My Holidays: Wreckless Eric

Musician Wreckless Eric.

What was your greatest holiday? A short stay in a psychiatric hospital back in the late-80s.

And the worst? See above. Actually it wasn't so bad — I got to have a rest and it proved to be a very effective way of splitting up with a nightmare girlfriend.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing? Working
If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be? Auckland. I have a cousin there I'd love to hang out with.

How about for a dream holiday internationally? I'd like to go to Mexico, but to be honest I've done so much touring I don't really feel like going anywhere for a holiday, I'd rather stay at home.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling? I've been a touring musician for over 40 years so if you can imagine something dumb I've probably done it. Never found myself in a hotel corridor naked and locked out of my room though I know a guy in a very famous Scottish band who managed to do exactly that and ended up in the Sunday papers.

Aisle seat or window seat? Aisle seat always — I drink loads of water, especially on long haul flights, it helps counteract the jet lag but there's a lot of getting up and down involved. It's probably the exercise that counteracts the jet lag, not the water. And I hate staring out of plane windows — you've seen one cloud you've seen them all.

Complete this sentence: I can't travel without ... iPod, kindle, headphones and GPS. I used to travel surrounded by cassettes and later CDs in various state of van-ravaged decay. No matter how many you bought with you there were never enough, you'd listen to them all in the first few days and get thoroughly sick of them. My iPod is a source of delight to me.

Books were another problem — I used to cart a bag of dog-eared and mangled books around. Now I have a kindle. GPS is the best thing that ever happened to touring. It used to put two hours on the journey trying to find the venue once you got into town.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given? I can't remember but I'd recommend not eating near the railway station. People are always in a hurry to eat and by the time the food poisoning kicks in they're 100 miles down the track. The restaurants know this.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling? I've forgotten already.

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip? My wife, Amy Rigby. We met when she was touring in England. I went up to Scotland to see her play, a 400-mile drive. I took her home with me a couple of days later and she never left.

Favourite airport to land at? Are you having a laugh or what?!!? They're all awful.

What's the next trip you've got planned? This one. Looking forward to being in New Zealand for the first time in 38 years!

Wreckless Eric plays tomorrow night at the San Fran, in Wellington, Thursday night at Blue Smoke, in Christchurch and on Friday at the Tuning Fork, in Auckland. For tickets, go to undertheradar.co.nz.