Brooklyn-based musician Steve Gunn is touring NZ in October. Photo / Supplied
US singer-songwriter Steve Gunn, who's touring NZ this month, shares his favourite holidays.
What are your strongest memories from the first overseas trip you ever took?
I went to Barcelona first when I was 19, my first time flying by myself and being out of the country. Spain was magical; the architecture, the slower pace, the food, and the warmth of the people. I felt like I had found another way for myself. After that trip, I told myself I would make it back, and I've been back many times.
What was a standard family holiday like when growing up?
In the summer, usually July, we would all pack up the car and go down to the New Jersey Shore. The coast is about an hour and half from the Philadelphia suburbs, not too far of a journey. My parents went there as kids. Wildwood is a family-style beach, with a boardwalk with rides and amusements, wild variations of food. I had a lot of fun there but grew restless as I got a little older. My mind was constantly wandering and craving exploration of places I didn't know.
Who has most inspired your travels?
Seeing touring musicians at a young age inspired me to figure out how to somehow join a band and hopefully go on some kind of journey. At age 15 I had a short-lived career playing bass for a pretty bad hardcore band, and my parents let me go on a little tour with them. It felt really significant, a milestone, and it was my first experience jumping in a van and getting out of the state on my own. Later on, going to Europe was a big step for me, where I started to play all kinds of shows in many different countries - that was my gateway.
What is the greatest trip you've ever been on?
Over this past summer, I spent a week on the northernmost tip of Ireland, on the coast right near a town called Malin. This is close to where my great-grandmother lived, and I was able to go to the pub where she met my great-grandfather and visit her home. This coastal region is a magical and mysterious part of the world. I swam in the cold sea multiple times a day.
And the worst?
There was a period in my musical touring life where the crew that I was travelling with didn't get along. That can become very difficult when you have to share space in a vehicle and just about everywhere else. There is no escape. There were a lot of long silent drives. A very strange trap. I recall some particularly rainy evenings on some highways in England - stone silence.
What is the destination that most surprised you – good or bad?
I took a trip to Morocco long ago and I ended up travelling around totally improvised. No plan. I had so many different adventures, letting the experience lead me to wherever I was going next. It may have been a bit too brave, but it led me to some very interesting places. It was a magical time - an important experience I needed at the time. I walked the Sahara desert in the middle of the night with the whole horizon of bright stars. I was surprised how meaningful the trip became to me and my friends I was travelling with. A life-changing experience.
Where was your most memorable sunrise/sunset?
My most memorable sunsets will always be at a certain bay in Cape May, New Jersey. This spot was where my father used to go to watch the sunset almost every day in the summer. It was usually pretty incredible. I still have many photos from this little cove. I lost my father a few years ago, so these memories are particularly special. I try to visit that little spot whenever I am passing by. His sunsets.
What's the first thing you do when you get home from a long trip?
I sleep in and then go for a long walk around New York City. I check in with all of my favourite spots, coffee, records, books, dogs, friends and strangers. I wander for the rest of the day without a real destination. Is there ever really one?
Where is the one destination you must see in your lifetime?
I hope to one day hike the Himalayas, a place I've been fascinated with since I was a kid. A dear friend of mine gifted me the book The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen, and I'll always have a copy wherever I end up living. Matthiessen's story and description of landscape added to my wanting to go there someday. These mountains stretch through a part of the world I still haven't been to, spanning India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and China. Saving my pennies for a rainy day (year).
Steve Gunn returns to play three solo shows in New Zealand this month. Tickets available from Banished Music. He'll also perform at Auckland's Others Way Festival on October 22. Tickets available from Flying Out and Under The Radar.