'I Just Want to Make Music That's Vital' - Gavin Rossdale Preps For Bush's New Album, Looks Ahead

"I just want to make music that's vital — and then the day it's not vital, I don't need to make it anymore."

Ahead of the July 18 release of Bush's new album, I Beat Loneliness, frontman Gavin Rossdale joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday (June 17) to discuss his long career in rock and roll. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

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"I've always felt there's never enough great records," Rossdale told host Chuck Armstrong.

"People are really thrilled to have like five great albums, they don't need just one. So I think that competition is always with yourself. And for me, I still get so inspired by the people and listening to other people...and I think, 'I've got to do something like that.' I just enjoy it. I'm so happy I found a job I continue to love."

Rossdale's passion for creating music was clear throughout the conversation on Loudwire Nights. Though he shared many nuggets of wisdom, he laid out his work ethic in one very succinct statement.

"I don't want to suck," he admitted.

"It's a high-wire act to not suck, you know what I mean?"

As much as Rossdale enjoys creating music, he's just as much a fan and consumer of music, too.

"I do it all the time, someone comes out with a new record, I sit there and get the lyrics and I can tell you if there is fucking fire in that record or not," he said.

"It doesn't matter the genre. The genre is irrelevant. Did they get me? It could be King Gizzard. It could be Poppy. It's all over the place. Idles."

The fire that he hears in other bands' records is the same fire he constantly pursues with Bush — and a fire he no doubt captured on I Beat Loneliness.

"We made a magnetic record. It's undeniable. You may not like it, but it's undeniable. It's spirited, it's really spirited. I love that, I love having that fire."

What Else Did Bush's Gavin Rossdale Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

Why it's tough being a touring musician: "This goes for every musician, it's not just me, but you sacrifice so much. You sacrifice so much ... All those things are not negative things, they are just realizations and they all propel me to do a better show, because otherwise, what's the point?"
Why he loves the changing technology inside the studio: "I like having this really weird juxtaposition of dealing with base human emotional stuff and putting it to music [while existing] in this incredible, advanced time for technology ... I like having that juxtaposition of an ancient job in a modern setting. It just tickles me."
Why he wasn't a fan of Ozzy or Black Sabbath when he was younger – and what changed that for him: "[Black Sabbath weren't] for the punks ... My background was all Public Image, Gang of Four. [Black Sabbath] wasn't a London sound. It felt like the Midlands, it literally was the Midlands. We loved punk, they were so snotty and foul-mouthed and rebellious. That was my language. That was what got my attention. But of course, now I think Ozzy is a god. I love him and I love Sabbath, an incredible band. Trailblazers. They began it all. I love their records."