Gavin Rossdale Calls Bush Reunion ‘Exciting,’ Says Family Rumors Can ‘Strike Home’
Gavin Rossdale feels like Bush has never ended, even though it’s been nine years since the release of the group’s last studio album, “Golden State.”
“I felt the other stuff was cool, but it was more default than by design,” Rossdale — who released an album with the group Institute in 2005 and a solo album, “Wanderlust,” in 2008 — tells Billboard.com. After touring in support of “Wanderlust,” Rossdale re-formed Bush for “Everything Always Now,” which he says will most likely be out in October.
“That whole time I was thinking, ‘Man, why is it not Bush? This is so crazy.’ I’m so pleased because I’ve got my voice back. To be in Bush, the band you’re basically born to be in, it’s like a suit of armor. It’s very exciting.”
The current incarnation of Bush features original drummer Robin Goodridge, guitarist Chris Traynor (who replaced Nigel Pulsford in 2002), and bassist Corey Britz in place of Dave Parsons. Rossdale says he reached out to Pulsford to be part of the group again, but the guitarist “doesn’t want to travel anymore. He’s doing his own thing.”
Bush recorded “Everything Always Now” with producer Bob Rock, who also worked with Rossdale on “Wanderlust.” The group laid down 19 tracks, with 12 making the final cut. The first single, “Afterlife,” is already out, while most of the other songs were written especially for the project. Only one — “Lost in You,” one of several Rossdale co-writes with Dave Stewart while making “Wanderlust” — has been around for awhile, while another, “Heroes Never Die,” was not originally intended for the set but was added at the insistence of mixing engineer Spike Stent.
Rossdale describes the new music as “heavy” in Bush tradition but says it’s not a repeat of 1994’s multi-platinum debut “Sixteen Stone” or any of the group’s other albums. “It’s tricky,” Rossdale explains, “because you want the band to evolve and you want to make songs that people really care about, but you also don’t want to repeat yourself. I was mindful of that. My musical vocabulary is better all the time — I get better at playing guitar, I think this is the best I’ve ever sung, so I want the record to reflect that.”
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Rossdale — who also sings on the new Apocalyptica single “End of Me” and covered T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” for the new Santana album, due out Sept. 21 — says Bush may issue an EP prior to the new album’s release, featuring “two tracks from the album and two or three other songs just to bridge the gap and…start to build it.” But the group plans to take its time before hitting the road; it’s currently booked to perform at the Epicenter Festival on Sept. 25 in Fontana, Calif., and Rossdale says there will be handful of other “special” shows, but no full tour until 2011.
“The idea is to do stuff in a way you’re not super-exposed,” he explains. “The idea is to let the album come out, let people reconnect, let’s appear at big festivals, let’s do some good press, let’s get the word out there and let the momentum take it a little bit. And then I think a proper, substantial tour starts next year.”
Rossdale adds that making “Everything Always Now” also provided a bit of an antidote for the latest rumors about he and his wife, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani — primarily reports that she’s pregnant with their third child. “There’s rumors about anything and everyone the whole time,” he says. “You just roll with the stuff. Some things are more daft than others, and some things can strike home. You’ve just got to go about your business, that’s all.”
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