I'm with the band: The Black Seeds' Barnaby Weir

Barnaby Weir is hoping to get a swim in before The Black Seeds' gig on New Year's Eve. Photo / NZPA

What is your preferred mode of travel for the summer tour?

Planes and big comfy vans with a couple of ice-cream and swim stops. Not rushing around, not too many early starts. Yeah right ...

Who's in charge of the selections, and what are you likely to hear?

The navigator runs the sounds, mix tapes, new demos, classic rhythms or just golden silence, nothing that's too abrasive, often van systems sound really bad so headphones work much better. Some work on their laptops on new tunes or it's a good time to catch some zzzs.

Where is your favourite summer venue?

Hmm that's a tough one. Personally I like Riwaka because of all the beautiful places and beaches, rivers in the area; Opononi for the people and the backstage view of the massive sand dunes; Raglan for the beach and its musical importance to the Seeds.

Apart from the gigs, where else are you looking forward to stopping along your tour route?

It is likely we won't have much time for anything else so I just enjoy the ride and the people and crew and band and snacks and sound checks and gigs. Try to keep it light and fun as possible. But if we get some nice food and some local hospitality and a few swims in there I'll be happy.

Best spot for a quick dip in the ocean, or an inviting swimming hole?

Raglan, Opononi, Taupo and Golden Bay area all have many ideal swimming spots. I think lake and river swims are my fave though. Let's look after our coasts and rivers and waterways so we can enjoy them for generations to come.

What song will you be playing to really get the crowd going?

Recently The Prince has been going off. It's our upbeat ska number with a cool guitar riff that's almost like it was born out of a western film. That song gets the hands up. Also Cool Me Down and Fire still make the crowd go crazy.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?

We shall be in Riwaka. I think the plan is to get there early for a swim nearby, a cold beer and some lunch (seafood I hope) before a sound check, then smash out an awesome gig with our boys Katchafire and Sons of Zion. Then we'll celebrate with everyone that's there. Bring your dancing shoes!

Who's on your summer music fest dream-team line-up?

Katchafire, Sons of Zion, The Nudge, The Phoenix Foundation, Fly My Pretties, Lord Echo, Shihad, Fat Freddy's Drop, Tunes Of I, Shapeshifter, Tiki Taane, Kara Gordon, Beast Wars, Dave Dobbyn, Eru Dangerspeil, King Kapisi, Che Fu, Electric Wire Hustle, Wild Bill.

What's your best summer road trip anecdote?

One time on an Australian tour back in 2004 or 5. We arrived late at our accommodation, dropped off our stuff, had a shower and a nap and went to our gig. When we got back there was a family in our house - we had got the wrong house and the family initially thought there had been a burglary!

• For summer tour dates, see theblackseeds.com