Interviews

Phil Knight - Shihad (Audio Interview)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Jun 13, 2016

8 min read

Our adopted New Zealander's Shihad have been making waves in the music industry for the better part of the past 28 years and in that time they've gained international success, smashed out a few hits, received commercial success and changed their name (then changed it back) but the one thing that has stayed the same about these guys over that time, is their ability to rock and put on the great show, regardless of the audience or venue.

Speaking about their almost three decade stint, guitarist Phil Knight shared with us all it took to keep the band together for so long without any falls outs (which many of the new age bands have suffered from at least once over their careers):

"You have to get along as friends really, that's a good start. The passion is still there [between us] for playing live and even if we weren't friends, I think we'd still play together because when we get on stage, the four of us, it feels so fuckin' great!"

And it's true, the gigs these guys play always seem like it's still early on in their careers, they give 110% no matter where they are and you can expect the same thing with the upcoming 20th Anniversary Tour of their 1996 Self-Titled "Fish" album. Even though the boys are getting old...er, they still know how to bring the rock and roll vibe they had with them all those years ago as Phil explains:

"We've gotta give props to Jon [Toogood] he's my meal ticket, because he gets up there, rolling around the rafters and getting up to the crazy antics. Still does some crazy stuff for sure."

Proving that the best rockstars of our generation don't slow down because they're pushing a mid-life crisis... unless that's the reason why they're up there which in that case, props to them.

The upcoming Shihad tour kicks off in Western Australia on June 23rd before making it's way to the east coast of the country. Tickets are still on-sale, so if you haven't had the chance to catch these choice blokes from across the ditch, do yourself a favour and head out to one of their shows. But before then, have a listen to Phil's take on the band's impressive career and and future below.