Bush's Gavin Rossdale: 'The Sound of Winter' is a 'Shared Success'

Bush’s Gavin Rossdale: ‘The Sound of Winter’ is a ‘Shared Success’

2011-11-28

Story by Anne Erickson

Bush frontman says band’s first No. 1 hit is “a positive thing”

For as long as Bush have churned out alternative rock hits, one would think they have a stack of No. 1 tracks to call their own. But, looking back on the band’s long list of radio chart-toppers, surprisingly, they didn’t score a No. 1 song until this year’s, “The Sound of Winter.” The tune packs arena rock-ready hooks and sweet, sparkly sonic textures, with layers of guitars and lead singer Gavin Rossdale’s gruff vocals, so it’s no surprise it jetted to the top of the alternative rock chart in a jiffy.

As for the success of “The Sound of Winter,” Rossdale, 46, says he couldn’t be more humbled by it. “My general reaction is gratitude. I don’t want to be a pig about it and use it to validate our decision, or make it a negative thing,” Rossdale told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I want it to be a positive thing for me and my life, and that’s what I concentrate on. It takes a lot of people … everyone around me has done such a great job, and that facilitated it on every level. So it’s a shared success, and there’s only time to celebrate that.”

Part of that achievement, perhaps, is because Bush are free from any major-label pressures with their latest album, The Sea of Memories. Rossdale says he went the independent route because he saw too many rock bands sink to the bottom of the label’s rosters when times got tough. “It’s simple economics for a record label,” Rossdale said. “The future felt sort of independent. Obviously, nobody knows where it’s going, but we’re just trying to go with the times and accept change and that’s it. That’s when we thought about [going independent].”

Rossdale also wants fans to know that if they want to get inside his head, they should simply follow him on Twitter. “What’s so incredible now is the new Twitter revolution. You get a fair number of people who tell me what they think, literally,” he said. “I petition them about things. If I don’t know which two songs to play, for example, I’ll ask them. They love to be engaged and involved, and it’s fun.”

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.