Local tourist: Barnaby Weir

Fly My Pretties and The Black Seeds lead singer Barnaby Weir. Photo / File

TimeOut has gathered together a selection of domestic touring stars and some intriguing imports to help whip up a bit of enthusiasm for this season of high decibels in high temperatures. Here is Fly My Pretties and The Black Seeds' Barnaby Weir with his summer picks and tour plans...

Your preferred mode of travel for the summer tour?
Plane, comfy van or hire car ... or boat.

Who does the driving - and what does it say about the internal politics of the band?
Sheesh, good question. Usually our tour manager will drive and then on longer trips one of the band might do some too. I'm in the bad books as I don't have my licence (shame) and often it would not be safe for me to drive even if I did. Thank you drivers!

What's on the car stereo?
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker, The Nudge - Nudge Pie, Boots Electric - Honkey Kong, El Michaels Affair - Enter The 37th Chamber, Talking Heads...

Your favourite summer venue?
Basically anywhere in New Zealand when it's sunny. The Wellington waterfront is good at Homegrown, Gisborne is great for R&V, Takaka, the Botanical Gardens in Wellington, Opononi Hotel, The Bowl in Taranaki, Wanaka for Rippon ... all good places to play.

Where else are you looking forward to visiting which isn't a venue?
It was good to go out in Christchurch the other night. I don't think there is time for many visits along the way unfortunately - this ain't no holiday.

Any sage advice about surviving the silly season?
Drink more water than usual, slow down booze drinking, watch out for too much sun. Eat a lot. Don't do anything stupid and look after your mates.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?
One show the Seeds were meant to be playing has been cancelled so it could be the first time in 10 years we haven't played a New Year's Eve show. However, we are playing at R&V and in Aussie at Peats Ridge Festival.

Do certain styles of music make more sense during the hot and sweaty months of summer?
Not to me, but I guess island music suits island weather. Like speed ukes in Rarotonga or campfire singalongs on the beach in New Zealand.

Is it tough having to work when everyone else is partying and on holiday?
Not really, I enjoy it. In fact it's the best time to work for a band. We get a bit of time off too so it's not a biggie. I like having a mission on the cards and it's a real pleasure entertaining people with our music. There's always time to hang out and you get to visit all the best parties all over the country/world.

On tour: Playing A Day on the Green, Saturday, Alana Estate, Martinborough; Sunday, Villa Maria Winery, Auckland. The Black Seeds, Rhythm and Vines, Waiohika Estate, Gisborne, Dec 29-31.

- TimeOut