The Shihad front man is about to go on tour… book tour.
“Put your clock back for the winter … ” It would be hard to find a New Zealander who couldn’t continue on from that opening line of iconic banger ‘Home Again’ by Shihad. The beloved band’s former front man, Jon Toogood, is about to go on tour again with Home Again, only this time he’s referring to his memoir.
Music has been a part of Toogood’s life since the very beginning. It was 1985 at Wellington High School when a young Toogood met Tom Larkin. The pair bonded over heavy metal, AC/DC and graffiti, and made the school’s music room the heart of their education. Soon a band was formed and in 1988 Shihad was born. The decades that followed featured number one albums including The General Electric (1999), Pacifier (2002), Beautiful Machine (2008) and Old Gods (2021). The band’s final live gigs drew passionate fans into packed out venues in 2025.
Now Toogood is getting ready to return to the stage but this time with his memoir: a deep dive into years of touring, navigating fame and personal struggles with anxiety, painful relationship breakdowns, and a transformational love story that led to family, connection and peace.
Ahead of his book events we asked Toogood to share what troubles him these days, and the life advice that keeps him grounded.
What bothers you most about the world right now?
Polarisation. Rising inequality. Poverty. Lack of political will when it comes to addressing climate change. The rise of fascism. Corruption. Leaders who care more about enriching themselves and their peers rather than making everyday people’s lives better. The ongoing civil war in Sudan. The normalisation of extreme violence. The corrosion of civil discourse. The undermining of functioning democracies worldwide. The undermining of human rights worldwide. The ongoing genocide in Palestine. Toxic masculinity. The rollback of the progress we had made in Aotearoa trying to address past injustices through the integration of Te Tiriti into our everyday lives.
What sort of people do you avoid?
People who are too drunk.
What makes you want to get up in the morning?
My kids. My wife. New music. New ideas. New experiences.
How do you hold onto hope in these crazy times?
Talking to people face to face, being present and reminding myself how awesome humans can be. Oh, and trying to not be online so often.
What is the single best quality a human can have?
Empathy.
What’s over-rated?
Material wealth.
What’s under-rated?
Kindness and curiosity.
If you could have a do-over, what would you change?
Nothing. My mistakes were a chance to grow and learn even if it sucked at the time.
What brings you joy?
Good people doing amazing things. Watching my children grow, play and learn new skills. Playing my guitar. Finding a line in a song that articulates what I’m feeling and singing it with everything I have. Performing live onstage. Being assistant coach of the Grafton Under 10 cricket team.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Tune your guitar before you play your tune.
What advice do you wish you’d never followed?
If you want to quit smoking you should try out vaping.
Tell us about a controversial opinion you hold.
You can’t be the good guys if you’re killing kids. Palestine should be free. Sudan should be free. Billionaires shouldn’t exist – not with so many people living in poverty around the world. They’re just dragons sitting on piles of gold. Hoarding when they could be helping. Teachers and nurses should be among the highest paid people in society. Capitalism, as it is practiced today, is destroying the planet and making everyone miserable. The tech bros and all the hyper masculine male social media influencers are actually just a bunch of needy dorks living out a child’s fantasy of what a “real” man should be. Real strength is shown through protecting people, not preying on them.
When you’re feeling low, what helps?
Music. Nature. Family. People.
In what ways is public-facing Jon Toogood different to private Jon Toogood?
I fart a lot more in private than I do in public.
Give us some life advice.
Find what you love to do and do it as much as you can. Play around with it. Learn. Stay open. Make mistakes. Try again. Get better at it. Play and play and play. If it ever gets too hard or you find you’re not enjoying yourself, walk away from it and if you really love it, it’ll pull you back in when the time is right. Getting good at something you love takes time but the process of doing so is the actual reward. If you love what you do it is never really a chore. If you can make a living out of it – bonus.
Jon Toogood’s memoir Home Again is available to purchase at Unity Books. You can catch Jon Toogood live in Auckland on August 25, Christchurch on September 5, Wellington on September 5, and Tauranga on October 31.
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