After the release of Sixteen Stone, the guys from Bush hardly had a minute to breathe. Betwwen tours they recorded Razorblade Suitcase, got all mixed up with the remix album Deconstructed, and treated fans to the home video, Alleys and Motorways. Even if head Bush man Gavin Rossdale claims that he writes on tour--and almost everywhere--he definitely needed some time to shrug off the pressure to work in peace and quiet on some new songs.
Interviewer:It's a big change for you to take some time off...

Gavin Rossdale: We needed the break. As much as I love touring, it's not a normal lifestyle. Everybody thinks being on tour is just fun--the whole glamour of being a rock star. But touring is far less exciting than people think it is. Usually they talk about all the different things you see on tour, but you don't. You see a lot of hotel rooms and tour buses and that's it. You're really on the road a lot, then do the show, go back to the hotel, sleep, get up, travel, the next hotel, the next show...The same thing over and over again.

CM: So now you have time on your side...

GR: This is the first time that we could afford to say, "We're planning four months for the album." It's a completely different set-up than it was before--you know, Sixteen Stone was recorded when we had almost no experience; Razorblade Suitcase was written on tour.

CM: What's the new album going to sound like?

GR: Obviously like Bush! You know, I think we kind of defined our sound in the past, and it would be hard to break away from it. Also, we like the sound we're playing, and why should we change it? We talked about it, obviously, especially because we were under, uh, attack from the media. But as I said, we like our music, and why should we alienate our audience by changing our sound when there's obviously no reason for that? You know our sound just sounds like Bush...er, god, that sounds stupid, but almost every band has a sound that's characteristic of them I'm just trying to explain that there will always be a sound that's typical for Bush, but that doesn't mean we're static. Even if we have a certain style, the songs will show a lot of diversity and we want to keep it that way. From the way it looks now it's going to be more in the direction of Sixteen Stone.

CM: Don't you have the urge to experiment a bit more?

GR: I think the people who are looking forward to hearing our new album don't expect us to sound completely different. For those who like to have a different sound, Deconstructed should be the ideal choice. Of course, the new album will sound different from our other albums, but it will still sound like a Bush album--can't do much about my voice, and we all have a characteristic way of playing our instruments--but that still leaves us with some kind of freedom. We're not too limited and we can move around within certain boudaries.

CM: When can we expect the new album?
GR: I don't know. Later this year, I guess. We told the record company they can expect the new material in September.

CM: So you're keeping to the tradition of releasing albums in November?

GR: I don't think it's a tradition--more like a coincidence. Actually, now that you say it, it's true we always released new material in November...After we release album No. 20 in November I think we'll call it a tradition.

CM: Any plans for a big tour this year?

GR: >I don't think so. Maybe we're going to play some festivals, but I don't think we're going to do a real tour. We're going to do one when the new album is out, but we've been touring almost non-stop for three years. It's a bit hard to be a band on tour--you start feeling homeless after a while.