Pete Townshend says Mick Jagger taught him how to pack for the road

Pete Townshend says that Mick Jagger taught him the art of packing heavily. Townshend posted on his official (petetownshend.co.uk) that, "Years ago, maybe back in 1981, I was at a party Mick Jagger threw in New York and he was playing some great blues records. They were in a huge travel trunk. I asked him why he kept his records that way, and he told me they traveled with him everywhere. 'Even to hotel rooms on the road?' 'Yes,' he said. 'So you take a lot of records,' I said. 'No, I take all my records,' he replied. 'All of them. Everywhere.'"

The Who guitarist went on to rationalize bringing an arsenal of packing cases along with him on the road by saying, "God travels through space just about as encumbered as it is possible to be. Why not leave Mars behind, for example? Better not, might need it one day. So like Mick and God I travel pretty heavy myself."

He went on to list all of the personal items he carries along with him from city to city on the Who's tour, listing among many other things, "books, a small recording system, a keyboard, four guitars and a ukulele, tools (including soldering gear), a computer printer... a kettle, a toaster... I like to have this stuff around me. It makes me feel I am at home."

Townshend told Billboard that Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will take part in an upcoming In The Attic webcast that Townshend and his girlfriend Rachel Fuller broadcast on his website: "He's on the phone a lot at the moment. In Seattle, we're hoping to do an In The Attic featurette with him. He's very keen to be on." Townshend and Vedder have performed several times together over the past dozen or so years, both at Who dates and Townshend solo gigs.

The Who wraped up their first U.S. leg on October 11th in Seattle at the Key Arena at Seattle Center. They'll now head back to the U.K. for a single London show and a three week break.

On October 31st the band will release Endless Wire, their first studio album since 1982.

The Who will kick off their next set of U.S. dates on November 4th, at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl.