How Bush’s Gavin Rossdale Gauges His Success as a Parent
Time flies, as evidenced last month when Bush vocalist Gavin Rossdale shared a photo of all four of his children, two of which are now teenagers. While Rossdale learned of his paternity of daughter Daisy Lowe later in life, he's been a father to sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo since their birth and during a chat with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez he opened up about getting to the stage where his son Kingston is starting to forge his own path.
"My main job, my only job in my life is to be a good father to all my kids and that's my primary reason to be on this earth," says Rossdale.
Further elaborating on what he feels is his goal as a parent, the singer remarks, "The main thing is that nothing matters as long as they're doing stuff of substance that's interesting to them. That's how I see that I've raised them successfully is that they're doing interesting things that fascinate them."
"The danger, and I talk about this to my son Kingston who is 16, and I say that it's ironic he's 16 and he's got more than I ever had, and he's got it all laid out. He's actually begun recording music and he's really, really good," continues the singer. "And it's at a crossroads for him. In a young adult's life, you get to choose whether you really want to make a mark or whether, you know, they're going to put up the bowing of the barriers for young kids. You can either put the guides up and lead a life that is quite safe, just go get a degree and be what you're going to be doing, drift a bit, or find a vocation, something that you love, whatever it is, and dedicate yourself to that. Cause now is the time that you can accelerate past everybody by putting in the time now."
Gavin says he feels that if his kids were to just be famous because of their parents, that'd be a drag, and he feels it would be a burden on them as well. But, he adds, "Look at Dakota Johnson, you know she's a fantastic actress. She comes from incredible stock [daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith], so to speak, but she's done the work. Her primary focus is how you know about her most. So as long as they're doing interesting stuff, I don't really mind. Fame comes and goes and it's not really tangible. It's not interpretive."
While allowing his children to find their own path is of interest to Rossdale, he's also done his part to speak up in song about the world his kids will inherit. The current single "More Than Machines," from the upcoming The Art of Survival album (due Oct. 7), touches on hot topic issues such as the destruction of women's rights, the destruction of the planet and the move toward artificial intelligence.
While Gavin has said in the past it's not his job to teach anything, he discusses the reaction to putting this song out in the universe. "It's a mighty thing thinking that something you do incites anything," says Rossdale. "I don't know if I have that opinion about it."
That said, he adds that song is about "the basis of everything, the contribution of each individual to society is to yield a better environment to live in. You can never get rid of the insane amounts of evil and greed we have to contend with, but everyone can do their diligent part and not be a jerk."
He adds of his intent with the track, "To me it's really important not to be standing on a pedestal of any kind. These things are there for anyone and everyone. They're there in front of us every single day when you read the news. So it's just about keeping the conversation going so that things are resolved."
Bush will be hitting the road later this month with Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin. Tickets for the run can be found here.
You can hear more of Gavin's conversation with Toni Gonzalez tonight (Aug. 9). Tune into Loudwire Nights at 7PM ET.
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