Gavin Rossdale, as fans who admired the Brit long before his current soft-rock hit “Love Remains the Same” will recall, first achieved success with his grunge band Bush in the mid-’90s. Yet the group, so popular at the time that it could sell out the Forum, was almost always represented by just the modelesque Rossdale in photos, like the ones that graced the covers of Rolling Stone and Spin.
But along with success came great criticism, as Bush was constantly compared to Nirvana and Rossdale often dubbed a Kurt Cobain rip-off. Holding its own throughout the ’90s, the band released four albums, although it arguably peaked with its 1994 debut, “Sixteen Stone,” the source of five inescapable singles: “Everything Zen,” “Little Things,” “Machinehead,” “Glycerine” and “Comedown.” Its 1996 follow-up, “Razorblade Suitcase,” and 1999’s “The Science of Things” also churned out more radio favorites, including “Swallowed,” “Greedy Fly,” “Mouth” and “The Chemicals between Us.”
“Golden State” arrived in 2001, yet even with the single “The People That We Love” in heavy rotation, the album wasn’t a hit, and after a tour the following year Bush disbanded.
Since then, Rossdale has kept busy. In 2004 he returned to music with a new outfit, Institute, issuing its first and only album, “Distort Yourself,” in 2005 – though not long after it arrived, that group called it quits as well. In June 2008, however, Rossdale bounced back with his solo debut, “Wanderlust,” going back to touring basics by enduring several jaunts in support of the album. He stops Sunday at House of Blues Anaheim for the final date of the current outing.
I caught up with Rossdale recently by phone while he was headed home from a string of shows in the Midwest. He says the fans coming out to see him perform these days have been fantastic, and that in his spare time on tour he likes to wander around the cities he’s playing, experience some of the local culture and meet with admirers.
“It’s brilliant, going out and just decompressing,” he says. “There’s a lot to see, and after doing 11 shows in 12 days I kinda walk around in catatonic shock – like if someone were to call my name, I’d think I’d have to get on stage. If you poke me, I might just start singing.”
Of course, Rossdale, now 41, is also a family man. He married the most famous musical star to emerge from Orange County, Gwen Stefani, in September 2002, and now they split time between houses in Los Angeles and London where they care for their two sons, Kingston James McGregor and Zuma Nesta Rock. Yet, though Rossdale will perform in his wife’s hometown this weekend (as well as a stop Saturday at El Rey Theatre in L.A.), he doesn’t automatically assume he will be well received here.
“It would be kind of too presumptuous to say that clear out,” he admits. “But yeah, my history is in Southern California – and in all of North America, really, there have been some really gracious fans and people that enjoy my music and like the effort that I put into every show that I do. For me, I do every show like it’s the last show I will do. I put it all out there.”
With a deep catalog of songs to choose from now, Rossdale says he’ll include a few Bush and Institute tracks into his set, as well as a couple random covers. Since it’s the final night of his tour, he says the House of Blues gig will be an emotional one. Having had success in the past and reclaimed a piece of it again with “Wanderlust,” he says he doesn’t take anything for granted.
“I keep on getting scared that I won’t play ever again, so I really want it to be a good show so I can come back to Anaheim, at least.”
OBAMA’S STAMP OF APPROVAL
Should a musician whose music appears on President Obama’s Air Force One playlist really be worried about job security? CNN released the Commander-in-Chief’s playlist in February, and it included tracks by Kanye West, Rhianna, Beyoncé, Eric Benet … and Rossdale. The singer, still working on obtaining his U.S. citizenship despite being married to an American, was unable to vote for Obama – but he would have if he could have.
“You know, it’s the biggest compliment ever,” he says. “I have two American children that were born here, and I live in America as well, and this is a very exciting time here. The whole world is excited about him and the prospects of the power of change that’s coming across America. I’m ecstatic and I do like him a lot. I hope he plays the whole record. I’d like him to set an example that an artist is more than one single – more than just one song on an iPod.”
And what’s Gavin listening to these days? He says his iPod includes full albums by TV on the Radio and the latest from Zach Condon’s eclectic and ever-changing outfit Beirut. When he’s alone on his bus, amped after a show, he blasts English electronic band Underworld.
“Between the hours of 2-6 a.m., that’s my time when I’m not working and I have a great energy from the show and I don’t want to sleep – and no one is on the bus. I just have the window open and the wind flying in at me and the music. It gives me time to just kind of take stock of how grateful I am to do what I do. It’s a really incredible life to play for people … and really make (them) happy.”
Rossdale and Stefani are currently both on tour separately, but he says they always make time for their children – they make an effort for his sons to come visit him on tour, or for him to return home to spend time with them. He describes time away like being in a weird bubble where everything seems to stand still, even though he knows time is continuing all around him.
Yet, given this solo tour and the demands of family life, Rossdale has had little time to think about other things – like if there will ever be a Bush reunion or if he’ll appear in more films. About a Bush return, Rossdale says no for now; he’d prefer to focus on his solo music, though he admits he’s thought about reviving the past. As for his acting career, that’s also on hold. He’s had a few small roles in features, including the Britney Murphy flick “Little Black Book” and a larger parts in 2005’s “Constantine” and “The Game of Their Lives.”
“Movies … I don’t know,” he says. “I’m so in love with the music, and it’s going my way a little bit so I don’t want to change the path. I did those movies … at a time when I could start on a Monday and finish up three weeks later. (But) music is an open-ended thing. To get a taste of this and traveling with the band and moving in (this) direction … to go off and do a movie right now might break my heart.
“And the good news is that I’m not getting offered one right now, so it’s a moot point, really.”
Rossdale mentioned that he likes to put in face time with his fans after shows; it’s the least he can do for such gracious audiences. But he says it’s weird how people get thrown by his after-show meet-and-greet routine – and he’s fully aware how quickly an artist can ruin a fan’s perception.
“You can just, like, destroy someone’s love for you and what they thought of you in a heartbeat. If they grace me with their time and wait for me – I’ve always done this after shows. I just can’t bear the whole idea of crushing someone.”
So will he be signing after his gig on Sunday?
“I do it every time, 100 percent. Now, if I don’t do it, you’ll be like, ‘See, that guy’s a liar, he’s full of it. He’s so English and stuck up.’ I’ll definitely be hanging around after the House of Blues show now.”
(via The Orange County Register)
"Wanderlust"
Established: October 2002
