From SPIN
Why aren't original guitarist Nigel Pulsford and bassist Dave Parsons in on the reunion?QUOTE
Well, I've been speaking to Nigel a lot and each time I do a record, I'd ask him to do it. He's happy and it's not something he wanted to do -- he has a family. I spoke to Dave. I was surprised because I thought he'd do it. He thought about it for the weekend and then said he couldn't. He didn't want to commit and then back out -- he didn't know how long he could tour. It's an absurd amount of work. After all this time away we can't expect to just reappear without a lot of effort, you know?
Tell me about a few songs on the record.QUOTE
The album opens with a song called "The Mirror of the Signs," which is a powerful song. It's about when you look back on your life and eulogize or get nostalgic about where you've been. I lost a couple close friends this last year, one who committed suicide and one who overdosed. It's rough when you lose people unexpectedly. It makes me wistful for more carefree days. This song is about looking back and seeing yourself in the mirror. You catch these moments when you think about what went down or what happened. I would've liked to have more time with those two people. My friend Sean committed suicide while I was on the road. That was really bad. He was a close friend and a great inspiration, but I couldn't make it back for the funeral. So I wrote something and Gwen read it. She stopped because it was too painful. That shaped the album a lot. Life is so precious but it's easy to be a little bombastic and not appreciate it.
What can fans expect from Bush's new album? QUOTE
Our sound is a bit evolved. It's interesting seeing the reactions to [first single] "Afterlife." It's like, "You're damned if you do, damned if you don't." Some reactions are, "Man, this is great! I love it! Bush are back!" Others are, "This sucks. You should listen to what they were like in 1995." You can't win. I would be easy to recreate the same sound -- just turn the guitars up and be a little more reckless. But everyone is meant to evolve. [Laughs] But if I was really smart I would've made Sixteen Stone over and over and over again. But that's not me. Being English, there's that whole club element, too. With The Science of Things, I was trying to expand with songs like "The Chemicals Between Us." It had some bleeps and whistles and drum machines. With this record it's about finding the balance between uplifting music that's got real energy and real vibe, but isn't bone crushing. Bush, to me, was never a heavy band, but we always had the right amount of thrust. I hope we captured that with this record. I was just mastering the album and it still worries me: "More guitar? More drums?" It keeps me awake at night, but it's so close to being done. But we're not recreating what Bush once was. Over our five records, Bush was a different band each time.
Can fans expect a full U.S. tour?QUOTE
Yeah. We're talking about possibly releasing an EP before the full album because there was a lot of excitement that came from the first news that we were reforming. Then the single came out, and now it's doing great on radio… whatever that means nowadays. The record comes in October, but October is a long time from now. I love the idea of an EP. It makes me feel like I'm on Rough Trade Records, which of course I'd love to be [laughs].
Is the Bush reunion a one-off album project?QUOTE
No, I think it's the opposite. Obviously, there's danger in nostalgia. We don't want people to say, "just please play Sixteen Stone." I want to make to keep making records that people dig and -- "dig," wow, that's so Santana, I've never used that word. I want to make records that people connect to and I think I've done that with this one.
What is the meaning of the album's title, Everything Always Now?QUOTE
It's about the culture we live in and the idea of instant gratification. With music, I love that ability to identify pain and come through it. And even though it's a difficult for me to say the word "grunge," I like depressing music because I identify with it. But I also like uplifting, powerful stuff. Opening for U2 for five weeks and watching them onstage every night was incredible. Seeing a crowd truly love what they're watching is amazing, even when the songs are quite painful. There's a collective happiness that I wanted to get into the album's title.
You're collaborating with Santana to cover a T-Rex song. That seems like an odd pairing.QUOTE
He's like Mr. Music. Think of him playing guitar and zoning out onstage at Woodstock… it's amazing. You don't turn Mr. Music down. I really wanted to cover [Pink Floyd's] "Comfortably Numb" with him. I thought he would really nail it. He could out-Gilmour- Gilmour. The other track I suggested was T-Rex's "Bang a Gong" and he picked that one. I was like, "Really?" Anyways. I sang it and now he goes to play on it. He's the king. I just love to do collaborations and weirdly, well, maybe not weirdly, I've been asked to do a lot. I recently did a song with [Finnish cello rockers] Apocalyptica, too.
BUSH IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jul 22 2010, 09:18 PM
