Anybody who likes grunge music has heard about Gavin Rossdale and his band Bush. In the '90s, while Britpop was taking over England, Gavin established this amazing rock band that resembled more to the punk rock sound that was making headlines in the US than to the music of his hometown.
Grunge bands mostly came out of Seattle, but with Bush, Gavin was the exception to the rule. He became the lead singer of one of the best-selling bands of the decade, and some of his hits like Glycerine are still played to this day. But what has he been up to since the golden era of grunge?
10 How He Deals With Quarantine
Gavin Rossdale was married to Gwen Stefani for over a decade, and the two of them have three children together. They usually handle co-parenting pretty well, but with everything that's happened during these tough times, Gavin has found it difficult to deal with being away from his kids for days on end. He knows it's for safety reasons, but he still misses them terribly.
"I did the first two weeks with them, then they went to Oklahoma," he explained. He said that he thought having some time for himself would be relaxing, but he "prefers it when they're around." They stay connected over FaceTime, but it's still hard.
9 He's Taking Guitar Lessons
It speaks very well of Gavin that, even being the accomplished and experienced musician that he is, he still tries to learn more about his craft. He said that he's been taking guitar lessons.
"I’ve got an amazing guitar teacher called Jean-Marc Belkadi. He teaches everyone here in LA, from the top session players to kids," he explained. "We jam and play and I learn stuff. Music is strangely infinite – there are so few notes and yet so many formulations and possibilities. It still blows my mind."
8 New Bush Album
This year, in the midst of some of the weirdest times the planet has ever gone through, Bush released a new album titled The Kingdom. Gavin is very happy with the record, and he said that it was "the sum of our own parts and histories."
"I was making bruised music," Gavin said about his previous record. "But once the dust had settled this defiance came in, this desire to get back to angrier things. In a way this one was a triumphant return to myself."
7 A Special New Bush Song
As most people know, Gavin rejoined his bandmates in Bush a few years ago, and they have been making music since then. Now that their new album is out, a particular song titled Ghosts in the Machine caught the fans' attention, as it seemed to be dedicated to the singer's ex-wife, No Doubt singer, Gwen Stefani. The lyrics say "I used to think that you could fix me - I used to think that 'till death us do part." Although Gavin didn't specify anything, he did say that it was about trying "to be someone special for someone and that didn't work out."
6 He Wrote A Song For A John Wick Movie
Bush's song Bullet Holes is featured in John Wick: Chapter III – Parabellum, although Gavin explained that he didn't write it for that movie. The song was originally about a very rough breakup he'd been through, but when Chad Stahelski, the director of the John Wick movies, heard the song, he immediately loved it. He called him and asked him if he could use the song, and Gavin said yes. For Gavin, it was a great thing. The band was invited to the premiere, and they had a great time.
5 His Opinion On 'The Science Of The Things'
The Science of The Things was Bush's third studio album, and it came out in 1999. It was very successful at the time, but obviously, both the band and the fans were different back then. Now, with some distance, Gavin shared his thoughts on that album and what it meant.
"It’s not like a sense of living with regret, it’s about being aware and self-critical. Every record is a snapshot of time," he explained. "If I worked harder or was smarter, I’d have just repeated the first album in a different order for about four or five records and I’d be playing stadiums! The Science Of Things was a record about being in London, being surrounded by Massive Attack, Blur, and Primal Scream, and wanting to get a bit of London back in our sound."
4 How He Deals With Fame
Although it's obviously not the same as in the '90s, when grunge was the most popular music and Bush was one of the most important bands, Gavin is still a celebrity. Dealing with being under scrutiny all the time can be difficult, but he said he has learned to deal with it, at least a little. One thing he always tries to do is remain humble despite being treated like a celebrity.
"The paparazzi are more interested in the new blood these days, but I still get them following me. If I have a coffee with a girl I’m marrying her. I’ve learned to take it in my stride, to not take that stuff, or myself, too seriously."
3 Eddie Van Halen's Death
The passing of Eddie Van Halen has been a low blow for rock 'n roll and music fans in general. He was one of the greatest guitar heroes, and many musicians have expressed their condolences and shared their experiences with the guitarist, including Gavin.
"I went for dinner at someone's house, and he was there at dinner, and I sat next to him," he said. "And he was a sweetheart. And he had his guitar with an amp in there and basically soloed through most of dinner. He stopped playing guitar when we were talking, but generally, he practiced a lot. He was a virtuoso, but a really good thing for people to know is that outside of his musical genius, he just put hours in, years, decades into playing, and that's how he got so good. And it's sort of a lesson for all of us, really, that our craft should be something that we tend to most of the time."
2 No Cover
This year, it was announced that Gavin would be joining Alice Cooper, Bishop Briggs, Lzzy Hale, and Tosin Abasi as a judge on the new talent search show, No Cover. It won't be the first time Gavin works as a talent judge, he's done it before on The Voice, but this show is particularly special. In No Cover, the participants won't perform other artists' songs, they will have to write their own songs. It's unlike any other talent show, and it will be very interesting to watch.
1 Chester Bennington Tribute
Linkin Park's Chester Bennington's death in 2017 was a low blow for everyone in the music business, including Gavin. A few months after his death in July, there was a tribute concert, where Gavin sang Linkin Park's song Leave Out All The Rest. He later said that when he was honoring Chester, he was also thinking about another great singer, Soundgarden's frontman Chris Cornell, who had also died of suicide that year. Chester and Chris were close friends, and he said that when he sang, he felt a connection to both of them.
"I was a very small part of a massive night and my job was to find a way do it right and honor Chester. Weirdly, that goes hand in hand – I didn’t honor Chris on that specific night, but it was hard to not have Chris far from my mind.”
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