Gavin Rossdale Feels ‘Fully Functioning and Complete’ Back in Bush

2012-02-21

Story by Cat Badra

Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale says recording the group’s new album was a ‘healthy creative process’

Alternative rockers Bush released their first new album in 10 years, “The Sea of Memories,” in September of last year, and the release come after a long run of singer Gavin Rossdale’s solo endeavors. Getting back with Bush, Rossdale says, feels better than anything in the world. He calls it akin to putting on “a suit of armor.”

“I felt the other stuff was cool,” Rossdale told the Reading Eagle. “They were brilliant, but it was more by default than by design. That whole time I was doing those other things, I was thinking, ‘Man, why is it not Bush? This is so crazy.’

“It felt very much like being in a fist fight with an arm tied behind your back,” he said, “or going up a mountain with a bag of rocks on your back. Now I’m so pleased because I’ve got my voice back. To be in Bush and to be in the band you’re basically born to be in, it’s like a suit of armor. It’s very exciting.”

When Rossdale first started getting serious about putting out a new album, he had some big decisions to face. Chiefly, the singer had to decide whether to stick with a major label, Interscope, or go out on his own.

“Every single person who worked with us at Interscope had been fired,” Rossdale explained. “It was a sinking ship, the worst way to bring out a new record on the planet. We knew we weren’t in the right place, so we elected to leave. But leaving a major label takes a long time, four or five months in our case.”

He used the extra time to work harder and longer on the record. That risk paid off: “The Sea of Memories,” which came out on Bush’s own Zuma Rocks imprint, hit No. 18 on the Billboard 200, and lead single, “The Sound of Winter,” reached No. 1 on the alternative rock chart.

Rossdale feels vindicated by the success. “To be doing Bush again, it’s a juggernaut,” he exclaimed. “It’s really hard to keep up with the interest and all these flattering, amazing things – lots of press requests, lots of shows we can play. While [Bush] was off, I just always felt incomplete and not fulfilled, and now doing Bush is to be re-complete. It just feels very at home and fully functioning and complete.

“You still have to fight to get out there and be heard amongst everything else. You don’t know if you’re going to win the fight, but at least you have your best weapons.”

 




Cat Badra
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