Gavin Rossdale

Source : Wikipedia

Gavin McGregor Rossdale, born October 30, 1965, was the lead singer and guitarist of the former British rock group Bush, and the current lead singer and guitarist of Institute.

Biography

Born in Kilburn, London, England, to parents lucy Stephan (b. Scotland) and Douglas Rossdale (a doctor of Russian Jewish descent); they divorced when he was eleven years old and he was raised primarily by his father and aunt (his mother remarried and moved to Florida). He has a younger sister, Soraya, and an older one, Lorraine (daughter called Jade).

Rossdale modelled briefly, producing some embarrassing fashion shots with good friend Marilyn. Gavin learned to play bass guitar after hanging out with Lorraine's boyfriend who was in a band called The Nobodyz, but switched to rhythm guitar. At 17, he had left Westminster School, played semi-professional football until side-lined by an injury, and formed a band called Midnight (formerly Little Dukes), which produced a couple of singles and a bunch of publicity photos. In 1991, Gavin moved to Los Angeles for 6 months, lived where he could, and took whatever part time jobs were available, including production assistant on video shoots. He spent some time in NYC with his good friend Bill MacAdam before returning to England inspired to start a new band. He hooked up with future manager Scottie Mac (SSM), whom he had met in LA, around this time. In 1992, Gavin formed Future Primitive, whose original line-up (under the name The Diceheads) included screenwriter Sacha Gervasi, who left to pursue a film-making career. The band changed its name to Bush in the summer of 1994 and released the promo Sixteen Stone.

Bush

Gavin was the lead singer/songwriter for the UK post-grunge rock band Bush. Their first album, Sixteen Stone (1994), was a huge commercial success. Almost overnight, Bush went from playing small pubs in London to headlining arenas in the US, the result of extensive, non-stop touring. However, some critics labelled them as an inferior derivative of bands such as Nirvana and Pixies, and this criticism followed them throughout their career as a band. In particular, Rossdale's throaty singing voice and random, stream of consciousness-style lyrics were dismissed by some as an imitation of Nirvana's lead singer, Kurt Cobain. Although the band reached superstar status in the U.S., they failed to have much impact on the Brit-Pop riddled UK charts, the lone exception being their single "Swallowed", which reached #7. A change in record labels, management and an extended hiatus did not bode well for the band, who unofficially split in 2002.

Bush's albums include Razorblade Suitcase (produced by Steve Albini), Deconstructed, The Science of Things, and Golden State, none of which matched the sales success of the debut album, Sixteen Stone.

After Bush

In 2004, after Bush had been on hiatus for two years, Rossdale formed Institute. Their first album, Distort Yourself, released September 13, 2005 achieved moderate success and the single "Bullet-proof skin" was used in the motion picture Stealth.

Rossdale was featured on the Sony Pictures XXX soundtrack in 2002 with a song called "Adrenaline." The song was also the official theme song for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Unforgiven pay-per-view event in September 2002. He also guest appeared for Blue Man Group's "The Current" and features in their video for the same song.

In 2005 Rossdale appeared in the motion picture Constantine (2005) playing the villain Balthazar. Rossdale has also appeared in the films Zoolander (2001), The Mayor of Sunset Strip (2003), Little Black Book (2004), and The Game of Their Lives (2005).

Personal life

Rossdale has homes in Primrose Hill, London and California, and is a regular on the celebrity tennis circuit in the latter.

In 2004, it was revealed that he was the father of Pearl Lowe's 17-year-old daughter, Daisy Lowe, (b. 1989). Rossdale and Lowe had a former relationship and Rossdale had been the godfather of Daisy.

On September 14, 2002 Rossdale married Gwen Stefani, lead vocalist of the rock band No Doubt. During an August 8, 2005 appearance on the radio show Loveline, Rossdale said that he and Gwen preferred to keep their relationship entirely out of the media. He also said that he grew up in a chaotic home, and stated that having a stable environment for his family was important to him. On May 26, 2006, they had a son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Kingston weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces (3.4 kilograms).

Gavin Rossdale - Love Remains The Same

19.02.2009

Gavin Rossdale arrives at Global Green's 6th Annual Pre-Oscar party in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009.

Gwen Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, in West Hollywood, Calif.

On the Road With Gavin & Kingston Rossdale

From art museums to dingy dressing rooms, movie marathons on the bus to summer music festivals in front of thousands, Gavin and Kingston Rossdale have seen it all — together.

“It’s been a really bonding experience,” Gavin tells PEOPLE of taking his toddler son on the first leg of his U.S. tour. “He likes hanging out. He’s so natural, so easy.”

Gavin, who is on the road until June 7th in support of his album Wanderlust, has found a happy balance between his home and work lives. “I love playing shows. It makes for a dynamic life,” says the British rocker, 43. “If Bob Marley could have a wicked home life and 14 children and then go out and play, why can’t I?”

“For anyone who has kids, you bring them along in your life and they adapt to where you’re at,” adds Gavin. “You keep them fed and rested and pay lots of attention to them and they’re fine.”

Kingston’s nanny Mia Silbaugh snapped this photo of the pair watching a movie on the bus on April 14th in Seattle. “Sometimes he says, ‘Don’t sing tonight, Daddy, just hang out,’” laughs Gavin.

Life on Tour

In between interviews and radio station visits during the day, Gavin and Kingston, 3, hit kid-friendly spots along their tour route, like the Seattle Aquarium or the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor, Maine. “And sometimes we’ll go to museums of modern art so he can see a big splash of color on the walls,” says the former Bush frontman.

They also make up new games together. “I found a way to kill some time in New York by asking him to look out the window and tell me every time he saw a yellow taxi,” says Dad with a chuckle. “He was so into it. We had a really good time.”

The guys also bond — and clash — over movie time on the bus. “He likes to watch the same thing over and over. For King, basically it’s The Cat in the Hat, Over the Hedge and Cars,” says Gavin. “We went through The Polar Express. I could have been in that film, I know it by heart!”

Adds the doting dad: “I’ve got loads of surf videos. Now he uses the phrase ‘that’s boring.’ He’ll turn it off — he knows how to operate the DVD player.”

After gigs, Gavin unwinds with books including D.M. Thomas’ The Bleak Hotel, Ted Hughes poetry (”In case I have a short attention span”), and works by Charles Bukowski and Christopher Hitchens.

A Family Affair

Kingston hit the road with his dad in April and early May before joining mom Gwen Stefani, 39, and baby brother Zuma, 9 months, on No Doubt’s summer tour a few weeks ago.

Despite their seemingly unconventional lifestyle, touring suits the Stefani-Rossdale family quite well. “We keep Kingston on West Coast time when we’re on the East Coast. He normally goes to bed at 8. It’s all about his comfort and everything else is second,” says Gavin, adding that his son, who wears protective headphones, likes to rock out on the drums during sound checks and often imitates Dad on air guitar as he watches a performance from the back of a venue.

As for trading touring tips and tricks with his wife? “We’re both too exhausted to discuss it,” says Gavin with a laugh. “We’re both commandos. You just find a way like every other parent. There’s nothing unique about that.”

Gavin says his oldest son is lucky because he can accompany his parents on the job. “He sees that it’s a lot of effort and a lot of work too. My own father was working all the time, from 8 in the morning till 8 in the night, five, six days a week,” he says. “Kingston sees that if you want to get something done, you have to work.”

Whether Kingston will follow in his parents’ famous footsteps remains to be seen. “We’d support anything he wants to do. It’s just such a wide world. Maybe he’ll want to be an architect and build buildings. That,” says Gavin, “would be cool.”

The photos were snapped by Kingston’s nanny.

Kingston’s nanny Mia Silbaugh snapped this photo of the pair watching a movie on the bus on April 14th in Seattle. “Sometimes he says, ‘Don’t sing tonight, Daddy, just hang out,’” laughs Gavin.

Backstage in Orono, Maine on April 30th.

Catch Gavin on his remaining U.S. tour dates:

May 28, Voodoo Lounge, N. Kansas City, Mo.

May 29, Whiskey Roadhouse at Horseshoe Casino, Council Bluffs, Iowa

May 31, Gothic Theatre, Denver

June 2, The Filmore, San Francisco

June 4, House of Blues, San Diego

June 5, Hard Rock, Las Vegas

June 6, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles

June 7, House of Blues, Anaheim, Calif.

Rossdale strays from 'Angry Guy' days

The equation always comes down to predator and prey.

“Even when you’re going out to the market, early in the morning with your family, you really don’t want to go to the market,” says photogenic U.K. rocker Gavin Rossdale, who — along with wife Gwen Stefani and their sons Kingston and Zuma — has become a prime target for paparazzi in his new home: Hollywood.

“Because with a herd of photographers following you, it’ll turn into a big scene like some bad reality show. It can be, umm, a bit invasive,” he says.

Overly protective of his clan, the singer — who plays San Francisco on Tuesday — admits he used to be more combative with photographers.

“But it turns into the same kind of picture, every time — ‘Angry Guy,’” he says.

“So what are you going to do? I’m not going to let it get to me. And the guys that follow us regularly are actually pretty good guys — it’s just that that’s how they make their living. And besides, with all of the awful things happening in the world right now, the idea of celebrities complaining about the paparazzi just seems a little churlish.”

This same thoughtful, zenlike outlook has permeated Rossdale’s work since “Sixteen Stone,” his 1994 debut with his old outfit Bush.

It continued through his recent group Institute and then to “Wanderlust,” his literate new solo set for Interscope.

He rationalizes fame with “Another Night In the Hills,” decries war on “If You’re Not With Us, You’re Against Us” and treasures his family in “Frontline.”

Ironically, a ballad touching on troubles from his seven-year marriage, “Love Remains the Same,” has become a Top 40 smash for the otherwise private artist.

“The world is exciting, but also selfish and terrifying,” is Rossdale’s theory. “So there’s a real nice balance, and we just wade through it. But having children certainly removes you from being the most important person in your life, especially if you have sons. There’s something quite anthropological about the idea of them gaining strength through their lives and achievements as you gradually lose yours. But hey — that’s how it goes. Being a father is an interesting path."

So is being an actor. Rossdale, 41, has had fun with his suave image in films such as “Constantine,” where he portrayed the devilish villain Balthazar, who shatters into charred shards at the end.

“It’s always quite curious to see yourself turn into rubble,” he laughs.

Yet flying solo — like the paparazzi — has required some adjustment, Rossdale says. “I’m still cringing when I hear my name on the radio. But I think I’ll get used to it.”

Gwen Stefani's husband back in Orlando

Gavin Rossdale takes down House of Blues

Former Bush front man more impressive than a decade ago

Gavin Rossdale, and his new band, perform at the House of Blues on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

I almost feel like I need a cigarette after that one.

Gavin Rossdale, former front man of the 90s band Bush, put on a hot and steamy show at the House of Blues Tuesday night - flexing his undeniable hot looks with incredible vocals and a sensuous performance to announce his return to the Orlando music scene.

And, what the crowd lacked in size, it made up for in enthusiasm, belting out ballads from Rossdale's new record, "Wanderlust," while also shrieking every time Rossdale brought out a hit from his Bush days.

Rossdale, who has spent the better half of this decade known as Gwen Stefani's other half, brought a big-stage presence to the performance dancing from edge to edge, touching the hands of adoring fans, playing "Bullet Proof Skin" in the front row of the audience and also finishing off an inspiring guitar solo by playing it against a corner speaker while thrusting his entire body into it.

Sex sells, especially for Rossdale.

Case and point: During "This is Happiness," which is highlighted by a catchy chorus, Rossdale was writhing on the ground and also performed part of the song on his knees. He had plenty of the crowd jumping up to get a glimpse of his escapades, with multiple fans pushing themselves onto the shoulders of others. The music was only half the show and Rossdale's antics were the other.

But this was like a planned pregnancy Rossdale was very aware of his songs and how he could tug at the emotions of new and old fans.

The older hits were used sporadically, but in spots to raise the volume in the room.

They used "Machinehead" in the opening three songs, giving the start of the 100-minute set a ton of energy. They also used "Everything Zen" just before the end of the pre-encore set, highlighted by Rossdale's affair with the unsuspecting speakers.

But, it wasn't all thrust, it also was tender.

Rossdale introduced a cover of Stevie Nick's "Landslide" half-way through the set, and the acoustic number found Rossdale sitting alone on a stool at the tip of the stage, backed up by a single guitarist. He was emotional, using multiple extended pauses to cover his face and collect his thoughts.

He also highlighted the four-song encore with a solo of his mega-hit, "Glycerine," which debuted in 1996. The live version of the song is much more emotional than what you may hear on the radio, you feel the hurt that he had when he was writing it about an ex-girlfriend.

And, much like his current hit "Love Remains the Same," Rossdale seems comfortable with love and its trials and tribulations.

On Tuesday night, it just needed a parental advisory sticker.

Most Dashing Celebrity Daddies

The pitter-patter of little feet keeps Hollywood's hunkiest dads on their toes. But being a father doesn't mean they aren't hot. Click through our gallery of sizzling stars and vote for the most dashing celebrity daddy of 2009! The results will be published in the special Father's Day issue of HELLO! Canada magazine, hitting newsstands June 4.

http://www.hellomagazine.ca/votes/fathersdayvote09/