I'm Listening: Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale talks about the evolution of mental health conversations throughout his career.

Transcript

00:00You know, the wild thing is that people eulogize about the 90s, the 90s was an amazing time,

00:08but I've really found that the whole discussion around mental health has really improved drastically

00:14over the years to the point where it's not shameful for men to talk about their feelings.

00:19It's not shameful for people to own up that they don't feel good.

00:23I think in some ways the strength of our band, Bush, is that sort of understanding of people

00:30and knowing that people are just suffering all the time and it's really, really good

00:34to have outlets.

00:36Music is such a powerful force, it's such a powerful kind of elixir and it's the best

00:43thing to make music that gives people comfort and it seems to be a lot of a common theme

00:47that when I meet people, they've felt that the band has really been there for them emotionally

00:52and that's the greatest compliment we could ever receive.

00:56So we're all about trying to help people.

01:00Music and my mental health, well, you know, like anyone, when you feel down and you feel

01:05a bit isolated, music can be your best friend and the words or the music, the way it makes

01:12you feel can give you that sort of sense of power.

01:15So, you know, if I, whatever way I feel, there are many bands that will just elevate

01:21me and get me out of that bad space.

01:25The tools about mental health that I talk to my kids is about, I think, self-sufficiency.

01:31You know, it's about being empowered in yourself and not relying on others for what they think

01:37of you and not relying for others to sort of give you the confidence.

01:41It should be, you know, feelings should come with them, now that doesn't mean it's easy

01:44for them and it's like really challenging, but it's all about people's insecurities.

01:52And for me as a father, you know, I just want to make them feel secure and sort of strong

01:57individual people and want to succumb to, you know, the inconsistencies of people's

02:03opinions about you and stuff like that.

02:05The way people judge people and shame you in different ways, you know, it's a jungle

02:10out there.

02:11So it's a daily thing.