Picture this: It’s 1988. David Lange is Prime Minister, commercial TV goes seven days a week (except Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day!), Dave Dobbyn wins Best Album and Male Vocalist at the NZ Music Awards (not too difficult to picture), Nintendo releases the Game Boy, and in Wellington, Jon Toogood and Tom Larkin are busily creating a heavy rock band…a monstrous band that would end up becoming one of New Zealand’s most loved, respected and successful exports.…. KIA ORA SHIHAD!   
 
Fast forward to 2018: Jon, Tom, lead guitarist Phil Knight (who they found through a music shop notice board ad),  and bass player Karl Kippenberger, a Shihad fan who joined the band in 1993, have released nine studio albums (five of which went to #1 in NZ). They survived a name change propelled by ‘Jihad’ becoming a staple negative reference in the global vernacular thanks to 9/11 (Shihad became Pacifier, and returned to Shihad), personal triumphs and tragedies, travelled all over the world with endless tours, selling out headline shows and sharing stages at major local and international festivals, and touring with musical heroes like Motorhead, Metallica, Faith No More and AC/DC to name a few!. Australia quickly adopted them as their own, showering them with ARIA nominations, adoration and ownership of their global success.
 
To celebrate 30 years, Shihad will be undertaking a national tour of New Zealand and releasing their classic LP The General Electric on vinyl for the first time. The General Electric was the LP that re-established Shihad’s position as the sonic giants of the music industry, with hit singles ‘My Mind’s Sedate’, ‘The General Electric’ and  ‘Pacifier’.
 
Opening the shows in Hamilton, Auckland and Mt Maunganui will be the sonic boundary-pushing Kora -  well known for their energetic live performances which straddle multiple genres from reggae to metal, funk and soul