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ML EXCLUSIVE! sense of what it is we do. Obviously they understand, but it's – definitely must be unusual to be like, hear on the radio and say that's my mom. Must be weird. They get it with me…" Gavin's penchant for performing reaches beyond his "natural home base" in music and into another creative arena– acting. Keen on the idea of musicians popping up in movies to blow audiences away, Gavin specifically notes Tom Waits and Marc Anthony in Man on Fire as inspiration. "He's fucking brilliant in it! Amazing," says Gavin about Marc Anthony's performance. Gavin has appeared in several films, including Constantine, Zoolander, Little Black Book… as well as on the television show Criminal Minds. This past summer Gavin jetted over to Coconut Grove to shoot what will hopefully turn into a recurring role on USA's Burn Notice. "That was real fun. I love South Beach. Miami and I have a great history. I spent a lot of time there. One of my first big shows outdoors was in Miami near the beach…" says Gavin wistfully. "When I first stayed at The Delano, I couldn't believe hotels were like that, that's like the sexiest place on Earth..." Return visits to Miami normally involve Gavin hitting up Deuce Bar, visiting friends and him patronizing Cuban-food-touting hole- in-the-wall restaurants. He hopes to return to Miami to shoot additional episodes of Burn Notice as there seems to be unfinished business between his character and Gabrielle Anwar's. Though a part of me (the 14-year-old me) would like to come up with a dozen more questions, only to prolong our conversation, the professional in me draws the interview to a close. Gavin's gaze falls to Miami Living's latest issue, that I set out on the table for him, featuring his former co-star from the film, How to Rob a Bank (2008), Erika Christensen "She's a great girl, by the way," he says genuinely. He poignantly describes his first day on set as the new person and how Erika invited him over to join them during the catered lunch break. "It was that simple, random act of kindness that sort of resonated for me... Such a pleasant thing when people are graceful. I think of her, I think of like super top class. She's a really good actress," says Gavin fondly. Evidently, the smallest of gestures does not go unseen or unappreciated with him. Erika had high praise to speak of Gavin when I asked her what it was like working with him. "Gavin is lovely —really grounded and charismatic. He has enthusiasm, which is kind of an underrated tool as an actor, I think." There's no dearth of nice things to be said about the guy— lovely being a recurring word, and the word his wife used when she wrote the song, "Underneath It All" about him. My musings on Gavin's character are further validated after speaking to Joseph Llanes, who has been photographing Gavin and the band the past few months. "It's often said that you're not supposed to meet the people you admire the most [so they don't disappoint on the perception you built up of them]. I'm going on 15 years of loving this guy, his music and everything he's put out –but this wasn't the case with Gavin. The minute I met him he was very responsive and just wanted to be accommodating. There are not a lot of people I can say are as accommodating as Gavin. It was a very giving thing. As a photographer, you always hope and want people to be engaging. He was just naturally that engaging…" He is a natural. Had Gavin not overcome those damning insecurities that encumber dreams, we would not have been graced with enduring hits: "Glycerine," "Machinehead," "Everything Zen," the alternative-music-sensation that is Bush or the sexiest English musician to take the stage. Close call. This astounding entertainer was made for the spotlight. ML FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC Where did the inspiration for The Sea of Memories come from? "Just inspired by music. Music is so magical. I love this job because it's so ancient and yet it's so modern —the forms of distribution, the forms of making it, the instruments at your fingertips, computers —it couldn't be more modern and up-to- date. And yet, this same job as been done so long ago. People riding into town, sing a bit, get fed a bit of dinner, move on, play somewhere else, sell you a potion, sing you a song, it's kind of no different. It's ancient and I love that. It brings people together, it divides people. Music is so powerful… There are like eight notes, but it's infinite. It's so strange. There's so many styles of music, so many different ways that music sits together. I still cannot believe how it comes together. I'm like in awe of it and yet it's my job. It's weird." What is your favorite song on the album? "Probably the first song and the last song. The first song is "The Mirror of the Signs," which I like because it was built on a guitar motif, so it's something different to approach song writing like that. And the ending song, "Be Still My Love," which is all moody and double entendres —its just super atmospheric. I like those dark weird songs." Who is on your iPod? "I have to think —PJ Harvey, Skrillex, James Blake, The Kills, Portishead, Roberta Flack, Tool, Perfect Circle, Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine and every version of every song I've recorded over the past five years." Everyone is jumping on the house music bandwagon, will you? "Junior Sanchez has done the most killer mix of "The Sound of Winter." It's better than mine. I'm telling you! It's quite good. You're going to be out one night and be like, wow, this weed's great." (You can hear this version on the album's bonus CD, along with other great bonus tracks.) 62 MIAMI LIVING