Maximum Guitar
March 1998
"In A Lonely Place"


Shunned by critics and seeking a new post-grunge sound, Bush find themselves at a crossroads. But with millions of fans in their corner, that ain't such a bad place to be.

Thirteen million fans can't be wrong. Or can they? Loyal Bush followers praise the band's charismatic live performances and a commitment to crafting confessional, emotive records. Critics condemn the group for sounding contrived and derivative. Supporters admire the way Bush combine their love for American indie punk with a penchant for memorable pop singles, and applaud the band's recent forays into electronic music. Detractors claim the band's techno remix album, Deconstructed (Trauma/Interscope), is a desperate attempt to find a new sound now that grunge is as dead as half the characters in Scream 2.

But whatever your perspective on Bush's motivations, one thing's as clear as Waterford crystal: Bush are big, real big. And they're not about to go away. Even critics who thought the Nirvana-inspired single, "Everything Zen," was the conception of a one-hit wonder have accepted that the band will probably be around for quite a while. In 1994, Bush sold 6.5 million copies of their 1994 debut album, Sixteen Stone. In '96, they followed up with the more caustic, Steve Albini-produced disc, Razorblade Suitcase, which has moved 3.5 million copies so far. And in its first three weeks on the shelves, theband's electronic remix album, Deconstructed (which features known-twiddling by Tricky, Goldie and others), sold 100,000 copies and charted as high as number 34 on the Billboard Top 200--not bad for a record that didn't require any real studio time on the band's part.

Having just completed a lengthy world tour, Bush-vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale, guitarist Nigel Pulsford, bassist Dave Parsons, and drummer Robin Goodridge--are currently taking a well deserved break during which time Rossdale will snuggle up with his pop star paramour, Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, and the rest of the band will spend some quality time with their friends and family. We recently talked to Pulsford about the band's recent tour, their penchant for electronica and the spoils of stardom.

Maximum Guitar: You recently finished a grueling world tour for Razorblade Suitcase. What are you going to do now?

Nigel Pulsford: We're going to Disneyland. [laughs] Actually, we're going to take a nice long break. I'm not fed up with the road. It's been really good fun. But I'm a little weary of it. It will be good now to recharge our batteries and spend a little time apart. It's very intimate when you're always on the road, which is where we've pretty much been for the past three years. It's good for us just to stop now for a bit. After a while, though, I think we'll get itchy feet and want to get back out on the road. I think that's pretty much where we belong, to be honest.

MG: What are your plans during the downtime?

NP: I'm hanging out in LA, seeing some friends, then I'm going to Nashville to do some recording with my sister. She's a keyboardist who has worked with Cyndi Lauper most recently. We get on really well, and we're going to do all sorts of stuff together--dance music and some groove stuff. That might surprise people who see me as a rock guitarist, but I've never thought of myself as that. I try to approach playing from a slightly different angle. The so-called grunge scene and the bands that influenced it, like Black Sabbath and Aerosmith, never really meant much to me. I was always more into more esoteric stuff like Sonic Youth and Jesus Lizard--the bands nobody else liked.

MG: Is there any truth to the reports that there was a fair amount of inner-band turmoil on the last Bush tour?

NP: There's always a little bit of tension and conflict, but we've always gotten on really well. It's just important to give each other a lot of space and stay out of each other's way when you start getting on each other's nerves. Even the closest friends need a little bit of a break when you're together all the time.

MG: Have personal conflicts ever threatened the band's existence?

NP: Oh, no. We've shouted a bit and slammed a few doors, but we really look after each other. If we weren't as close as we are, we probably would have broken up by now because we live this crazy existence, and the pressure sometimes gets to be a bit much. The thing is, the band is really like a support group. And if anyone starts to act like a pop star, we deal with it very quickly.

MG: Any good road stories?

NP: In the Philippines, there were some cops in there with big old batons beating up kids at the show. They have a really extreme way of doing security over there. We had the cops removed from the gig because they were really hurting people. The kids weren't rioting or anything. They were just really excited that a band was there because they're all starved for entertainment over there.

MG: There were reports that Gavin got injured during a show in Brazil. What happened?

NP: He jumped into the crowd and someone tried to grab his wallet chain. They ended up having a tug-of-war over it, and Gavin cut his hand open on the chain. My guitar tech come on and played the encore numbers with us because we realized Gavin couldn't play.

MG: Any other near death experiences?

NP: We had a couple of close calls with airplanes. One time we were approaching the runway to land, and the plane started swaying back and forth. Then the pilot dropped the plane straight down from about 50 feet. We all thought, "This is it. This is the end." For a moment it was just sheer terror, but somehow we made it.

MG: You just released a remix album called Deconstructed. Why did you decide to do that?

NP: In the past, we've had a lot of remixes done for B-sides. Goldie did some remixes a while ago, and we did a track with Tricky for the movie The Crow. They both sounded really good, so we decided to just go with the vibe and do a whole record.

MG: Did you always want to do a remix album?

NP: No. At first I was a little dubious about the whole thing. I wasn't sure it was the best way to represent ourselves. But when I realized that we could open up a few doors by doing it, I decided I liked the idea. It's great, actually, because we can incorporate elements from this into the stuff we do in the future. I'm not saying we're going to turn into a dance band or anything, but I think that this record really provides a view of what's possible, and it would be quite fun to bring stuff in that people don't expect.

MG: Does it bother you that Deconstructed eliminates many of the original guitar tracks and replaces them with electronic rhythms?

NP: Not really. That's just the nature of the beast. A lot of the vocals are missing, too. But even so, I think the songs still definitely retain our signature sound.

MG: How did you decide who would remix the songs?

NP: We got in touch with those people through our manager who used to be a DJ. I think a lot of what they did is really amazing and we may work with some of those people as a full band in the future.

MG: How much input did you have on the album?

NP: Not a lot, actually. It would have been good if we could have been more involved as a band, but we didn't have the time because we were on the road most of the time. We had a role in choosing the mixes, and we went in and worked on "Mouth" a little bit, which was fun. I did a triggered noise gate track for it. But I think the whole nature of a remix is to give a song to someone whose work you like, and then to let them rework it without your interference, and put a completely fresh slant on the track.

MG: Some critics have called Deconstructed your best record.

NP: Yeah, I've read the ironic reviews, and what a surprise they were. We knew that was coming. I've got a big "fuck you" for the critics because I don't care what they think. Generally people who buy records aren't critics anyway. We've taken a real mauling by the press, so it's difficult to be objective about them anymore.

MG: Why do you think the press has been so anti-Bush?

NP: I think they didn't believe we could be who we were and sound like we do, and come out at the time we did without being created by someone. I think they thought we were too good to be true. People ask if we would have been successful without Gavin's looks. Well, "Everything Zen" was a radio hit for two months before a video was even made. So we actually did come around strictly on the strength of the songs. There were also other suspicions because we were an English band, and we were playing music largely influenced by American bands. All the stuff I can understand, but the problem is trying to get anyone to give us a chance to move on. I don't really know if we've changed any critics' minds, to be honest. But I don't really care. They're not the people we play for.

MG: In a fickle record buying climate in which albums by heavyweights like U2, R.E.M. and Pearl Jam didn't live up to sales expectations, you managed to sell 3.5 million copies of Razorblade Suitcase in the U.S. alone. How did you retain your large following?

NP: I think we've just got quite a loyal bunch of fans. We're very lucky in that respect. Also, we've toured a lot and played a lot of small towns and remote corners, and I think the fans appreciate that. If you go back to the days of Cream and Led Zeppelin, those bands used to tour non-stop, and that's how they increased their following. Today, bands just play a few shows and they call it a tour.

MG: Are you frustrated by the contemporary music scene, which seems to have turned its back on alternative rock?

NP: No, I think people have got really eclectic tastes at the moment. The people who buy Prodigy records are the same people who buy Bush and Oasis records. People who used to be only into alternative or hard rock or whatever are becoming a lot more open minded to new things. I think it's great the way it's crossing over and people aren't so snobbish anymore.

MG: Your music has always been fueled by angst and aggression, and those emotions are now considered passe. Does that concern you?

NP: We have pedaled misery to the masses in the past, that's true. But I think it's important that we move on from that. I don't think those feelings will ever go away, but I think we have to become slightly more optimistic now. And not because people have moved on, but for our own sanity. That's going to be the interesting thing--to see where we go musically from here--because we don't really know ourselves. Right now, we just have to take some time off and listen to other stuff and think about what we can come up with.

MG: What kind of music have you been listening to recently?

NP: The same stuff I've always listened to--jazz, Jesus Lizard. I just bought the new Jane's Addiction record, Kettle Whistle (Warner Bros.). I try to listen to new bands as well, but it gets very hard to keep track of stuff on the road. I really like the Prodigy. I think the sounds they come up with are amazing.

MG: Do you plan to change your guitar sound to accompany the band's new musical direction?

NP: Yes. I think my playing will become less angry. The first thing I want to do now is find a new guitar sound. I think maybe I'd like a cleaner, less-distorted sound. I'm going to experiment with a lot of different things. I'll probably start by plugging straight into the amp, and so how far I can go with that before I wind up breaking down and using a fuzzbox again.

MG: Are you experimenting with any particular gear at the moment?

NP: I keep buying all these old effect pedals. I've got like five boxes of them, and they sound really messed up, which I love. I'm just a big fan of finding things that sound really weird, and plugging them in to annoy the neighbors. I like to use old pedals to build nice textures, as opposed to have a sound created out of a big digital tower. I really want to sit down for a few months with all this stuff and figure out what sounds good and what doesn't.

MG: When do you plan to start working on the next Bush album?

NP: Gavin and I are going to get together in Ireland in February to start working on some stuff. Right now, we're talking to a few great producers, but I can't say who. We want someone who's going to help us make this next record really exciting.

MG: Does the thought of doing another album stress you out?

NP: Yes, because I think there's more pressure to put out a great record this time. We were really clear with what we were doing last time, which is why we chose Steve Albini. This time, we're a little more unsure, and everything is more up in the air. At the same time, we're all more intrigued as to how it's going to sound. That's why we want to spend more time on this one and really get it right.

MG: Is there any danger that you'll get trapped in the studio the way that Guns N' Roses and Elastica have been?

NP: I don't think we're quite that bad. I could never understand why bands like that release a great album and then can't seem to get another one out. It's as if they lost sight in what they were doing in the first place and lost all their confidence. We don't like spending too much time in the studio. I think we'll spend more time in the rehearsal room getting our songs together, so that when we are in the studio it will be a really immediate process. One thing we learned from Steve Albini is that spontaneity is a really good attribute to have in the studio.

MG: How is your life different now compared to when you were a club band?

NP: Everything's changed, obviously, but in such a positive way. We can pretty much do an album with almost any producer we want. That's such a luxury. Being noticed all the time and being on the road all the time are sometimes a drag, but that goes with the territory. I don't want to sit here and moan about the pressures of fame because it's a real pressure to get up everyday and work in a factory. All the traveling we do means we don't necessarily have a home life, but it just means in two years time, we can go back and have a home life forever if we want to.

MG: Do you enjoy the spoils of stardom?

NP: Yeah. I just bought a house in London and look forward to living in it at some point in the future. And I like drinking nice bottles of wine. It's great to be able to do things I could never have afforded before. I really enjoy not having to think about money anymore. You spend so much of your life worrying about making ends meet. To not have to worry about that is a real breather.

MG: You've all had fairly hedonistic lifestyles in the past. Do you feel less reckless these days?

NP: I'm 34 now, and I don't know if I'm more reckless than when I was 21, but I'm certainly more aware of my mortality. I don't have a death wish anymore. There was a time when I didn't really care about living, and I didn't know if I'd be around the year following. But now I think about the future, and about maybe having children someday. You want to be around to see them grow up and make all the mistakes you made when you were younger. I want to do that and all the other things you're supposed to do as you grow older.




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