“While I was there waiting for a flight, my brother-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“That was brutal. This is a guy who, for all intents and purposes, was my older brother from when I was 12 years old.”
After reuniting with his family in Melbourne, the decision was made to move back to New Zealand, Toogood said.
They ended up in Howick in Auckland, a far cry from “arty-farty” centres like Melbourne and Wellington - his hometown.
He said while it was quiet, it gave him space to reflect and create.
“Unlike Shihad, which is this behemoth, apocalyptically heavy soundtrack where I get to speak in big, grand statements, I needed something small and personal, to basically say, ‘There, there, it’s okay’,” he said.
“I reverted to the instrument I started on when I was 7 - a three-quarter-size nylon string acoustic guitar.”
Jon Toogood last performed in Whanganui in 2020. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Toogood said it was not until he had reached song 10 that he realised “some of this s*** is pretty strong”.
“I thought I may as well play them to a mate, and they had tears streaming down their face, without any explanation of what the songs were about.
“The goal was to be able to play the stuff live, so I went to see my record company to see if they were interested.
“They had a similar reaction. It was just like, ‘Cool, let’s release it’.”
He recorded the album in Sydney with the help of producer Scott Horscroft and various musicians but will perform alone on the upcoming tour.
“It’s is all designed to work with just a voice and a guitar,” Toogood said.
In previous Whanganui gigs, Toogood performed solo at Lucky Bar in 2020 and with Shihad at Moose McGillicuddy’s in 1995 and the City College Assembly Hall in 2002.
Toogood said his brother and sister-in-law lived in the city and he had spent time here since he was young.
“My parents were 10-pound poms who came over in the 1950s and they really liked the vibe there. They used to take us during school holidays to go on the river cruise and things like that.
“It was either that or the Agrodome in Rotorua. My dad loved how the dogs jumped on the backs of the sheep, he thought that was incredible.
“By the third or fourth trip, it was like, ‘C’mon Dad, can we do something else?’”
He said he could not wait for people to hear the new album and there “isn’t a dud on it”.
“That’s in my opinion, obviously. I might be a little bit biased.
“Without a doubt, there will always be Shihad, that thing is like riding a dragon, but it‘s quite liberating turning up to a venue with a plank of wood with six strings on it.
“For me, there’s something quite exciting about that. I can’t rely on bells and whistles.”
Toogood plays at Porridge Watson on Thursday, October 24.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
