KEY POINTS:
Do you travel light or heavy?
Super light. Musicians have to because we carry heavy equipment with us so there's not room for much else.
Cattle or first class?
I prefer Pacific class. The way things are going with fossil fuels, airplane travel might be something we tell our kids about, so I don't complain.
I can't travel without ...
Nasal spray. Does anybody really want to know this? I had this experience once where we were landing and I thought my eye was going to actually explode. Sometimes I look across at someone who is obviously having one of those landings and we have a little moment of understanding.
What type of suitcase to you carry?
Ha. Suitcase? Who do you think I am? Oprah?
What's always in your hand luggage?
Magazines that don't have ads for earrings shaped like coconut trees.
Are you a planner or a last-minute packer?
I stay up all night packing my one small backpack. I don't ever plan it and it's nowhere near as nice as a last-minute job. I should learn to be one or the other sometime.
What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip?
A re-ordered understanding of the fractal nature of reality. Just a little joke there.
Favourite or most exciting airport to land in?
Auckland's is quite cool because it's got fake bird noises and ferns. I wish they'd make airports cooler. At the moment they're all about security threats that don't exist. In Portland they sent me through a device that blew air at me and then there was a big alarm that went off and all the staff freaked out and ran around and then the threat seemed to disappear for no reason and everything was fine again.
Best travel tip?
Apparently if you starve yourself on the plane and eat a big meal when you arrive you won't get jet-lagged. No one will ever do that. You'd rip your face off if you didn't have that meal to look forward to.
Most memorable trip?
My brother Kody got drunk and made a movie on the plane once. He got the stewardesses to act in it and pretend to be mad at him. It was funny. You always hear about the mile high club. I couldn't think of a less sexual environment to be in than a commercial airliner. That must have been from the days when you had to be James Bond or Twiggy to fly in an airplane. It's too repressive an environment nowadays. You're not even allowed knitting needles. If nana can't entertain herself, there's no way I'm getting my rocks off.
What do you do while on the plane?
I usually watch movies until I get a migraine and then wake up when the food comes, eat the food and then go to the bathroom. If there's something better to do (don't say sex), then I'm all ears.
Ruban Neilson is guitarist and vocalist for the Mint Chicks.
