August 6, 2025 • 22 mins
Interview by Kris Peters
English alternative rock band Bush initially gained popularity in the mid-1990s, particularly in the United States, with their debut album Sixteen Stone. While initially labelled as grunge or post-grunge, Bush carved out their own space with a blend of heavy riffs, catchy melodies, and frontman Gavin Rossdale's distinctive vocals. After a hiatus, the band reunited in 2010 and continues to release music and tour successfully, with a loyal fan base that feels connected with the band due to their honest and decisive lyrics.
Bush's sound has been described as a mix of grunge, post-grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock, and while some critics initially dismissed them as grunge imitators, particularly of Nirvana, Bush developed their own unique style, characterized by powerful guitar riffs, memorable hooks, and Rossdale's vocals, which ranged from aggressive to melodic.
This is perhaps never more evident than on Bush's latest album, I Beat Loneliness, a deeply personal release highlighting a sense of vulnerability coupled with other serious issues such as men's mental health and dealing with associated problems.
With I Beat Loneliness having been out for almost one month now, HEAVY took the time to speak with Rossdale to dive even deeper, starting by asking how the early reception has been for the new album.
"It's been fantastic, really amazing across the board," he smiled. "It's a great reception to a record that is finding its way connecting with people, and this has been a really fun time. It feels like a body of work, as opposed to like cracking on one song for like six months, you know?"
We ask Rossdale to go into greater detail about I Beat Loneliness musically and what he was going for with it.
"For me, music is still an experiment," he began, "and I'm still 25% I don't understand about it, or probably even more. And so every song I write is a form of experimentation for me, and just diving into these different worlds. I'm finding a lot in the detuned world, and then a lot in the soft sense you can have. I can create these worlds to write in, because I have a weird, weird skill set. I go into banks of sound, and I can do it really fast. I've done it for years where I had to listen to other people going through them slowly, but now I've got my own studio, I can go through things really quick. You find these great moments that create these atmospheres with keyboards, and so I just write in those worlds."
In the full interview, Gavin described his creative process as an experimental journey through various sonic landscapes, using sound banks to create unique atmospheres. He emphasized the album's themes of hope and authenticity, aiming to resonate with listeners' vulnerabilities and address mental health issues, sharing a poignant experience where a fan credited his music with saving their life, prompting him to reflect on his own past and the importance of kindness in the world.
We spoke about his approach to music and finding the best in himself, not just as a songwriter, but as a person. Gavin explained the reasons for starting the album with the song Scars and how it introduces the listener to the heavy content to come. We spoke about the importance of music in moments of stress and the healing qualities it can provide, possible Australian tour plans and more.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
English alternative rock band Bush initially gained popularity in the mid-1990s, particularly in the United States, with their debut album Sixteen Stone. While initially labelled as grunge or post-grunge, Bush carved out their own space with a blend of heavy riffs, catchy melodies, and frontman Gavin Rossdale's distinctive vocals. After a hiatus, the band reunited in 2010 and continues to release music and tour successfully, with a loyal fan base that feels connected with the band due to their honest and decisive lyrics.
Bush's sound has been described as a mix of grunge, post-grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock, and while some critics initially dismissed them as grunge imitators, particularly of Nirvana, Bush developed their own unique style, characterized by powerful guitar riffs, memorable hooks, and Rossdale's vocals, which ranged from aggressive to melodic.
This is perhaps never more evident than on Bush's latest album, I Beat Loneliness, a deeply personal release highlighting a sense of vulnerability coupled with other serious issues such as men's mental health and dealing with associated problems.
With I Beat Loneliness having been out for almost one month now, HEAVY took the time to speak with Rossdale to dive even deeper, starting by asking how the early reception has been for the new album.
"It's been fantastic, really amazing across the board," he smiled. "It's a great reception to a record that is finding its way connecting with people, and this has been a really fun time. It feels like a body of work, as opposed to like cracking on one song for like six months, you know?"
We ask Rossdale to go into greater detail about I Beat Loneliness musically and what he was going for with it.
"For me, music is still an experiment," he began, "and I'm still 25% I don't understand about it, or probably even more. And so every song I write is a form of experimentation for me, and just diving into these different worlds. I'm finding a lot in the detuned world, and then a lot in the soft sense you can have. I can create these worlds to write in, because I have a weird, weird skill set. I go into banks of sound, and I can do it really fast. I've done it for years where I had to listen to other people going through them slowly, but now I've got my own studio, I can go through things really quick. You find these great moments that create these atmospheres with keyboards, and so I just write in those worlds."
In the full interview, Gavin described his creative process as an experimental journey through various sonic landscapes, using sound banks to create unique atmospheres. He emphasized the album's themes of hope and authenticity, aiming to resonate with listeners' vulnerabilities and address mental health issues, sharing a poignant experience where a fan credited his music with saving their life, prompting him to reflect on his own past and the importance of kindness in the world.
We spoke about his approach to music and finding the best in himself, not just as a songwriter, but as a person. Gavin explained the reasons for starting the album with the song Scars and how it introduces the listener to the heavy content to come. We spoke about the importance of music in moments of stress and the healing qualities it can provide, possible Australian tour plans and more.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Gavin from Bush. We have our tenth record
are now I'd beat Loneliness and it's fucking great and
I'm happy to beat you.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Fantastic Gavin, thanks to join us today. Cheers, Cheers, Dada Brothers.
As you say, Bush released your ten studio album I
Beat Loneliness just last month. So how's the early reception
been for it.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
It's been fantastic, really amazing across the board, really great
reception to a record that is finding its way connecting
with people. And this has been a really fun time,
you know, releasing sixty Ways to Forget People, then you know,
to DSPs and then because the different kind of ways
(00:46):
people do it now and there's Scars, it's not just
then Land of Milk and Honey then Scars. Maybe I'd
beat Loneliness the next and there's a nice way they've
just working the album, and so it feels like a
body of work because I suppose it's like cracking on one
song for like six months, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, we're dood now. It's a bit of a deep album, right.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
But before we get onto that, can you tell us
a bit more about the album from a musical point
of view and what a you're going for this song around?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
You know, for me, music is still an experiment. I'm
still twenty five percent I don't understand about it, or
probably even more and and and so every song I
write is this form of experimentation for me and just
diving into these different worlds. So for me, I'm finding
(01:38):
a lot of a lot in the detuned world and
then a lot of in the sense the soft sense
you can have, and I can create these worlds to
write in that. I have a weird, weird skill set,
weird weird little skill set, which is I can go
into banks of sound and I can really so I've
(02:00):
done it for years where I had to listen to
other people going through them slowly, I mean, but now
I've got my own studio, can go through things really quick.
And so you find these great moments that create these
atmospheres with with their keyboards, and so I just.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Write in those in those worlds as where I write.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
What do you mean by banks of sounds before?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I mean like soft sense, you know, like the libraries
of sounds, so sonically you know, from from film score, music,
from Arabian music, whatever, it's infinite, you know, I mean
the world of sound put on hard lives. You can
imagine there's there's banks of sound for everything that ever
happened in.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
The history of the world and.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Occupied for a while anyway.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah, but I'm really quick ated.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
The thing is I've got I'm quick at it, so
I love that process of it. It just sort of
feels as close as I get to being a bit
of a painter or something like throwing music around just
seeing where it connects to.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Lie, now you've been quite to say that I've been
lighted as is the most personal record you've have made.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Can you elaborate on that for us?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, I think that I made a conscious effort to
be to make a really honest album about what I
was thinking about and where i'd sort of got to
at this point in my life, you know, a sort
of some degree whatever experience I had, and you know,
I just decided to be open and vulnerable and be
(03:33):
myself so that people could see that it's not not
easy for anyone. And I'm firmly of the belief that
this is a record for everyone because it sort of
speaks to everyone's vulnerabilities and life is not easy, life
is amazing and magic. We've never lived at a better time.
There's never been a bad time to be a live
(03:54):
But at the same time there's a high price and
a high cost and people it's good to have a
record you can relate to and is not based in
aspirational do you know what I mean? I didn't do
a record about villains in the South of France, and
everyone's like, oh fuck, I've got to go in that record.
I want to get a Villains south of France. Unfortunately,
(04:17):
if I fucking knew how to do that, I just
would have done that.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
And then Bush and then nine albums.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So like to say, man, this is your tenth album,
So why decided that this is the right time? Bad
gets so personal and in depth on an album.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Life just fucking tells you what to do. I don't
know what you tell life to do. Life tells what
to do. I mean when I traditionally made records before
you know the artist, Survival was really, you know, for me,
a really big record, a big triumph, and this was
directly talking about all the kind of struggles that everyone
had gone through and our ability to be strong and
(05:02):
so therefore it's a little bit outward. And then on
this one, I Honestly, I had so many conversations with
people that love the band, and I had a consistent
theme through that those conversations, which was about was about
what the records meant to them and how they've been
(05:24):
in the records or the music had been there for
them through their worst times, real common theme, and so
I just thought, well, that's obviously the I'm not very
good at party music, right, It's not my thing. I'm
no good at I'm no good at like storytelling, like
fucking they know the blues bands.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
I can't. Don't tell stories.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I do situational you know, investigations, you know, human things,
living things, And so I just went to the best
of myself basically.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
So that's what came out. And usually when.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm writing songs, right, I will traditionally what I've done before,
and it's always important to change what your traditions are.
I'd say, write twenty five songs, right, and then if
I'd wheel them down and write you know, but then
what happens. The best theme doesn't win, the best choruses win.
So then you end up with records that are like
(06:20):
sort of obviously the same person writing them, but they're
not necessarily as like, oh shit, that was the one
that we just act to one of the fucking themes.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Everything we're talking about, you know, talk about fuck. We'd
take that out, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I was like, I only write wrote twelve songs, and
I kept them in a very consistent vein consistent themes,
which is basically, after five songs, normally, I'd be for
fuck's sake, stop thinking about yourself and I would find
an alternative subject. Literally, I'd be like, do not start
a song with I fuck me sideways?
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Stop it?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
You know this one, this one I felt more. I
felt I just gon saying ay a lot.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Well, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
What you say.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Overall, it's an album of hope for an album of spare.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Not just fair like fun. Look at me.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I'm like, I'm a fucking I'm like you do, I
mean a wolf. It's not it's like I'm living I'm
a living wolf. It's no, it's it's it's important that
people that it's not like, it's not it's not a
bible for the manic depressive or something like that. You know,
it just sort of it's there to be uplifting. But
(07:38):
you know, I'm like a I'm like a really fun person.
It's like a it's an upwardly mobile record. It's for
people to be alive too, you know. I think that
the one thing that I bring and I always talk about,
for instance, is an urgency.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
You know, life.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
There is an urgency to life, you know, because you
have to create your own momentum. I tell this to
my young kids, you know, like life doesn't care about you,
you know. I mean, you make your you make your
you make the waves, you you you you know, you
your surf on.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
You know, this is what life is about.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
So I don't know, just making a really concise, powerful
record that punches, and then it also it's you know,
the idea is is that it's kind of big and heavy,
but if every song was big and heavy, it would
be sort of one dimensional. So it tails off and
it goes into sort of a more kind of vibe
(08:30):
and and then you end with the rebel with a cause,
and then if you like, you can start again and
the whole thing goes around again. But it's like a
bit of a cycle of of how things.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Are, Yeah, how things are?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I mean the main thing for me is just not
make a record that sucks, you know, Like I've got kids.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
I don't want to suck. I don't want to suck. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
People who always sad to me, like, you know, if
it's so cute, you know, I do you rightly song
about your kids? I was like no, but I'm just
fully aware that they hear it. My daughter wrote me
and was like that, I didn't, you know, I never
I don't send I maybe send her music, but I
don't send the three boys music, you know. I just
I let them discover it if they want.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
I'm not there. I don't want to push my music
on them. I'm their dad, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
It's like, I think it's a bit awkward, but I
do like it when their friends think fucking bad, it's cool.
We took my you know, my son's Yeah, my son's
friend came to a show the other day.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
It's just people who are into it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
And I like that because I imagine the opposite of like,
you know, he's trying to convince them of the early records.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Were they're really good? No, no, but they were really
great ones.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You mentioned that the album talks about vulnerability, but it
also deals with men's mental health issues, which is a
very important thing in this day and age. But he
spoke before about how people come up to you and
said how your music changed your life and how it's
helped them.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
But how how important is.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Music and albums? Like I've been loneliness in the overall
scheme of things to let people know. I guess that
it's okay not to be okay.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I mean I don't want to sort of talk out
eternal kind of in such an important subject. They'll all
say that the too much about the record. People either
connects or not with music. You know, it's like magnetic,
It's really simple. It's either gonna like we're gonna vibe
and like you know, you know, fucking get ripped and
(10:34):
just sit there and let me sit in your headphones
and just like you listen to what I got to say.
Oh you're going to fight me, don't fight me. But
it's just good to like mean something and to have
a genesis of of thought about it that is that
it's really there too.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I'm that I wrote the lyric I'm here to save
your life. Someone said that to me when I met them,
you know, thank you for saving my life. And I
was like I had this sort of tug of war
about it. I was like, sweetheart, you played the music
that I wrote, and I'm so happy. That's the biggest
compliment ever. But clearly you saved your life because.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
I wasn't there. You know what I mean, I wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I don't want to like, but I'll take the soundtrack,
so if I'm the soundtrack.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I just had that lyric, I do have that word.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
When she said that to me, that matter I wrote down,
I'm here to save your life. I just thought, what
is my meaning of my life? I'm reaching the point
where I get a bit not weepy about myself, but
I need some perspective on who I am? What is
the meaning of my life? When I did I am
I getting the most out of it. I'm really being
honorable and interesting and my adding value. Like I've always
(11:44):
been obsessed about adding value to this world, not taking
it away. I was a real thief between the age
of twelve and fourteen. I was a major thief. Like
I shoplifted for two years straight, stole everything. I was
like a really good thief. Ended the last of Christmas
where I've robbed a whole department store, but a bunch
(12:05):
of things as people would leave for my to get
my dad and my.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Sister Christmas gifts. I was terrible. I never got caught too,
no status invitations made fucking so no.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
But since that point, I literally have I can't take
a pencil from a from a from a hotel room.
I cannot steal. I can't steal. I'll never steal. And uh,
you know, it's a funny thing that I've just always
been obsessed about wanting to give because I always had
(12:47):
this really simple idea that if everyone was not shitty,
the world would be great.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's just like.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
It, you know, like I'm just here. I'm here for
a good time to make music. I love and look
after my people, you know, I really am. And yet
still things are difficult because life is difficult. But I
just I just lament that we have to deal with
so many shit people all the time that that are
not good. That it's a drag because everyone thought like
(13:16):
this it would be a.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Much wouldn't it.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
How about you personally, may like us writing recording and
releasing this album a noticeable effect on you, like has
had helped with any issues you are going through?
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, you know it helps my fucking kids that like
they're fucking so expensive.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
You know, it.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Just allows me to work, you know, it means I
can I have a work of value to tour.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
I'm just a fucking touring musician. You know.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
If I have a great record, I have a much
better tour than if have a shitty record. So I
just always want to do everything really well. I mean,
I'm fucking around, but I want to do everything really well.
And life is short. So I love the idea of
making a great record.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Fair enough.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Now, I listen through the record before this made, and
it's a great, great album by the way, but every
song sort of stands out on its own merits.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So why did you choose to open with the song Scars?
Was there a specific reason?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Yeah, because it's so unusual and it's it's so I
was really inspired, you know, I was really inspired by TikTok.
I was really inspired by one quality that it was
is the rebirth of melody. You know, everyone's like annoyed
about the obviously the short term of it, the quick
fix of it is a nightmare, and there's mostly everything's
(14:44):
wrong about it right, But for me, as a songwriter,
what I notice is that God, you hear the best
melodies and they don't need much. It's just a little
bit of a bit of an air and there's fucking melodies,
and so I just I still do be anthemic.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
So there's this sort of a world.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And I was getting some equipment in and you know,
I'm engineering myself for the first part. When I'm right,
I engineer myself up to the point I do my vocals,
I put the songs all together.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
I going to you know, get it going. I get
all the sounds.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
I can record my guitars, my bass, drums, everything. I
don't do my vocals because I don't want to. Being
a one man band isn't ridiculous. I have a great
engineer who then comes in. But when I was just
getting some studio stuff, I was working with some drums
and I think I kind of made a mistake. I've
(15:40):
put them through one processor incorrectly, very bright eno of me,
you know, no manual, just like what was this one due?
So I had those drums, I had those drums, and
I just was like, this is it? This is And
then I could just put this like a little backing
and then just do a sort of what would you
say to someone, what's on your mind? What's in the mirror?
(16:02):
Who do you see, who do you love? Are you willing?
Are you able to let yourself shine on through?
Speaker 4 (16:09):
You know?
Speaker 1 (16:09):
It's like I just was like, what would you say
to someone, you know what I mean, Tell me all
your paranoise, tell me what hurts the most. I'm sorry
for the fault lines, sorry for the sea of ghosts,
because you know, we will bring ghosts.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
With us everybody when we're with someone new.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Right, So that's just me having a conversation with someone
idealistically openly, you know, like, and that's what it was.
And because it was on that on that sort of
very kind of tribal kind of rhythmic thing, I didn't
want anything in it. And actually when I sat in
the studios, finally sat in the back of the studio, right,
and I'm just thinking, there's the producer and the band,
(16:48):
and two things I was thinking, First off, please don't
cut it, don't edit it right.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Secondly, I think, and please don't play on it, to
leave it, leave it there. Yeah. I was like I
was just really like just ready.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I was like, outwardly looked like I was being open,
but on the inside, I was like really thinking, please,
don't plan on it.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
You gotta let You've got to let them break.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
So when I drove home from the studio and they
hadn't hadn't been touched, it was like, you know this
when it comes in there's some great stuff that you
know people are doing.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
But it was funny like so it was just like,
I mean, I was ready to fight. I was ready to.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
I did nothing.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
I wasn't. I wasn't gonna take it lightly, but I
had I was really calm, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
It was just like it wor good anyway.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
That's what it came about.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
No, you're not sure at the moment, Brian.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I know you're a very busy man, but what's the
chances of you making it over this story of the world.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Have you had talks?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, I think that there's there's two major conversations going
on about February and March.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
So from my perspective, I always want to come down.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
There's it's exotic and I love Cleveland, I love you know,
but sometimes you want to come to Australia some I
want to, like you know what I mean, And if
we tie it right, it'd be like it'd be you know,
brilliant down there, so it's exotic and it's it's it's
really familiar because I'm English, so it's super familiar, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
I mean, but that the weather's.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Fucking great, fantastic food, great nightlife, fucking everyone's up for it.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
And so I's like it's pretty simple.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I mean, I've got to stop going away so much
because it's getting a bit silly.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
But that is on the cards, of course, yeah, of
course no.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So before I let you go go but I've started
a new thing up called photo bomb. So basically before
we chat, I've gone through social media. I've found a
few fighters I want to know a little bit more
about now to start with this one, Like I've seen
a lot of people serenaded by guitarists before, but.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
What was Christopher serenading their horse on this one?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Well, first off, what a handsome man. Come on?
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Of course, God deny that.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
So that is that's his horse. I'm not sure which
one that is. It could be Pie.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
And he's got this alternate life as a cowboy, very
traditionally going up on some plains in northern California and
cattle driving with as a ranch hand.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
It's kind of amazing. He's found it as this whole
new lease of life. So it's a very that is
just his evolution.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
It's beautiful fighter, beautiful fight is.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Incredible photograph, is it? He's an incredible like, he's just
so I love him so much.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
He's just such.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
A wild, crazy individual. I'm very very lucky to have him.
I mean, I'm very lucky to have my band that ship,
the White Hot.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
It is brilliant. It is so good and they allow
me to just.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Be my federal self and they support me really really well.
You know, they're really fantastic, fantastic bandmates.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
No, it's the last one about fan point mate is
It's a very touching moment. But where about sire? It
looks bloody cold?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Oh my god, that's a great picture. Was that? Is
that Niagara Falls? Is that Niagara Falls? Yeah? Niagara Falls.
That's a great pictures.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Were almost although we're recreating Titanic, it sounds like the
Kate winslet and we're like, you know, fighting over baselines.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's a beautiful fighter. It looks funny cold.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
But.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, well you know what, I'm a fucking idiot for
the ice baths we do. I do our ice bath
every day now, it's just mad. I don't know why
I'm doing this. I'm just like an idiot looking at
the Instagram like everyone else and like the things. Really
I do feel good after it. They're amazing. I'm being facetious,
but I do them. Do them after the shows, Me,
Nick and Corey, we all do them. I have an
(21:38):
ice bath in my one. It's got a new one
that's really nice. I think costs one hundred bucks, but
it's more of a tub. Right after the show's thirty
one forty one degrees three minutes, three.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
To five minutes. Bosh, but I'm not going that water that.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
It's cold going all right, Roll, thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Man's been a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I beat lonliness is out now as to the crack
of an album mate, and thanks for your time. We'll
see you sooner rather later, hopefully.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Yeah, be well mhm
This is Gavin from Bush. We have our tenth record
are now I'd beat Loneliness and it's fucking great and
I'm happy to beat you.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Fantastic Gavin, thanks to join us today. Cheers, Cheers, Dada Brothers.
As you say, Bush released your ten studio album I
Beat Loneliness just last month. So how's the early reception
been for it.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
It's been fantastic, really amazing across the board, really great
reception to a record that is finding its way connecting
with people. And this has been a really fun time,
you know, releasing sixty Ways to Forget People, then you know,
to DSPs and then because the different kind of ways
(00:46):
people do it now and there's Scars, it's not just
then Land of Milk and Honey then Scars. Maybe I'd
beat Loneliness the next and there's a nice way they've
just working the album, and so it feels like a
body of work because I suppose it's like cracking on one
song for like six months, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, we're dood now. It's a bit of a deep album, right.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
But before we get onto that, can you tell us
a bit more about the album from a musical point
of view and what a you're going for this song around?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
You know, for me, music is still an experiment. I'm
still twenty five percent I don't understand about it, or
probably even more and and and so every song I
write is this form of experimentation for me and just
diving into these different worlds. So for me, I'm finding
(01:38):
a lot of a lot in the detuned world and
then a lot of in the sense the soft sense
you can have, and I can create these worlds to
write in that. I have a weird, weird skill set,
weird weird little skill set, which is I can go
into banks of sound and I can really so I've
(02:00):
done it for years where I had to listen to
other people going through them slowly, I mean, but now
I've got my own studio, can go through things really quick.
And so you find these great moments that create these
atmospheres with with their keyboards, and so I just.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Write in those in those worlds as where I write.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
What do you mean by banks of sounds before?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I mean like soft sense, you know, like the libraries
of sounds, so sonically you know, from from film score, music,
from Arabian music, whatever, it's infinite, you know, I mean
the world of sound put on hard lives. You can
imagine there's there's banks of sound for everything that ever
happened in.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
The history of the world and.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Occupied for a while anyway.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah, but I'm really quick ated.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
The thing is I've got I'm quick at it, so
I love that process of it. It just sort of
feels as close as I get to being a bit
of a painter or something like throwing music around just
seeing where it connects to.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Lie, now you've been quite to say that I've been
lighted as is the most personal record you've have made.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Can you elaborate on that for us?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, I think that I made a conscious effort to
be to make a really honest album about what I
was thinking about and where i'd sort of got to
at this point in my life, you know, a sort
of some degree whatever experience I had, and you know,
I just decided to be open and vulnerable and be
(03:33):
myself so that people could see that it's not not
easy for anyone. And I'm firmly of the belief that
this is a record for everyone because it sort of
speaks to everyone's vulnerabilities and life is not easy, life
is amazing and magic. We've never lived at a better time.
There's never been a bad time to be a live
(03:54):
But at the same time there's a high price and
a high cost and people it's good to have a
record you can relate to and is not based in
aspirational do you know what I mean? I didn't do
a record about villains in the South of France, and
everyone's like, oh fuck, I've got to go in that record.
I want to get a Villains south of France. Unfortunately,
(04:17):
if I fucking knew how to do that, I just
would have done that.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
And then Bush and then nine albums.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So like to say, man, this is your tenth album,
So why decided that this is the right time? Bad
gets so personal and in depth on an album.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Life just fucking tells you what to do. I don't
know what you tell life to do. Life tells what
to do. I mean when I traditionally made records before
you know the artist, Survival was really, you know, for me,
a really big record, a big triumph, and this was
directly talking about all the kind of struggles that everyone
had gone through and our ability to be strong and
(05:02):
so therefore it's a little bit outward. And then on
this one, I Honestly, I had so many conversations with
people that love the band, and I had a consistent
theme through that those conversations, which was about was about
what the records meant to them and how they've been
(05:24):
in the records or the music had been there for
them through their worst times, real common theme, and so
I just thought, well, that's obviously the I'm not very
good at party music, right, It's not my thing. I'm
no good at I'm no good at like storytelling, like
fucking they know the blues bands.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
I can't. Don't tell stories.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I do situational you know, investigations, you know, human things,
living things, And so I just went to the best
of myself basically.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
So that's what came out. And usually when.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm writing songs, right, I will traditionally what I've done before,
and it's always important to change what your traditions are.
I'd say, write twenty five songs, right, and then if
I'd wheel them down and write you know, but then
what happens. The best theme doesn't win, the best choruses win.
So then you end up with records that are like
(06:20):
sort of obviously the same person writing them, but they're
not necessarily as like, oh shit, that was the one
that we just act to one of the fucking themes.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Everything we're talking about, you know, talk about fuck. We'd
take that out, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
I was like, I only write wrote twelve songs, and
I kept them in a very consistent vein consistent themes,
which is basically, after five songs, normally, I'd be for
fuck's sake, stop thinking about yourself and I would find
an alternative subject. Literally, I'd be like, do not start
a song with I fuck me sideways?
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Stop it?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
You know this one, this one I felt more. I
felt I just gon saying ay a lot.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Well, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
What you say.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Overall, it's an album of hope for an album of spare.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Not just fair like fun. Look at me.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I'm like, I'm a fucking I'm like you do, I
mean a wolf. It's not it's like I'm living I'm
a living wolf. It's no, it's it's it's important that
people that it's not like, it's not it's not a
bible for the manic depressive or something like that. You know,
it just sort of it's there to be uplifting. But
(07:38):
you know, I'm like a I'm like a really fun person.
It's like a it's an upwardly mobile record. It's for
people to be alive too, you know. I think that
the one thing that I bring and I always talk about,
for instance, is an urgency.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
You know, life.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
There is an urgency to life, you know, because you
have to create your own momentum. I tell this to
my young kids, you know, like life doesn't care about you,
you know. I mean, you make your you make your
you make the waves, you you you you know, you
your surf on.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
You know, this is what life is about.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
So I don't know, just making a really concise, powerful
record that punches, and then it also it's you know,
the idea is is that it's kind of big and heavy,
but if every song was big and heavy, it would
be sort of one dimensional. So it tails off and
it goes into sort of a more kind of vibe
(08:30):
and and then you end with the rebel with a cause,
and then if you like, you can start again and
the whole thing goes around again. But it's like a
bit of a cycle of of how things.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Are, Yeah, how things are?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I mean the main thing for me is just not
make a record that sucks, you know, Like I've got kids.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
I don't want to suck. I don't want to suck. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
People who always sad to me, like, you know, if
it's so cute, you know, I do you rightly song
about your kids? I was like no, but I'm just
fully aware that they hear it. My daughter wrote me
and was like that, I didn't, you know, I never
I don't send I maybe send her music, but I
don't send the three boys music, you know. I just
I let them discover it if they want.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
I'm not there. I don't want to push my music
on them. I'm their dad, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
It's like, I think it's a bit awkward, but I
do like it when their friends think fucking bad, it's cool.
We took my you know, my son's Yeah, my son's
friend came to a show the other day.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
It's just people who are into it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
And I like that because I imagine the opposite of like,
you know, he's trying to convince them of the early records.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Were they're really good? No, no, but they were really
great ones.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You mentioned that the album talks about vulnerability, but it
also deals with men's mental health issues, which is a
very important thing in this day and age. But he
spoke before about how people come up to you and
said how your music changed your life and how it's
helped them.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
But how how important is.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Music and albums? Like I've been loneliness in the overall
scheme of things to let people know. I guess that
it's okay not to be okay.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I mean I don't want to sort of talk out
eternal kind of in such an important subject. They'll all
say that the too much about the record. People either
connects or not with music. You know, it's like magnetic,
It's really simple. It's either gonna like we're gonna vibe
and like you know, you know, fucking get ripped and
(10:34):
just sit there and let me sit in your headphones
and just like you listen to what I got to say.
Oh you're going to fight me, don't fight me. But
it's just good to like mean something and to have
a genesis of of thought about it that is that
it's really there too.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I'm that I wrote the lyric I'm here to save
your life. Someone said that to me when I met them,
you know, thank you for saving my life. And I
was like I had this sort of tug of war
about it. I was like, sweetheart, you played the music
that I wrote, and I'm so happy. That's the biggest
compliment ever. But clearly you saved your life because.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
I wasn't there. You know what I mean, I wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I don't want to like, but I'll take the soundtrack,
so if I'm the soundtrack.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I just had that lyric, I do have that word.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
When she said that to me, that matter I wrote down,
I'm here to save your life. I just thought, what
is my meaning of my life? I'm reaching the point
where I get a bit not weepy about myself, but
I need some perspective on who I am? What is
the meaning of my life? When I did I am
I getting the most out of it. I'm really being
honorable and interesting and my adding value. Like I've always
(11:44):
been obsessed about adding value to this world, not taking
it away. I was a real thief between the age
of twelve and fourteen. I was a major thief. Like
I shoplifted for two years straight, stole everything. I was
like a really good thief. Ended the last of Christmas
where I've robbed a whole department store, but a bunch
(12:05):
of things as people would leave for my to get
my dad and my.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Sister Christmas gifts. I was terrible. I never got caught too,
no status invitations made fucking so no.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
But since that point, I literally have I can't take
a pencil from a from a from a hotel room.
I cannot steal. I can't steal. I'll never steal. And uh,
you know, it's a funny thing that I've just always
been obsessed about wanting to give because I always had
(12:47):
this really simple idea that if everyone was not shitty,
the world would be great.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's just like.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
It, you know, like I'm just here. I'm here for
a good time to make music. I love and look
after my people, you know, I really am. And yet
still things are difficult because life is difficult. But I
just I just lament that we have to deal with
so many shit people all the time that that are
not good. That it's a drag because everyone thought like
(13:16):
this it would be a.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Much wouldn't it.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
How about you personally, may like us writing recording and
releasing this album a noticeable effect on you, like has
had helped with any issues you are going through?
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, you know it helps my fucking kids that like
they're fucking so expensive.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
You know, it.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Just allows me to work, you know, it means I
can I have a work of value to tour.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
I'm just a fucking touring musician. You know.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
If I have a great record, I have a much
better tour than if have a shitty record. So I
just always want to do everything really well. I mean,
I'm fucking around, but I want to do everything really well.
And life is short. So I love the idea of
making a great record.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Fair enough.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Now, I listen through the record before this made, and
it's a great, great album by the way, but every
song sort of stands out on its own merits.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So why did you choose to open with the song Scars?
Was there a specific reason?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Yeah, because it's so unusual and it's it's so I
was really inspired, you know, I was really inspired by TikTok.
I was really inspired by one quality that it was
is the rebirth of melody. You know, everyone's like annoyed
about the obviously the short term of it, the quick
fix of it is a nightmare, and there's mostly everything's
(14:44):
wrong about it right, But for me, as a songwriter,
what I notice is that God, you hear the best
melodies and they don't need much. It's just a little
bit of a bit of an air and there's fucking melodies,
and so I just I still do be anthemic.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
So there's this sort of a world.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And I was getting some equipment in and you know,
I'm engineering myself for the first part. When I'm right,
I engineer myself up to the point I do my vocals,
I put the songs all together.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
I going to you know, get it going. I get
all the sounds.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
I can record my guitars, my bass, drums, everything. I
don't do my vocals because I don't want to. Being
a one man band isn't ridiculous. I have a great
engineer who then comes in. But when I was just
getting some studio stuff, I was working with some drums
and I think I kind of made a mistake. I've
(15:40):
put them through one processor incorrectly, very bright eno of me,
you know, no manual, just like what was this one due?
So I had those drums, I had those drums, and
I just was like, this is it? This is And
then I could just put this like a little backing
and then just do a sort of what would you
say to someone, what's on your mind? What's in the mirror?
(16:02):
Who do you see, who do you love? Are you willing?
Are you able to let yourself shine on through?
Speaker 4 (16:09):
You know?
Speaker 1 (16:09):
It's like I just was like, what would you say
to someone, you know what I mean, Tell me all
your paranoise, tell me what hurts the most. I'm sorry
for the fault lines, sorry for the sea of ghosts,
because you know, we will bring ghosts.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
With us everybody when we're with someone new.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Right, So that's just me having a conversation with someone
idealistically openly, you know, like, and that's what it was.
And because it was on that on that sort of
very kind of tribal kind of rhythmic thing, I didn't
want anything in it. And actually when I sat in
the studios, finally sat in the back of the studio, right,
and I'm just thinking, there's the producer and the band,
(16:48):
and two things I was thinking, First off, please don't
cut it, don't edit it right.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Secondly, I think, and please don't play on it, to
leave it, leave it there. Yeah. I was like I
was just really like just ready.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I was like, outwardly looked like I was being open,
but on the inside, I was like really thinking, please,
don't plan on it.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
You gotta let You've got to let them break.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
So when I drove home from the studio and they
hadn't hadn't been touched, it was like, you know this
when it comes in there's some great stuff that you
know people are doing.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
But it was funny like so it was just like,
I mean, I was ready to fight. I was ready to.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
I did nothing.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
I wasn't. I wasn't gonna take it lightly, but I
had I was really calm, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
It was just like it wor good anyway.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
That's what it came about.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
No, you're not sure at the moment, Brian.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
I know you're a very busy man, but what's the
chances of you making it over this story of the world.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Have you had talks?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, I think that there's there's two major conversations going
on about February and March.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
So from my perspective, I always want to come down.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
There's it's exotic and I love Cleveland, I love you know,
but sometimes you want to come to Australia some I
want to, like you know what I mean, And if
we tie it right, it'd be like it'd be you know,
brilliant down there, so it's exotic and it's it's it's
really familiar because I'm English, so it's super familiar, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
I mean, but that the weather's.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Fucking great, fantastic food, great nightlife, fucking everyone's up for it.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
And so I's like it's pretty simple.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I mean, I've got to stop going away so much
because it's getting a bit silly.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
But that is on the cards, of course, yeah, of
course no.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So before I let you go go but I've started
a new thing up called photo bomb. So basically before
we chat, I've gone through social media. I've found a
few fighters I want to know a little bit more
about now to start with this one, Like I've seen
a lot of people serenaded by guitarists before, but.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
What was Christopher serenading their horse on this one?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Well, first off, what a handsome man. Come on?
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Of course, God deny that.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
So that is that's his horse. I'm not sure which
one that is. It could be Pie.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
And he's got this alternate life as a cowboy, very
traditionally going up on some plains in northern California and
cattle driving with as a ranch hand.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
It's kind of amazing. He's found it as this whole
new lease of life. So it's a very that is
just his evolution.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
It's beautiful fighter, beautiful fight is.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Incredible photograph, is it? He's an incredible like, he's just
so I love him so much.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
He's just such.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
A wild, crazy individual. I'm very very lucky to have him.
I mean, I'm very lucky to have my band that ship,
the White Hot.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
It is brilliant. It is so good and they allow
me to just.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Be my federal self and they support me really really well.
You know, they're really fantastic, fantastic bandmates.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
No, it's the last one about fan point mate is
It's a very touching moment. But where about sire? It
looks bloody cold?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Oh my god, that's a great picture. Was that? Is
that Niagara Falls? Is that Niagara Falls? Yeah? Niagara Falls.
That's a great pictures.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Were almost although we're recreating Titanic, it sounds like the
Kate winslet and we're like, you know, fighting over baselines.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's a beautiful fighter. It looks funny cold.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
But.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, well you know what, I'm a fucking idiot for
the ice baths we do. I do our ice bath
every day now, it's just mad. I don't know why
I'm doing this. I'm just like an idiot looking at
the Instagram like everyone else and like the things. Really
I do feel good after it. They're amazing. I'm being facetious,
but I do them. Do them after the shows, Me,
Nick and Corey, we all do them. I have an
(21:38):
ice bath in my one. It's got a new one
that's really nice. I think costs one hundred bucks, but
it's more of a tub. Right after the show's thirty
one forty one degrees three minutes, three.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
To five minutes. Bosh, but I'm not going that water that.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
It's cold going all right, Roll, thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Man's been a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I beat lonliness is out now as to the crack
of an album mate, and thanks for your time. We'll
see you sooner rather later, hopefully.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Yeah, be well mhm
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