POND, Budjerah & More Share Their Tour Essentials

Children Collide (Johnny) 

• First things first - you need a band. Preferably in bucket hats. To be fair, this is the only time I've ever seen Ryan and Chelsea wear bucket hats, but I found it essential at the time.
• A spork. Things can get real hungry on the road with not a lot of options. Once I forgot my spork and had to eat dirt using my hands like a peasant. Throw a second one in your checked luggage and you've got a sweet percussion situation to liven up the afterparty.
• A telephone. Communication is key to any successful tour and a telephone is one of the most effective ways I've found to stay in touch. Here's a photo of me calling our tour manager asking for more sporks.
• A tiny microphone. We mainly play bigger venues like stadiums and The Great Wall of China but what do you do when you play a smaller place like a pub or somebody's toilet? I use this tiny mic so as to still give off the illusion of largeness. That's entertainment.
• I saved the most important thing for last. A tour manager/sound mixer. Ours is named Chooky. Chooky does all the driving and tells us when to go to bed as well as handing out the sporks. Thanks for reading.

You can check out Children Collide's forthcoming tour dates HERE

Pond (Nick)

• Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano - this thing has travelled with me all over the world. I bought it in Brooklyn on probably our first Tame tour. It has its limitations, but those limitations are amazing; any sound that isn't cool is outside its limits. From 8-bit Game Boy synth to primitive calc-esque to total psych wiggery. Pretty cool to have battery-powered stuff. I'll cry when this breaks. 
• Book - on an australian tour where you gotta fly every day I'm usually too buggered to actually read, but I always take a book or two anyway. I'm reading this by Yorna Woolagoodja. It rocks. "Wandjina has no mouth because the sound of beginning cannot be heard by human ears." :o
• Tarot - tour is kind of a battle to keep your brain and spirit alive for as long as possible, to feel like you're a real thinking, breathing, inspired human being rather than a lobotomised ape that turns on every night at 9pm after being pumped with alcohol. Basically bring things on tour that might remind you that you're a person, not a car. I haven't been looking at tarot much recently but I think it's super cool as a tool to get yr brain moving and feel like there's a li'l bit of magic and wonder around and the world isn't just an endless cold dead transit terminal landing at Death.
• Yoga mat - a couple of years ago I treated myself to a fancy one, and crikey moses I never regretted it. It is soooo nice, and still sturdy as. Can't remember the brand otherwise would definitely plug it. Anyway yoga is something that's muy importante for me - breathing, balance, strength, flexibility blaaaah blah it's all really good shit. If I couldn't grind out the joints after long car and plane journeys I'd quickly fossilise and turn to dust and that wouldn't make for a great show now would it? (nb: I absolutely realise this might make for an amazing show)
• Bagz bags. What would we do without them? Full disclosure: the main purpose is to separate jocks and socks and dirty clothes before they all intermingle in my suitcase, thus avoiding confusion and the spread of foul odours. Useful things ey... ahhh sweet bags :") 

You can check out Pond's forthcoming tour dates HERE

Great Gable

• My custom made guitar amp for rock shows
• A fresh sixer from Young Henrys to keep us hydrated
• My dad cam to capture the good fun super hot cool times with my best friends x
• My ol’ faithful LOTR shirt because Frodo is always wearing Great Gable merch so I thought I’d return the favour
• The Switch for Mario Kart

You can check out Great Gable's forthcoming tour dates HERE

Holy Holy (Oscar)

• Undies: Ratio of 2:1. 2 undies per 1 show day. Mainly for protection of my trousers.
• Iron: Always keep one of these handy for night-time warmth. If you dial it right you can have it cuddled right in and you'll sleep tight.
• Tissues: I always keep a small quantity of spare loo roll which I use as tissues, for the post-show blues.
• Bot bot: For those, like me, who prefer the flavour of water from a plastic bottle, keep a bot bot handy and you can dump that tasty stuff right on in, and nobody will know the better. No more dirty looks from your band mates!
• My apps: I keep my apps on my phone and I don't leave home without them. So handy for when I need to rejig my investment portfolio on the fly or stay in touch with my personal trainer. 

You can check out Holy Holy's forthcoming tour dates HERE

Budjerah

• My Polaroid camera - I always take photos everywhere I go and I like looking back at the things I did
• My lunchbox - I don’t work very well when I’m hungry so I always pack snacks
• Playing cards - great way to pass time when you’re travelling. My band and I always play a game before a show.
• Mum - she helps me keep myself together and always makes sure we get to the right place on time. She also helps me iron my clothes, which I’m not very good at.
• My guitar - very essential! I need my guitar to perform and to write more music for you guys.

You can check out Budjerah's forthcoming tour dates HERE