Shihad

Shihad is an alternative rock band originally from Wellington, New Zealand, where they formed in 1988. In 1999 the band relocated to Melbourne, Australia, where three of the members currently reside.

History

The name "Shihad" was chosen after members of the band misheard "jihad" as "Shihad" in the 1984 David Lynch movie, Dune. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks the band decided to change their name due to the similarity between the band's name Shihad and the Arabic word jihad. At the 2002 Big Day Out music festival in Auckland New Zealand they released t-shirts with 'Shihad' on them, and 'Remote' below, indicating that 'Remote' was to be the new name. However, due to this name being taken already, they settled on "Pacifier", which was a successful single from their album "The General Electric".

Related Topics:
Jihad - 1984 - David Lynch - Movie - Dune - 9/11 terrorist attacks - Big Day Out - Auckland - New Zealand - Single - Album - The General Electric

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Their next album under the name Pacifier was widely considered to be overproduced and not quite Shihad's style.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On September 17 2004, the band announced to the world that they would change their name back to Shihad. To quote the band,

Related Topics:
September 17 - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"The events surrounding the name change and our choice to be known as Pacifier are well documented. As much as we believed in what we were doing, and the reasons for doing it at the time - the truth is we were wrong. "

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The band name "Pacifier" was immediately raffled on the Australian radio station Triple J by members of the band Frenzal Rhomb and was claimed by a little known band from Queensland.

Related Topics:
Triple J - Frenzal Rhomb - Queensland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shihad's latest album, "Love Is The New Hate", was released on the 2nd of May 2005 to good reviews and sales. In New Zealand the album went gold in its first week of release and debuted at number 2 on the charts. The material on the album was more political than that of previous efforts, due to the experiences that they had in the USA.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shihad supported "Love Is the New Hate" initially with dates in New Zealand, including the massive launch concert in Auckland's Aotea Square and an extensive tour of Australia. Currently, Shihad are performing a 17 date co-headlining tour of Australia with Australian band Cog, dubbed "The Homeland Security Tour".

Related Topics:
Love Is the New Hate - Auckland - Aotea Square - Australia - Cog

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~