8 tour essentials for Death Cab's Ben Gibbard

When you've been on the road as long as Death Cab for Cutie, you don't overthink what lands in your suitcase.

"At this point, I pretty much pack an hour before we leave," says frontman Ben Gibbard. Heading out for the next leg of their U.S. tour in support of new album Kintsugi, "we're not going somewhere so exotic that we can't get what we need out there. You can always get a new shirt or three-pack of underwear or toiletries, so I just throw four or five days-worth of clothes in a suitcase and I'm set."

Before the alt-rock vets launch their month-long trek in Portland, Me., Friday, Gibbard shares some touring must-haves with USA TODAY:

Workout gear. "I run a lot, so I always keep my running shoes and some running clothes in my shoulder bag, just in case you get separated from your suitcase. That's the only thing I get nervous about being away from. I could lose a suitcase of clothes and be like 'OK, I'll just go to H&M and buy a few days of clothes until I find my it.' But being without my running shoes for more than a day kind of makes me anxious."

Clif energy bars. "Every once in a while you need something you need something really quick — whether it's flight delays or unforeseen circumstances. So because I run a lot and I get hungry really fast, I always keep two or three Clif bars in my bag for breakfast or the middle of the day. I can go from slightly hungry to 'hangry' really fast."

Purity by Jonathan Franzen. "I'm going to go to the bookstore before we leave and pick up his new book. That's going to be my tour book this time around."

Topo Chico sparkling mineral water. "If I could have my way, we'd be able to find Topo Chico pretty much anywhere in the country, but you can pretty much only get it in Chicago or Texas or something like that. So whenever we come across an area that has it, we always get excited."

FXX's The League. "We're all really huge fans. Between the five or six seasons of the show that have already been on, that's become a band favorite on the road. I've also loaded up a bunch of music documentaries and some movies that I haven't seen in a while, but it's always hard to get through a movie after a show. By the time you get back to the bus, it's late and you're sitting through a two-hour movie at one or two in the morning, so I usually end up falling asleep without finishing it."

Epiphone Texan guitar. "I have a guitar I really love backstage that I like to play a little — not to warm up in the traditional sense, but just having it around and strumming and picking out the notes are there. We don't like, burn sage or have any kind of rituals, though. You just get up and play."

Neti pot. "I don't get sick that often, but a head cold can cause so much strife. We had to reschedule some shows on the last tour because I got sick and lost my voice, so I've been carrying a Neti pot with me pretty religiiously. It's a weird sensation, but it totally works."

Turntable. "We always have a small turntable backstage, so everybody kind of goes and picks up records and plays stuff. We've got a stack of records we didn't get through last tour, so we'll have to go back and check out some of that stuff." One of his favorite albums currently is Time to Go Home by Seattle band Chastity Belt, who will support them on their European tour later this year.