Gavin Rossdale mentors Idols on heels of new solo album

Sheri Block, CTV.ca

As someone who brought whole stadiums to their feet with anthems such as "Machine Head" and "Swallowed" in the post-grunge era of the 90s and early 2000s, former Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale knows a thing or two about rock music.

But the British-born performer, who just released his first solo album Wanderlust, is also no stranger to acoustic performances and stopped by Canadian Idol to help the Top 8 show their vulnerable side during 'Unplugged' week.

Rossdale was really pleased to see that the show was music-driven, with seven out of the eight competitors who have written their own material.


"I didn't know what to expect. I love going into things and not knowing anything about what the hell is going on," said Rossdale with a laugh, shortly after his mentoring session with the Idols.

"I really enjoyed it because I felt for all of them and I really enjoyed being non-judgmental. I understand the plight they're in and I like the fact that they all seem to really care about what they're doing and what they're singing."

Rossdale listened to each competitor perform their song the day before the Top 8 Performance Show and offered his advice on what they were doing right and how they could make it even better.

"I think it's really trying to just allow them to understand they've done really good to get to this point and it's not about pushing too much, trying too hard is the worst thing. It's really about revealing. This whole process is not about dressing up or putting on a mask, it's about taking a mask off. It's showing us their vulnerabilities, it's showing us their insecurities because that's what's appealing," said Rossdale.

With so many ways of breaking into the music business, Rossdale said he couldn't discount the reality television route.

"Do I think it's the perfect way to break in? I think there's a longer slower more painful, lonelier road to do without a big TV show because you can see the power nowadays and it kind of dates you to discredit (that)," said Rossdale.

"I think whether or not you come out on a major label or an independent record label or even this kind of a show, you've just got to concentrate on being good. If you're good, everything else falls away."



Rossdale follows his Wanderlust

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who grew up in the 90s who didn't know the words to songs like "Glycerine," "Everything's Zen" or "Machine Head."

Bush was a defining act of the generation and received massive world-wide acclaim and success with 1994's "Sixteen Stone," 1996's "Razorblade Suitcase," 1999's "The Science of Things" and 2001's "Golden State."

The band disbanded in 2003 and lead singer Rossdale went on to release an album under the band name Institute in 2005 - something he now thinks he should've released under his own name because it's hard to start up a new band after being in such a huge one.

Fast forward a couple years and Rossdale started getting the itch to record something else as the title Wanderlust implies. He said a lot of people have commented on how glad they are he's back making music, to which he replies, "But I never left."

"That's my journey, you know we're all on journeys so it's been painful but I think that pain is good and that when people realize that I've been in the ocean, I just fell over the wave, but I was still in the ocean and now I found a way back up and now I'm just sort of coasting and there's a million miles to go but I'm definitely moving in the right direction," said Rossdale.

He has also had to deal with the implications of being in a celebrity couple and how to keep the focus on his music and not his personal life. Rossdale is married to Gwen Stefani and the two have a son named Kingston, with another on the way.


Making a new record has been an enjoyable thing for Rossdale, especially since he was able to work with a variety of musicians on the album, something you can't often do when you're in a band.

"It just freed me up and allowed me to make that kind of a record and just go every day to the studio. It was inspiring but I made it with a good Canadian."

This good Canadian is, of course, famed music producer Bob Rock, who is best known for his work with Metallica.

Rossdale said he has quite a clear aesthetic himself and Rock helped exactly where he needed him to.

"I didn't want my hand held the whole time, but at certain times I really wanted some great input and he had some really good creative ideas and suggestions and so it was really pretty ideal production from him."

Rossdale said the response to Wanderlust has been phenomenal and the record has seen a steady growth since its release in June.

"I know it will never reach the scales of where I went with Bush, but there's something similar about this slow burn. There's something powerful about it and before you realizing it you're lighting tons of fires," said Rossdale.

And with a new baby expected to arrive in August, it looks like things are exactly how Rossdale wants them to be.

But what happens if Gwen goes into labour while he's here performing on the Canadian Idol stage?

"I'll sing a song for him," said Rossdale with a smile.

http://www.ctv.ca/idol/gen/Home.html