to match him.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
But nineteen to have Tonight, I mean, what would you
say now, because I remember you were probably the same
parents telling you, you know, you'll be deaf by the time
you're thirty, if you keep that up, I mean, what
would you say to young people now.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Well, you've sort of follow your passion. I wouldn't discourage
people from following their passion. I do think with modern technology,
like when we first started, we didn't have things like
any monitoring systems. It was purely just whatever the pub
had that we turned up at, and we just turned
up loud so that we could hear ourselves. Nowadays, with
(05:45):
one of technology, you can actually afford to do this
and play regularly, but still control the volume that's going
into your ears. So I would just say invest in
a good set of their monsorsh.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
When you were growing up, you were a big ac
DC fan, I understand. So what's it been like rehearsing
and playing with Phil Runt.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
It's a dream, I'm true. I mean really she had
for all its you know, changes in different little pars
we went down musically, would always come back to agree
on the fact that a CDC was the blueprints Fuffard
and Kenny music. So we studied that band, like you know,
(06:28):
people would go to university and studies something. We studied
a CDC's music, the way they played, how to get
rhythm guitars fit in with the drums, how how they
arrange songs. We studied that for years and still continue
to this day to do so so to actually be
playing music alongside the guy that provided the pulse of
(06:49):
that that stuff. And I'm a rhythm guitarist, so I
really listened to a lot of Phil Rudd's the detail
of Phil Rudd's work, you know, all through Back and
Black and power Age and all the early albums and
then the big albums. So yeah, I have to control
the fanboy and me.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
That's exactly what I was going to say, is it.
Do you just let yourself be the fan boy or
your plant? Cool?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I played? I played it pretty cool. I mean, you
know he's he's a bit older now, but I mean,
you know, so I just like wait for him to
if he wants to have a chair, I'm totally up
for it. But we meant us to have a really
good chin wag after the show at Spark and and
and really got into the detail of how Malcolm Young's
(07:37):
rhythm plan fit in with you know, Phil Rudd's guitar
drumming and how you and I think he was pleasantly
surprised and I knew that much about it.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I remember we were talking about the show a few
weeks back. We were doing some giveaways and things, and
I mentioned that that Phil Rudd and James Reid and
also yourself, your three Rock and Roll survivors, it hasn't
been easy. There is there a certain camaraderie between you
guys in that respect.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Well, I think everyone's journey is different. I've you know,
I'm fifty four now, I haven't drunk for twelve years.
I quit smoking and so, and I exercise regularly. So
I think I'm doing all right. Part from the tonight,
which can be a bit annoying at times, I'm actually
(08:30):
I was feeling pretty good. Like I had children late
in my life sort of, so I've got a seven
and a ten year old, so it's important for me
to stay healthy and that has a really good role
on effect into my professional life. So I think I
probably sing better now than I did when I was
twenty six, because back when I was twenty six, I
(08:51):
was smoking a pack and a half a cigarettes to
day and not looking after myself. So nowadays I'm pretty
clean living and I really take it seriously my job,
you know, every time I walk on stage. That's what
you see is like, you know, a month and a
half preparation, rehearsal beforehand. I take it very seriously.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I'm not being morbid, but performers, especially that they never
know if it's going to be the last time or not.
I remember seeing footage of Tom Petty at the end
of that tour and he had no idea that that
was the last time he was going to walk off
stage because he'd taken all those painkillers.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Well, and that's so funny you say that, because I
literally my friend Nick Gaffney, who played in another great
museum game called Kurra and Knife Fight, was in the
front row of that Hollywood Bowl Tom Petty show and
he was live streaming and I was watching it, going
so jealous. I wish I was there, but it's fine.
I'll get to see him eventually.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
And he limped he limped off, didn't he limped off?
He just wasn't a great shape.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Yeah, he was in great shape, but it's I heard
an interesting stat about a year ago that I think
the music industry has a higher mortality rate than the
armed forces. So we don't we don't tend to live
very long, but there is definitely more awareness because there's
a lot of mental health issues in the arts. People
(10:16):
who find the normal everyday life a bit too hard
tend to get attracted to the arts because that's a
world that makes sense to them, and up until now,
that marriage of commerce and art tends to not work
so well. But there is definitely a better awareness of
making sure you look after yourself mentally and also physically
(10:39):
as well. So it's a different time now than when
we started here, for sure.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I was interested to read that you say that That's
Entertainment by The Jam was one of your top five
acoustic guitar songs, and I read that you were really
into the sound Effects album that that song was on
when you were young. The Jam when nothing like she Hard.
What does that say about you as an artist?
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Well, I mean, you know, the first record I bought
was No Firse two. I bought two records at once,
and I bought Bob Legends, which I still listened to
this to this day, and Human League Dare So Yeah,
So that was and I can still listen to that
record to it. I love it, you know. So, So
I just happened to meet the members of sheehard at
(11:21):
the age of fifteen or sixteen, when I was in
my rebellious sort of well Metallica and Slayer and all
the sort of speed metal is music that my parents
will hate. So I like that, you know, as you
do at the age of fifteen or sixteen. So that's
where we cut our teeth as a band, was learning
how to play that music because that really spoke to
us at that age. That didn't mean to say. I
(11:43):
had an older brother and sister growing up, and my
brother had the Jam sound Effects, which I listened to
inside out that album, and he also had Queen Life Killers,
which I loved, you know, Leed Zeppelin stuff. My sister
was a bit younger, so she had things like early
U two and Stiffed Little Fingers and a lot more
(12:04):
punk sort of New New Way stuff. So so I
had it a very musical music loving family that I was.
No one really played, but we all had pretty big
record collections, so and it all and it was all
very important to us. Can I say, lucky? Can I?
Speaker 2 (12:23):
So I said with you, I reckon, there's a song
on that Sound Effects album that you would do brilliantly.
Know what that is, which is Man in the Corner Shop.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I love Man in the corner Shop, Love Man in
the corner Shop. Great lyrics, great great way of summing
up the class system and written fantastic. What a great song.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
All right, Well, next time, next time I see you
doing one of your solo warm up backs, or indeed
you have solo headlines, I want to I want to
see you do that, all.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Right, Jacob, John, I love it. I love the idea.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
All right. How We'll see you the first of November,
Full Middle Orchestra at the wolf Brook Arena. John two good,
very nice to talk to you. Absout you John brilliant,
Thank you. So John's going to be with a c
DC's Phil Rund, James Reid from the Feelers and that
full Live Orchestra in the Manucure Fuel Full Metal Orchestra
Treatment So Saturday November, the first of the war Brook Arena.
(13:12):
Tickets are available online right now at Ticketmaster.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks at be Christchurch from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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