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ML EXCLUSIVE! G avin Rossdale is intoxicating. Those who grew up with me know how much I adored Gavin at the height of Bush's reign in the mid-90s. (My schoolgirl affections yielded the frosted message: Happy Birthday, Vanessa Rossdale —atop my 14th birthday cake.) Considering the abovementioned, it's fair to presume that a tête-à- tête with the man himself might be an overwhelming experience. Surprisingly, soothing is more like it. But should I have expected anything less from the "Everything Zen" creator? From his English-spiked intonation, which pours out in an even, smooth cadence that is categorically lulling to his kind, brown eyes and 6'1 stance (taller than I imagined), Gavin's presence, like a dirty martini drunk too fast before dinner, elicits the same warm, exciting and intrepid sensation. In a casual blue vest over a fitted white T-shirt and dark jeans, accompanied by the requisite chain slung from his belt loop to his back pocket — the rockstar veneer is pulled off with understated ease. And those legendary disheveled chin-length locks that now skim his shoulders are tied into his trademark ponytail. "Thank you so much. I hear that six times we've rearranged," Gavin says as we take a seat in the spacious conference room of his publicist's Los Angeles office. Not six, only twice. "I hope it's not the first line. Nice record. Really tricky. Slippery fish," Gavin playfully suggests in the first of several witty one-liners. Swept up in his affable manner, the daunting fact that he is the lauded front man of Bush, with 14 consecutive Top 40 hit singles on the Billboard charts and more than 16 million albums sold, and the husband of Gwen Stefani — dissipates. "Nice record" scarcely A TIME TO CHILL How does Gavin spend his spare time? "Music, obviously, is a huge part, so I'm always interested in who has records out that I like. Hanging out with my friends, going out to eat —going out to drink is something we're used to doing in London. Here, it's hard to go out to drink. Who drives back? How do you get back? They don't have pubs and bars like they do in London, and I love that you can pub all the time; to me it's just normal —so most of my life I've been doing that. It usually revolves around my family justifies the compilation of gripping songs on Bush's latest album, The Sea of Memories, released September 13 through Gavin's label, Zuma Rock Records (named after his 3-year-old son). The album whisks listeners away, reminding us why the world cannot live without his music, notably songs: "The Sound of Winter," "All Night Doctors" and "Be Still My Love." A world absent of Gavin Rossdale's soulful serenade of sage, self-written lyrics aloft the enrapturing pound of moody percussions and heady strings would leave a void quite difficult to fill. And to think, this was almost the case. and friends and just spending time with them —usually finding out whatever everyone else wants to do," he says with a laugh. band rehearsals at the age of 13 and his need to compose lyrics that meant something to him and others, and you can see how his budding passion developed into the powerful career he has today. "I spent so long making so many mistakes… and then found a way to make something work for myself. Still trying to figure it out," he says modestly. "I like it. I think I want it to remain a mystery to me." At the astute age of 46 now, Gavin has come a long way from that self-doubting lad. The avid practitioner of Bikram yoga enlightens me with an excerpt from a yoga tape he listens to, which touches on a common, hindering problem people have. "He's quite annoyed in it half the time. It's really funny. He's not yogi-like," Gavin says amused, "and he says, the problem with most people is they have self-realization. So, you're too old, you're too fat, you're too short, you're too black haired, you want blonde hair. And really, it's about accepting yourself and finding empowerment in what you have. I think that's a really essential element and tool." Practicing what he preaches, Gavin didn't allow any hang-ups to stop him from taking on the massive feat of creating an album independently. To divert from the major record conglomerates and produce The Sea of Memories independently took chutzpah. The stakes were high, but the outpouring of freedom it anointed Bush was relieving and rewarding. "It's really liberating since you can move so quickly and you don't have to go through a really huge committee... To make a record you have to wait 18 months before it comes out… fucking sick of it," he says with a laugh. "You're not, but you take my point. It takes away. You rush to finish it. There's all the excitement. It's a big machine, those major labels, so it takes awhile to plug it in. Five of the songs on the album were written maybe three, four months ago, which is pretty unusual. If I finished that album as I did now, it wouldn't come out till next year," Gavin points out ardently. Nine years have past, since Bush's hiatus in 2002 —the band "I never thought I was good enough… I was always on the edge, the precipice to play the bass he [his sister's boyfriend] gave me… But then, when I left school I went right into it. I was like, that's it for me. I loved it," Gavin pensively recalls. The fusion of several elements compelled him to hone his proclivity for music —the basis beginning in his aunt's house where he grew up, exposing him to the great and influential sounds of Bowie, Zeppelin, The Beatles, Motown… from the record store down the street. Couple that with his frequent presence at his sister's bass-player-boyfriend's punk never officially broke up, rather went their own ways to focus on other aspects of life. Since the recent reigniting of the fire that is Bush, (which reprises original drummer Robin Goodridge, and welcomes newcomers Chris Traynor on guitar and Corey Britz on bass) Gavin has found solace in familiar territory. "It's being at home with myself. Whenever I'm doing anything else, [he also fronted the band Institute (2004-2006) and a solo career (2008)] I'm always trying to get out of the way of me sounding like Bush, which is quite hard, ya know, to avoid that." Gavin lowers his voice, "I sound like that guy." His light injection of comic relief rolls off his tongue effortlessly and makes me laugh. An endearing trait, as he doesn't even seem to be trying to elicit laughter –it's organic. "In doing Bush, it's fun because I can kind of indulge in it. I can let go. And having my own studio [Kingston Sound, named after his 5- year-old son], you can be quite prolific and you don't have to use all the songs. You can chuck stuff out. You can just be," Gavin expresses with contentment. MIAMI LIVING 59