Fans, friends, and New Jerseyans – you have two chances to catch Bush live this month, and we’re telling you that missing one (or both) of them will result in complete and utter FOMO. So, head out on August 21 to PNC Bank Arts Center and/or Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena on August 23.
Lead singer of Bush, Gavin Rossdale, has had an illustrious career. There is a lot to talk about with him, but this time around we are celebrating 30 years of Bush’s seminal debut album, Sixteen Stone. The record had an enormous impact on the then-nineties grunge scene, especially after Nirvana’s lead singer passed away in April of 1994. (Rossdale insists that although it was a great time to come up in, and that the passing of Cobain was a great tragedy, he is not defining himself, nor Bush, as grunge anymore.)
Last year, Bush released a compilation record titled Loaded: The Greatest Hits, and it covers the past three decades of music from this amazing UK rock act. Rossdale fondly looks back with their second record of greatest hits out now, but he also uses that as motivation for the future and what’s to come by staying connected to the art and hoping it transcends. It’s difficult to endure the music scene for this long, but Bush continues to stand out as an act that holds its own today, years after debuting during a time when rock was ‘cool’ and alternative was the mainstream.
Bush currently consists of Rossdale, lead guitarist Chris Traynor, bassist Corey Britz, and drummer Nik Hughes. Even though their lineup has changed over the years, the love for the music has not, and if it seems like Bush is getting heavier as they go, getting deeper with each record, that is exactly the case. The famed frontman even says that his favorite release from Bush is the new studio album that is just around the corner. (At the time of this conversation, the band was in the middle of studio time, already having finished five songs for the record.)
The Aquarian’s Robert Frezza sat down and talked to Rossdale about 30 years of rocking with Bush, picking the songs for the band’s latest collection, and what advice he gives those who may want to take that leap of faith with their band and step into this industry.
Sixteen Stone is turning 30 this year. Did you think the album would be impactful as it was?
It was impossible to tell. I just made a record like anyone else wanting to have a music career. It resonated with people and that’s amazing and wild. Still blows me away and it’s still going strong. It’s incredible.
Kurt Cobain passed away in April of 1994. Bush’s Sixteen Stone dropped in December of 1994. What were your thoughts at that moment? Did you think that you had a chance?
It was a tragedy. Everyone loved him. In a way, grunge did die on that day. We are still here, though, and we are not just grunge.
How did you pick the songs for Loaded: The Greatest Hits?
That was quite difficult. We just did chronological. We left off four songs that I regret; there wasn’t room on the vinyl. There are 26 hits on Greatest Hits; so there’s going to be a deluxe. Normally, I am obsessively overly involved with everything. We did the biggest songs, though, and made them chronological.
Your latest video, “Nowhere To Go But Everywhere,” is an exploration of mourning youth that also questions the lengths people go to avoid aging. It’s heavy. Do you find the video making process arduous?
I love making videos; they are these incredible snapshots in time. They are like an iPhone library and everything you record visually is a moment in time. You look back and you have this amazing array of all these different things.
The band was called Bush X at one point. Why?
Only in Canada. This guy in Canada had a band, Bush, in the seventies, but the band had been dormant for 30 years. When I met him and we did the unveiling of the ‘X’ in Canada, he said he would have been super cool with any of this if he was asked nicely [about the band name]. He felt bullied by corporate labels at the time.
Why did the band go on hiatus between 2002 and 2010?
Nigel felt he missed the rearing and raising of his child. He felt like we had been on tour so much and that he wanted to take a break. It takes a lot of guts to do this – traveling around and pedaling your wares is challenging. He lost his mojo for it. I did a solo record and had enough, and I wanted to go back to Bush.
What was the solo career like?
We had a No. 1 song for nine weeks called “Love Remains The Same” – a ballad. I like bands, though, and it felt disingenuous not being in Bush. I had a No. 1 song for nine weeks and toured for two months and I just wanted to do Bush. It was fun for a minute, but it was hard enough performing in Bush, let alone performing solo.
Your line up has changed, but your music has stayed the same. Everything is still Bush.
Well, it’s always been me singing, but the evolution of music is quite extreme with the detuning, the heavier approach. When I was doing that solo record, for example, I wondered if I could make a record without guitars, but now it’s just heavier than ever.
Do you feel a lot of pressure in the business to create another rock album?
I feel a lot of that pressure that I put on myself, which is to be as great as I can be. “What’s the best version of me?” I still study and try to learn and try to get better. There are amazing songwriters out there. I aspire to be better, and aspire to find the better lyric, the cooler chord changes. I try to keep being better at my job.
The UK seems to have a lockdown on the rock scene right now with IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Bad Nerves, etc. Why isn’t that scene fully permeating the States? Who are the gatekeepers today?
I think society changes. Hip -op and pop radio stations have 110 million listeners while rock and alternative is at 10 million. I think it’s a counterculture movement, it’s not mainstream ideas. I do miss coming up in the nineties when we began – rock was the centerpiece. It’s the irresponsibility of those making rock music. People go see Muse and U2 perform and they are not part of the daily culture that Drake and Kanye [West] is. Ultimately, they are more interesting to people. It’s still about making the killer records, and I try to make a record that transcends. You write authentically, you perform as much as you can, and give everything you can in your spirit.
What is your favorite Bush album and why?
The next one. We are five songs in. There will be a single out soon. The record will be done at the end of this tour.
You just launched Sea of Sound, your streetwear line, at Paris Fashion Week.
I really enjoy making things and it is fun to be in a different world. Much like any business, though, it’s really nuanced and a lot of work. It’s a big challenge, but the stuff is cool and I really like it. If you get into anything, once you get beneath the surface, it gets complicated. I love it and it’s challenging. I wanted to do something creative, yet be home and stay with the children at the same time.
Do you feel like you are the last singer standing from your era?
That’s true of life, though; if we had a reunion, we’d have a large number who are not around. I am really mindful that there are so many bigger bands than mine, like Coldplay, U2, Muse, etc. It keeps me grounded, humble, and focused on my job. I still do well, but I cannot play stadiums. I don’t measure my contemporaries for measuring your own success. I do see myself as a last of a breed of frontmen or performers. I’d like to be considered as a part of the fabric of the culture, though.
Any words of wisdom for those that do want to get in a band?
For sure. It’s such an interesting tightrope in believing in yourself and listening to others. I was really insecure – and still am at times. You can be full of self-doubt, yet have that iron rod of self-belief within. If you believe in everyone else’s opinions, it will knock down that iron rod. Believing in yourself is essential.
I know some record labels who wouldn’t sign me, and it didn’t make me stop. I felt like I didn’t have my shit together to show them. My voice was the reason I didn’t get signed. I had to live with this shame. At the end, my voice was a massive component in giving us an identity that has gone on for the success for 30 years. It’s a great lesson in tenacity and believing in yourself.
FOR TICKETS & INFO ON HOW TO CATCH BUSH ON TOUR, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE!
