Hitting the road: Avina Kelekolio (Tomorrow People)

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

We'd love to travel in a decked out RV, or a fully kitted tour bus, but for now we got the ol' rental vans to get us around.

Who's in charge of the stereo/iPod, and what's on it?

You would think that a reggae band would have reggae blasting out the stereo, but it's not always the case. We normally rotate iPods/phones and everyone is game to listen to whatever music is playing. A common favourite is the old school Eagles album.

Favourite place to grab a feed while out on the road?

We normally ask on our Facebook page what the spots are in each town to have a feed, then we'd hunt around for that place. We get a lot of replies saying "come to my house and I'll cook" etc, but we always feel too shy to turn up at a stranger's house and eat their food.

Your favourite summer venue?

Opononi Hotel is one of our favourites! To this day, we still have no idea where all the people come from that turn up to the shows. We're visiting Horeke and Coromandel for the first time in December, so we're really excited about going there. That may just be our new favourite!

Where else are you looking forward to visiting along your tour route?

For some reason, every time we play in Tauranga or the Mount, we never make it to the beach up there, so that will be a definite stopover this time.

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

Industry secret!

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

One that always goes down well is Souljah Feeling. We try our best to take the crowd on a journey of highs and lows, so we'll be throwing in a lot of our new material from the latest album ONE.5. It hasn't been stage tested yet, but we hope the crowd respond well.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?

We'll be playing at Rhythm and Vines on Dec 30 then heading to Tauranga to play at Mount Vibes on Dec 31. The two shows are in the middle of our Two Drop Summer Tour with Sons of Zion, so it should work out perfectly.

Do you have any New Years traditions?

Haven't got any yet - but this year might be our chance to make one! We normally do shots of something.

Do certain styles of music make more sense during the hot and sweaty months of summer?

Reggae is definitely the sound of summer in NZ. Laid back, cruisy, and it puts you in a good mood. Some call it BBQ reggae which is probably a fair way to describe it, after all, kiwis love their BBQs!

Is it tough having to work over the summer break when everyone else is partying and on holiday?

Not really. We love to gig and play live so to us it's not really work. The travelling gets to us at times, but aside from our few hours that we're playing live, you'll probably find us in the audience partying with everyone else.

Ideal summer music fest dream team lineup?

This is always a tough question! Our band still enjoy a lot of different genres, but if it was to be a reggae type fest with artists that are alive, it would include Sean Paul, Damian Marley, The Wailers, UB40, Fiji, Kiwini Vaitai, Tarrus Riley, Morgan Heritage and all the kiwi bands - just to name a few!

Tomorrow People will be performing at Admirals Arms Hotel, Coromandel, Dec 28; Whakatane Hotel, Dec 29; Mount Vibes, Mount Maunganui, Dec 31; Horeke Tavern, Okaihau, Jan 2; Maungaturoto Hotel, Jan 3.

- TimeOut