When it was revealed that Jon Toogood was to release a memoir I pretty much jumped out of my seat with excitement and it definitely didn’t disappoint!
My memories of Shihad began when I first saw them perform at Big Day Out 1996, this was the famous BDO which started with blazing hot sun and then had torrential downpours, from memory just as Shihad were on stage the rain fell down and created the biggest mud pit I’ve ever seen. I remember I had lost all my friends in the huge crowds at various stages so I rocked up to Shihad’s set on my own not knowing what to expect, a little bit weary cos I didn’t want to get hurt if a moshpit erupted around me lol. Killjoy had been out and released which is my favourite Shihad album and one that Jon describes in the book as “it’s heavy, if not heavier (than Churn) but it’s welcoming” and that’s exactly how I would describe their set that day. Once they began it was heavy, loud and I was just like wow these guys are awesome, everyone was into it!
I was lucky enough to see them early last year on their ‘Loud Forever - The Final Tour’, it was such an amazing show and blew me away just how many hits they’ve had over their career. This book is definitely one for the fans as well as for anyone interested in NZ music history or music in general. I’m the kind of person who always wonders “how did they write that song, come up with lyrics, know how to put it all together and get that particular sound?” Those aspects are fascinating to me so it was insightful to read about Jon's writing process, how the band created and recorded each of their albums.
Reading Jon’s journey really highlighted to me how their sound evolved over the years and he describes how he was inspired by the different music scenes at the time happening around the world like grunge to Britpop as well as the Australian rock and pop music scene. I remember hearing and then seeing the music video for Home Again, I was surprised that it was the same heavy, loud band I saw at BDO not that long before, however I was definitely into it!
I could absolutely go on and on about what’s inside this book but I don’t want to spoil it! For me, Home Again was a trip down memory lane and gave me a deeper appreciation for their music. Shihad have been a huge part of the Aotearoa music scene as well as internationally so getting to read the stories behind the songs and the band as well as Jon’s personal insights into his life and music career made this an absolute must-read for me.