Kiwi rock icons Shihad are calling it a day after four decades.
The band - Jon Toogood, Tom Larkin, Phil Knight, and Karl Kippenberger - have announced they're disbanding in 2025.
Homegrown Music Festival will mark the end of an incredible run for the band.
Forming in Wellington back in 1988, Shihad was a staple of the NZ music scene through the ‘90s and 2000s, dropping 10 albums between 1993 and 2021.
We were lucky to have the boys perform at The Rock 2000 in 2022, and they were still pumping at full force. But, according to frontman Jon Toogood, life has caught up with the crew.
“Life has changed for all of us. We have all got kids and families, and it’s hard to keep the momentum up when you’re sort of doing it like weekend warriors, or part-time,” he told Stuff.
“It has become so difficult to maintain that intensity we’ve decided it’s best to leave it and not continue a narrative around Shihad, and at this point leave it in good shape and sign it off,” drummer Tom Larkin added.
Shihad is a business, you’ve got to treat it like that at times, but it’s also a creative force, and those things work hand in hand.
We had Shihad in the studio recently to chat about their best memories and traditions. Toogood shared: “Before we go onstage, we always check-in. There’s a group hug.”
"It's like, whatever's going on in your life, 30 minutes beforehand you just forget it all. We're gonna get out there, we're gonna go out there and smash it, and that's basically it."
For their final gigs, it’s less about dwelling on the end of the road. Toogood said he’s “excited” to play their final farewells.
"I want these shows to be absolutely phenomenal. And I know we're capable of it, it's gonna require work, but we're all up for it,” he said.
When it comes to their final shows, Shihad has the tough choice of picking from a lengthy catalogue.
"We've got that luxury of having all those records behind us and all that material so we can go 'we're not going to play anything that we don't feel like playing', which is great,” Toogood said.
It's actually about witling it down, that’s the tough bit.
I, for one, can’t wait to see what Shihad has up their sleeve. Looks like their final gig will be a must. Check out more details about Shihad's final tour 'Loud Forever' here.
