5 questions with Shihad's Jon Toogood ahead of Bay of Islands Music Festival

Jon Toogood is looking forward to playing Saturday' Bay of Islands Music Festival.

Shihad has been at the forefront of New Zealand rock for more than three decades.
Led by energetic frontman - and now Kiwi rock's elder statesman - Jon Toogood, the band performs at the Bay of Islands Music Festival on Saturday in what promises to be a big day out of music at Waitangi.

Also appearing on Saturday are Jamaican superstar Shaggy, Jamaican legend Toots and the Maytals, Aussie hard rockers Wolfmother and fellow Kiwi acts Black Seeds, Ladi 6 and Northland band Otium.

Formed in 1988, Shihad is Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals), Karl Kippenberger (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers). The band was also known as Pacifier between 2001 and 2004.

Shihad have produced five number one studio albums, holding the title for most number one records for any New Zealand artist, alongside Hayley Westenra, and three top 10 singles. At the release time of their ninth studio album, FVEY last year, Shihad had the most Top 40 New Zealand chart singles for any New Zealand artist, with 25.

Toogood told the Northern Advocate it's amazing to think the band has been together that long and it's a testament to just how much they all love being in the band and performing.

And he's really looking forward to Saturday's Bay of Islands Music Festival.

Mr Boombastic himself, Shaggy, will headline the Bay of Islands Music Festival.

''I love festivals. I really loved the Big Day Out and this is a bit like that where you can get all the musical tribes in the same arena at once, with a diverse range of music on offer,'' he said.

''It's a great way for people to get a chance to listen to music they may not normally. And I'm pretty excited to be on the same stage as Toots and the Maytals.''

Jamaican legend Toots and the Maytals are also on the bill on Saturday at Waitangi.

Ahead of the festival we asked Toogood five questions:

1: What's the bet gig you have ever played?

''It's got to be supporting AC/DC at Western Springs (in December 2015) on their Black Ice tour. You have about 60,000 people and you can hear everyone of them singing your songs back at you. That was pretty much exactly why you do this.

''It was so amazing that my eyes were shaking in their sockets.''

2: If you could have a dream festival with Shihad and three other bands, who would they be:

''Number one The (Rolling) Stones. That's one of my dreams supporting The Stones. I was so disappointed the last time they came (to NZ in 2007) that they had Nickelback supporting them. Nickleback!

''Then it would be AC/DC, because they are still my favourite rock band. But it would be the AC/DC with Malcolm Young.

''And to finish it off I'd have Rage Against the Machine, my other favourite rock group. We've supported the metal heavyweights - Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Metallica and Guns and Roses so that line up would be perfect for me.''

3: What keeps you and Shihad going after more than 30 years?

''When you are up on stage and everything's going well you get such a buzz. It's akin to going up in an aeroplane. It's an adrenaline rush like no other being on stage when you are at your peak.

''Going out on stage to perform to our fans is very sacred to us, and hopefully for them too. It transcends everyday life and is a great way to drive away any of life's stresses.

''It's such a positive experience and we all love being up there together and it's a real thrill for us. When you play with the same people for 30 years you get to know what each other is going to do and you play well together because they are up there with you. It's still as good today as when we first started.

''It's weird that here we are 30-odd years down the track and we still get the same buzz from it. Late last year we played in Shepherd's Bush (in London) and it was such a great gig. We loved it and the crowd really did too. That's why we still do it.''

4: What do you do to relax?

''Relax! What's that?

5: Tell us something that would surprise your fans?

''I think everybody knows that I've converted to Islam, but that still throws surprises up for me. Like this middle class white boy from Wellington in NZ marrying a beautiful Sudanese woman in one of the oldest mosques in Khartoum. That still surprises me.

''I've got no real guilty musical pleasures because I love music and at the moment I'm loving Elton John's autobiography (Me).

''Oh, but I do listen to the Angry Birds soundtrack four times a day."
Angry Birds? Hardly rock and roll is it Jon?

''It's for when I'm in the car with the kids. It keeps them quiet.''

Tickets for the Bay of Islands Music Festival on Saturday are $99 and on sale at eventfinda.co.nz. More info at www.BOImusicfestival.com