Club Random with Bill Maher - Gavin Rossdale | Club Random

Episode Date: June 8, 2025

Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale drops by Club Random to chat with Bill Maher about his new album “I Beat Loneliness,” the craft of songwriting, touring life, dad duties, aging like a rock star, mental health, religion, AI paranoia - and yes, a little life advice from David Bowie himself. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: ⁠https://bit.ly/ClubRandom⁠ Watch Club Random on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/ClubRandomYouTube Follow Club Random on IG: @ClubRandomPodcast Follow Bill on IG: @BillMaherWe have Merch! Get it here: https://www.clubrandom.com For AD free extended episodes go to https://billmaher.substack.com Please support our sponsors: Try ZipRecruiter for free at https://www.ziprecruiter.com/random Take advantage of Ridge’s once-a-year Father’s Day Sale and get UP TO 40% Off right now by going to https://www.ridge.com/random #Ridgepod #ad Get 15% off OneSkin with the code RANDOM at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod #ad Go to ⁠https://www.ffrf.us/freedom⁠ or text "CLUB" to 511511 and become a member today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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So the dinner ended when Madonna decided the dinner ended. Yeah. That's what I would get. Musical quiz question. What awesome. Sex Pistols. Is there a guest? There is.

I'm here. In the room? Yeah. Hey, how are you? Nice to see you. Pleasure to meet you after all these years. Thank you so much for having me. I'm seeing you around.

Yeah. I'm seeing you in the clubs, as they say. You still go to clubs, Kevin? No, not much. What was the last time you... I was saying this is really fun. Oh, this is a great club, yeah. And I hope I didn't screw,

I don't want to screw it up to the point where, because I want to come back when it's full of people. I was like, this is insane. I would love to have you, yes. I was like... I mean, this was the party house for years before we made it the podcast house. I really want to get it back to that,

because I'm here so much doing this, that I kind of forget about it that way. You're right. All right, I'll throw a party for you. You live around here? Yeah, I live down the road. And what's weird is that actually I heard this was Ben Affleck's game room. Oh, yes, it was. And I like your use of it better. Oh. I like your use of it better.

Oh, first of all, it was full of... He was never here. You know, movie stars, they always say they're either on location or on vacation. So that's why it was like a bachelor pad thing for him. And this room, everyone told me to tear it down because it was full of termites and mold. It was just hard, this room was full of video games, all on all that electricity. You see, cause weird is that I lived in a house

up the road that Ben and J.Lo had lived at. Oh wow, they have a lot of houses. And so what was the funny part was when I moved in and they had, you know, there's all the big phones, all the different labels on the names for the rooms and all that. The what? You know you have a phone and they had the, you know, there's all the big phones, all the different labels on the names for the, had the rooms and all that. The what? You know, you have a phone and next to the phone, there's all the different buttons for the rooms, master bed, guest bed, blah, blah, blah.

Fancy people. I don't have that. Well, but the best one thing was it had that and it had the band and then we flipped it, took it off and Mark, Mark Anthony, when he was there. Oh, are you serious? Yeah. I didn't even know that. Because it was my. Are you serious? Yeah. I didn't even know that. Because it was my house.

That's a star. So I saw it and I was like this is... Wow. That's like having his and her towels and marrying somebody else. You know, we have the same initials on the towel. I always thought a funny movie would be, I mean this is when I used to do more drugs than I do now, although I do some now. Here's the premise.

A girl gets a tattoo, she's like 17 or in love with some guy named Tony, right? So she gets a tattoo right above her pussy that says Tony's little baby. And then she breaks up with Tony, because you know, it always happens. And now she goes to, I got to get this lasered off. And they say, oh, you have a rare skin,

you cannot laser this off. And then the rest of the movie, she has to fall in love with a guy named Tony. She has to find a guy named Tony and have him not see her pussy until she meets him. Now how would you end that movie? You're an actor too. Well, Wynow, yeah, I would make sure

that Johnny Depp having Winona and then he changes to Wynow when they broke up. Yeah. Yeah. Now, that would ruin the movie. That would ruin the movie. Well, I would, I would, I would, I'd find two of them. So there has to be some sort of, I mean, you cliffhanger and a sequel, because everything

is about sequels. Nothing works unless you can do it seven times, right? I mean, you could, if you really wanted to take this premise seriously, and why would you? But you could make the case that love is kind of arbitrary. It's like when people think, oh, I found the one true person, oh, shut the fuck up.

Like everybody, not everybody, but lots of people, get divorced, you've been divorced, okay. It's like, and then they, or horribly, sometimes somebody dies. Life goes on. We need to live in the present. And so we find some other one true person in the world, you know what I mean? And so like, could you actually find just among the Tonys?

I think you could. Yeah, there's definitely more than two. But you need AI though. I mean, I think another way of looking at it is that also people have a hard time accepting that some people or some relationships have a time. Correct. And they get so upset when they think that they're tight.

So that's what... Because we ourselves go through passages in life. So your 20 self, it's not really your 40 self. Now sometimes the person you're married to, like two dragonflies who fly in tandem. Like a miracle, yeah. I mean, you think that's a miracle? It's funny, because everyone's nuts.

I would say it's somewhat more of a rarity than the opposite. Even though people do stay together. But being miserable and together doesn't count to me. Yeah, that's a drag. That's a drag. How was the longest you've been in a relationship for? What's today? You know. I was in a relationship for five years

when I was 32 to 37, right at the time you should get married. Right. But I just wasn't ready. 32 to 37, like right at the time you should get married. But I just wasn't ready. With someone who would have been a perfect little wife, there was like nothing wrong with her. Like really, I know people say that, but that's true. Much later in life, I somehow found someone very, I always say, I don't see any, I always say to her, I have no notes.

I have no notes. If I had, I would give them to you, but your performance is perfect. It's been going on for years, it must be real. How would you answer that? It's been going on for years. It must be real. How would you answer that? What's my longest? Well, there was a time I was with someone, as they say, married for a long time.

It's been a bit more- Yeah, another rock star, which makes it even harder. Yeah. No? I think on the 10 year anniversary, I said it's been the best six years of my life. But, you know, since then, I definitely have bounced a bit. I have had a girlfriend for two years now.

It's been kind of fun, interesting, great girl. So that's been a vibe and something that is not easy. You know, there's something, you know, yes. It's just the things that go on that you just, it's hard to feel settled. You know, especially if you're always doing stuff and you know, going through things. Sometimes it can be hard.

And you have loads of kids, I have loads of kids. That's the other thing. Loads. Yeah, three boys here, three young. That's a load, yeah. That's the other thing. So we have three boys here, three young boys. That's a load, yeah. But we think somewhere in our minds that as we get into these upper ages, that we're gonna, I mean, at least I thought

when I was 20s, 30s, life would be, and I would be, very different. I'm at 69 now. It's just not. Like, the things you think are going to recede and going away, maybe they do a little bit. Your yen for strange, as they call it. It's a thing built into male DNA. It doesn't really ever go away completely. Maybe it does for some people. My favorite thing that goes away is the need to ever convince other people

of something. Do you know what I mean? As you go on, what's the point? I mean, you've done an incredible job to illuminate amazing things through the years. Your show's been really incredible. Oh, I appreciate that a wild time to be alive. In some ways it's the wildest time we've ever lived. There's more uncertainty. But there's more joy and there's more pain. It seems to just...

I say the same thing often. It's a very odd cognitive dissonance in your mind. I get this all the time when I'm out and people come up to me and they're like, we're in a beautiful restaurant and they've just had an amazing dinner and they thought nothing of paying $1,000 for four people to have dinner.

And they're like, Bill, what are we going to do? I'm like, I don't know, look around. Is it that bad for you? Because I get what you mean. Part of your brain is like, oh my god, if you like democracy, remember to like and subscribe. Because we may not be hanging around the really existential,

and also AI, I mean things like that, plastics that we can't seem to stop getting into our body. I mean there are things. We've been lied to for so long, it's incredible. That's what's insane because now we're. Well that's always gone on, but plastics and AI haven't. Right. And Trump hasn't. I mean his anti-democratic ways.

Those things are all new. Lies are not new. But those things are. And if you want to spend your life fretting, you could. It's legitimate. I don't have a problem with it. You have to just choose to go, yeah, but look at the dinner I just had. And look at the restaurant.

Yeah. Otherwise, you go crazy. I mean, there's no sense. But it is a very strange time. And for me, as a father, having my kids just now coming into manhood, 19-year-old on Monday, a 17-year-old, it's just like just seeing what the future holds for them. It's kind of, you know, all these reports look like in 2035, AI, you know, people will

be scared of AI robots. You know, people will have to hide from. It's just, it's a lot, right? I was saying on my show last week that I used to curse at my car because, and I have not liked cars generally. I've had some good ones. I have a good one now. I had a Tesla a few years ago and did not get rid of it because of Elon. I just, there was a car, Mercedes made a electric luxury car that was better than the Tesla.

It cost twice as much, it should be. Very similar. Tesla's still a beautiful, wonderful car. But like the Tesla, this one, it's just way too much in my business. Way too much. You know, nagging me. It's like if I wanted to- It knows what he'll eat on the way home.

It yells at me for eat on the way home. It yells at me for the stupidest fucking shit. Oh, it doesn't yours? Your car, what do you have? An old car? Yeah, I guess. You must. Yeah.

This thing... Oh, please. Like, if I'm at the end of my driveway, if I'm driving out of my house, right, and the street is there in front of me, perpendicular to me. And if a car, I'm at the end of the driveway, I can see, I look, I've been driving since I was 17. I can see if a car is coming across and I'm not going to plow out while the car is passing me,

but the car, I know, I see it, I'm a human. Can't you grade it? Can't you like, you know, sort of give it a beginner, advanced, and long-time driver? And then I have a second, like, iPhone in the car because I use it as an iPod for music. Right. So when I get out of the car, the car thinks I left my phone there.

So it says, you left your phone. And I used to be like, and I'm not proud, I don't talk like this in real life, IRL, no. But I'd be like, shut the fuck up, you stupid cunt. Because it does it to every time. And now I'm afraid to call my car a cunt. Because I know the robots are listening. And I know they're gonna remember that.

And in five years or 10, it's going to be, who's a cunt now, Bill? They might kick you in your cunt. No, I know for you British, cunt is not a bad word. Yeah, that's a compliment. But here it is. So when I call the car a cunt, you know I'm being serious. It's not a good one.

Because we don't do that. I certainly never did that in real life. But a car, you should be able to vent your things at the inanimate objects. And I'm just afraid to do that. So there is a lot to be worried about. Now, your kids are going to be fine. They're nipple babies. Are they?

Well, I suppose. I mean, I think by definition. Are they in the business? Already? Are they streaming? Well, everyone's streaming. I got two of them are really, really, really into music. They?

Yeah. I mean. But they got that through the genes. Yeah. I've never really, I mean, for me, it's really about letting them be in the vision and do what they want. And so, I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing.

I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I think that's the thing. I got that through the genes. Yeah, I've never really, I mean, for me, it's really about letting them be in the vision and do what they want. And so they're very talented, but I feel terrified. Well, a little bit terrified for them.

Are they true fans of Bush? I think they understand the- What do they think? I mean, because- Well, this is the main thing. Ever since I had the kids, when I first had kids, have you written any songs about the kids? Of course I fucking haven't.

But I said, but what I do have is like, they're so opinionated that whenever I make a record, I want them to like it because I don't want them to go to school and have their friends at school be like, yeah, your dad's music. Well, you want the generation in general to like it too. I think they just know that, they know that it's quality, I hope. They know that it's quality, I hope. They know that it's legit. People do. By the way, I will say that to you.

There are bands, no one is going to be like they were the first decade, because it's just a thing for young people. It's young people's domain. Nobody does it. But there are bands that people think fall off or get corny. They don't think that of your band. And they're right. And actually people think, even though it doesn't, it hasn't, you know, your last record probably didn't sell

what the first two did, but the fans actually think it's better. You know, they think the musicianship has, you know, stayed, because your fan base is getting older, so they're getting more discerning. So they want a kind of top quality, nutritious serving of music, and I think they feel like you give it to them.

Thank you, it's weird to say that, because I think in that way, I think in that way of it being, to be surprising, just do good, good, good stuff, you know, and really like mind some, we have a new whole new record coming that I think is really good. And it's a great time because yeah, you can spend your time worrying. I spend a lot of my time worrying or fretting, as you said. And then you just think of the pure simple joy of just making something

that connects people. It's such an ancient concept. Even though I use mad technology to make it, intrinsically, it just starts with an idea. It's a blank screen. You don't have a song? Yeah. So making a song, it's like improving that silence. Silence is one of the, almost the best sound ever. So they're having the audacity to say, no, I need you to listen to this. It's an amazing job. I just have so much fun mining these.

They're almost experience I'm making, making songs just to get better at music. I think that's what our hope comes through. Yeah. Well, it does because like I say, nobody can be like at that frenzy height in music. You know, comedy is sort of the opposite. It goes slowly up, if you do it right, where music is like it just, it's a skyrocket. And of course it fucks a lot of people up because of that. But, so you can't be there forever, but it's a good trick that people who even aren't like that big of fan, nobody thinks your band is lame.

You know, where they think that of a lot of people from the past, you know. Nobody thinks Pearl Jam is lame. Maybe you don't listen to them, but you know, they never sold out like your band. They do stuff that, it's not pandering for sure. There's no commercial like, oh, we're gonna do this one. They've been supporting your boy Bruce

and his stuff going on, they've been doing Pearl Jam, been throwing some Springsteen covers just as a point. Really, why is he my boy, Bruce? No, I've been doing Pearl Jam, I've been throwing some Springsteen covers just as a point. Really? Why is he my boy, Bruce? No, I mean. Because we're both American? I've never even met him. No.

I mean, I'm a fan, like everybody, it's the law. It's the law. It is. No, I am. I mean, I think he's one of the artists who was around when I was young. And again, I have stuff from, you know, he put out two years ago, or whatever the last one was. That I feel like fits nicely along with earlier stuff. Like if you play them back to back, it's not like, oh, that's later when they started to surf.

Yeah, that's a good trick. I like your early funny stuff. Yeah, like Woody Allen. Yeah, what I like about him is that, what inspired me about him the most, slightly fucked me up as a songwriter, is that I heard he always has four or five songs ready to go to make a record.

So you never run the tank dry. You always write enough so that you have like few material. I don't know how often you write or how it works to get material going. But it's nice creatively just to have that stuff in. Before I went on the greatest hits tour that we just did last summer, I went in the studio and I just thought about Bruce now. But I was like, I'm going on this great hit song, but I've got to do something creative now.

So I wrote a bunch of songs. So when I came to finish this record now, these last few months, it was a nice process because I'd already done the Springsteen trick of having a nice few songs in the bank. Riders have said that too. You know, like, of course this is the old day when they were using typewriters,

but leave half a page in the typewriter. So that when you start the next day, it's not that daunting. You know, you were in the middle of something and you're just going back. Yeah, I've never worked that way, but you know. How do you write? Where do you?

Well, I mean, my, I mean, most of my life I did stand-up as well as my show. Stand-up, well, first of all, I just never purposely wrote. That's just not how, some comics feel that that's the way to do it. Like, purposely get up in the morning and get a yellow legal pad and blah, blah, blah. Nah, I preferred to get high.

Whatever funny came out, try to remember it. Like, sitting around like doing this. You know, and like, I don't know what we said tonight, but I'm sure there was one thing that would have been a great bit already. Right. You know, and in the old days, I would like have made an effort to remember that. There was a time when I think I saved them. Oh, I did.

Like all these, what I would call cocktail napkins, because a lot of them were literally cocktail napkins. This is before cell phones. And if I was out having fun and something funny, I would write it down on the cocktail napkins. Of course, half the time you get home and you're like, what is that? Wool?

Sarah? Yeah, that too. Or just something like, you know, wolves should pole dance. I'm like, what was I? I don't remember what the bit was. You know? Just. should pole dance. I'm like, what was I? I don't remember what the bid was. Rewards your good financial habits. Unpoints for paying your credit card bill in full and on time every month. Level up from bill payer to reward slayer.

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You purposely, you force yourself to sit down or you just like it. Well, my friend's dad, back in the day when we began and we were kids and we thought we completely emancipated from life and responsibility by deciding to be in a band, meant the end of all work, all effort, all focus. We'll be in a band and it's all going to happen. Then he sat us down and he said,

listen, it's all very well and good. You two want to, now you're going to be in this band and make it happen. But just don't forget, Tim Panalli, five days a week, nine to five, people go and write. So if you want to be serious, you have to do it like that. The Brill Building. Yeah.

You know what that is? Yeah. Exactly. That's what it means. New York, like where Carole King, Neil Sadaka, and people like that. Same thing with the Motown Factory. Dozier Holland, that writing team that just churned out like so many hits, Smokey Robinson wrote a lot.

He was more than just the band, our recording artists, he wrote for other artists. They would just, yeah, they would, I mean, Berry Gordy was not like, you know, when the muse sits on your shoulder, let me know and we'll put out the record. He was like, okay, we're putting out a record Tuesday. So, you know.

Think of something. And it's, there's something to be said for that. Well, it's been the mainstay of my, of everything I've ever done. When that time to write, you just go do that. And the best thing about it is like not being precious, just to write and write and write. Right.

And just let it be, and you know, I mean one thing I think that as you, you know, as we get older, I have got better editing. So I don't, I'm not like so, like I'm not so sketchy. It's gonna be quite specific, but it was really good to stockpile that material. Editing, I'm not going to say it's everything, of course it's not. It's most.

It's a lot. Yeah. It's more than you think when you're younger. At least that's what I found in what I... I read this great thing that Alan de Botton, who's this English psychotherapist said today, he says, if you're not embarrassed of who you were last year, you're not working on yourself.

That's great. Who said that? Alan de Botton. Never heard of him, he sounds like him. He's amazing. He has a school of life, which is this sort of, I don't know, psychotherapy, this sort of center for wellness.

It's really, you love him. He's really funny. Well, that kind of stuff. You love him. Because he says stuff like, whatever you do, don't tell anyone everything about yourself. Nobody deserves that. Things like that. He's just brilliant.

He's just brilliant. And he's saying, you know, this whole thing is that everybody is very, very broken, and everybody is slightly mental, and everybody has their issues, and everybody has their prisms of reasoning that are not always logical. And there's lots of conflict. And the fact that two people can cohabitate, can connect is a miracle of sorts, because it's so precarious. There's one thing I'm always on my own case about, what I'm always testing myself about is, am I seeing this clearly? You have to, first of all, care.

Lots of people absolutely don't care about their biases. You can confront them and say, well, you watch Fox News all day or you watch MSNBC all day. You don't even hear the other side. Yeah, and I don't want to. They're not even trying to hide it. I just want to hear what I already think. And I don't want to let any new information upset that. And of course, I'm trying to do the exact opposite which

immediately alienate some people on both sides of that divide but in an Amherst a nice portion who also appreciate that yeah but it does take actual effort it those extremes are always encroaching on you and trying to get you to just come over to one of those sides completely. It's so much easier and safer. You have a team. And so it's like, you know, it takes some effort

to elbow them all, get the fuck away from me, both of you, I'm just gonna do it my way here in the middle. But it's the basis of what you've done, that's the genius of what you've done over the years. I'll finish with you. I love to go, Gav. No, thank you. But it is. That's the whole point. I enjoy, I love going through popping between them all because sometimes, I mean, I love watching Fox sometimes just to sort of be like, wow,

okay. That's what, wow. You just get this sense and then you switch. And MSNBC sort of feels a bit anodyne in comparison sometimes. And then to CNN, I like going through them all and seeing what's up with that. AI is now much easier for, actually ask ChatGPT what's going on. That's what's pretty crazy. Yeah, but you do know that about one out of 20 times, it does what they call in the business hallucinating. You're familiar with this term? Well, ChatGPT, all AI, just they don't know why.

But obviously, something with the programming. But we got one out of 20 things. It will not just be wrong, it'll be wildly wrong. That just, GPD just decided to tell you with all the authoritarianness that has for every other thing that it's talking about as if it is this, it is not a God, although we're treating it like that.

So just know, like one out of 20 times, it's gonna tell you the exact wrong thing. You're gonna say, do you take aspirin for a stroke? And it's gonna say, absolutely. And the answer is, it's completely the opposite. That's an extreme example I'm just making up. But, and then you die. But just the fact that it can be wrong that much

tells me we haven't really improved on humans. We just put it in a different box and it's more dangerous. Well, honestly, it just assimilates all the information that's been put into it. There's no new thoughts. It's just every thought. The funny thing is you just wish that somehow in this incredible advanced world, technology, the scope is so incredible and yet the wisdom is so lacking because people still can't get along.

Wisdom is in short supply. Knowledge is everywhere, but wisdom is really hard to find. And also we have this 21st century revolution in epistemology really, that's what AI is. I mean, it's just a completely different way of knowing things and being exposed to knowledge. And yet, it's not like it came along, well, after we got rid of religion. That would make sense. But we still, we have this foot in the future, way in the future with the robots and they know everything. And then most of the world one foot in,

oh no, it's mostly important who God is and my God has a bigger dick than your God and that's very important to me. It's so important to me, I might have to kill you because you don't think my God is the God. I know we all pretend some of these religions, I'm not gonna name anybody. You have a 99 or shit.

There's a thousand gods out there. Well no, there used to be. That's Richard Dawkins' great definition of atheism, the great Englishman. I visited him at his home once when I was making religious. God's theory, wasn't it? Yeah, walked around his yard.

I was very excited. I still love him. He sat here. But he says, back in the days of mythology, yes, there were hundreds and hundreds of gods. And then slowly we got that down to one. And he says, I that down to one, and he says, I just take it one further. You know, first we believed in Zeus and Athena and Artemis,

and then it was just Yahweh or Jesus or Allah, and I just took it one step further. Maybe, why not none? Chris Evichans was my hero. He was incredible, you must have loved him. Oh, loved him. One of the greatest men ever. Once gave the audience the finger there,

right on real time. Just right, not that I haven't done it too. But. We just, growing up in England, just he was always on TV, just in his like khaki suit, with the white shirt, and just like spewing brilliance,

and just putting people in their place. Right, and not caring. I once booked him on the show with, here's the panel, Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens, who are huge buddies, and Mos Def. Wow. I love Mos Def much more than they did. And Mr. Def does have some, he did have some theories

I don't agree with either. But like Christopher was not having him at all. Oh no. There was no political correctness in Mos. Well you have a different point of view. He was just like, you know, he just... And Salman... Sal was trying to be more cordial, but, you know, it was...

The network, I remember, hated that show, but I loved it. What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy zero dollar delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply.

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the crackle of a campfire, and that one guy who insists there shouldn't be a separation Foundation. Summer's upon us, the scent of sunscreen, the crackle of a campfire, and that one guy who insists there shouldn't be a separation between church and state, even though Thomas Jefferson is kind of rolling in his grave on that one. Lately, some folks are trying to sneak religion into everything, like schools and courtrooms, even your doctor's office. It's like they're playing hide and seek with the separation of church and state and forgetting the separation part. America was founded by people who knew a little something about why religion shouldn't be

part of government. They learned firsthand how even the best intentions can lead to bad outcomes. Instead of having the Ten Commandments in every classroom, how about we just stick to the ABCs and SATs? Because let's face it, the dinosaurs did exist, and evolution is, in fact, a thing that happened. That's where the Freedom from Religion Foundation comes in. They've been defending church-state separation since 1978, in the courts and schools and

wherever religion tries to take the wheel. If you believe government should serve everyone, not just the religious, join them. Go to FFRF.US slash freedom or text club to 511-511 and become a member today. Go to FFRF.US slash freedom or text club to 511-511. Text fees may apply. Yes. Have you raised your kids with a religion? Your wife was Catholic, right? My wife is extremely born again. It's very, very, very serious on that stuff.

Was that an issue? Well, I mean, actually, at the end of our mat, no, I was, listen, I found it when I was a kid, I had to go to school, and we didn't have a at the end of our, no, I was, listen, I found it, when I was a kid, I had to go to school, and we'd do prayers in the morning, you have to go to, before you go to class, you sing hymns.

What religion is it? This is Christian, Christianity, just Church of England. Church of England, okay, that's. So it's the one where you can get married, remarried, because that was what he did. It was rewritten from the Catholic version. It's just the bishop of, what's he called? Well, it just was changed, wasn't it?

Who's the head of the church? What is he called? Isn't there Archbishop Canterbury? Archbishop, yeah. Is that who the head of the church is? I suppose. But what I'm saying was that when I would be in there and in the churches, I just I never connected to us like come on It's not we're not all really we just we all know don't we we don't know we do know how old were you when you knew

That if I could I just It's something even if ten year old can get When I just thought we all it was like we, we're all in this together, right? Yeah, no. And I felt very disconnected from that. So it was always very, I was never disrespectful to it. And I love churches. I love hymns. And I think weirdly, ironically for me- Music. Which is that even though I'm not remotely religious, I think the Bible has some incredible

writing and I find myself using lots of biblical references, and I sort of like it, because I'm like, so what, they're just words. But it's not my, I don't sex pistols. What awesome 1960s number one hit record was, the lyrics were straight out of the Bible, Book of Ecclesiastes. Very cool. To everything turn, turn, turn. You don't know that song?

Yeah, I do know the song. There is a season, turn, Turn, Turn, and a time. You know. Beautiful song. Beautiful song, and they just took the lyrics right out of the Bible. Right. I mean, that was sort of the... So no, what was interesting is that I don't agree at all.

Apparently not that. Yeah, I like it. You know, it's a beautiful song. But yeah. You do know the 60s? Were you always the same? Were you always the, do you always have the same feeling? No, of course.

I was scared shitless. I was a young Catholic boy who went to, had, you know, forced us to go to catechism and go to fucking confession. And like I was sinning at seven. Like what fucking sin could I have been committed? Bless me Father of Rives, and I embezzled, I committed adultery, I cheated on my seven year old

girlfriend, you know, it just was, I was so scared, so scared that I just didn't question anything. Yeah, but I mean that's what they normally do, and I mean, catechism was just lump in the throat because it was once a week before mass. I went to a regular public school, and this was so different. Public school, I had enough anxiety, but I could get through that. This was different. These were kids from other schools. There was like 60 in the classroom from other schools. There was like 60 in the classroom that were taught by nuns. They didn't know who I fucking was. They gave us things to memorize, like a hundred questions about religion.

You look, who is God? Where is God? Like all these questions you had to know. That's what catechism means. They're teaching you the religion of... So you have to memorize, God is everywhere. And I was just a nervous wreck. They were gonna say, question 68, what happened to Jesus' foreskin when he was, when ascended to heaven, did it go with him? And I would just be a nervous wreck. So I don't remember, it wasn't a matter of questioning it, it was a matter of just, I don't want them to punish me

or be mad at me because here on Earth it sounds bad and also I'll go to hell. I believed in hell, I believed in Santa Claus. You were tortured. Well, I mean, five years, three years earlier, I believed in Santa Claus. I mean, we're talking about very young minds here. And what was the transition?

When did you realize, when were you like? When my mother told me about Santa Claus, I should have made the connection and went, oh, well, if you like. Enemy else will tell me, enemy else will tell me, Ma. This Jesus guy sounds a lot like it. He's like, he has super powers and you know, he'd do all these things. But I just was a ball of fear. So it wasn't until I was a young teenager

where I started to actually think about it. And then luckily my father stopped going to church when I was 13. So then I was sort of like, I didn't have to have the fear and I could think about it more. I still didn't become an atheist right away, not at all. I just didn't, I just thought the religion part

more and more I thought, okay, well this is bullshit. And then at some point I just thought, oh,, more and more, I thought, okay, this is bullshit. And then at some point I just thought, oh, you know what, in for a penny, in for a pound. I mean... Stephen Fry is the other English man, like Richard Dawkins, Hitchens, and Stephen Fry are the three kind of most... I suppose Ricky Gervais is incredible about that. Oh, so funny. And his whole breakdown and analysis of being an atheist

is pretty incredible. So those guys, so it seems, yeah. And Russell Brand, I think, was, but of course he has his own problems now. He's busy. He sounds like he would have been one of your mates. You know the funny thing is, is that when he first came to LA,

I went up to him and I was saw him out somewhere, and I did try and say hello to him and sort of welcome him to LA, but he seemed very busy. It didn't connect to hanging out with him. I was like, listen, you're here and you're new, if you ever want to hang out, whatever you're doing. But he was on the trajectory at that point. He was like, he'd just done getting to the Greek. He'd been known. He had the MTV Awards, where they fated him. They had his brand. And it was just like this sort of superstar presenter style.

Yeah, but I'm, okay, maybe all that was true, but I would also say you have to be really full of yourself to think it wouldn't be cool to hang out with you. Thank you. He was busy, he was busy. He was on a trajectory. Well his trajectory took him to jail. I mean he's not in jail, but he certainly threatened with going to jail.

And he sat here, and I don't know if I've ever enjoyed one of these more. I mean he is so funny and he's so erudite. Yeah, he's incredible. Yeah, so I mean, it was just like a mental ping pong game. I felt like, wow, someone's really hitting them all back over the net. And look, I love everybody who's here.

But people like you who are British, always going to be smarter, always gonna be smarter. Close to my age, I'm sorry, we've just lived longer, we just have had more interesting experiences. I know that makes us the bad guy. We know things more just because we live more days. It's just more interesting. I mean.

It's a lot of fun. Yeah, it's a lot of fun being older. I think it is. I like that David Bowie quote. He said like, what's strange about getting old is you become the person you should have been all along. What is it? You become the person you should have been all along.

Oh, is that so true? Yes. And you sort of. But that's so true. He said that? Yeah. In a song? No, it's a quote.

But the thing about it is it's also, there's also something, that clarity, is it'd be, you know, youth is enough. Come on, youth is enough. There's like, give us something, give us one edge. Give us one edge left. It's the final edge, is the experience.

Yes, and well, it's a little more than that Give us one edge left. It's the final edge, is the experience. Yes. And, well, it's a little more than that because you're actually happier because you're more comfortable. Can I try some of them? Yeah, please. Because you're more comfortable in your own skin. And like you were talking about something before. Worry less about what people, about convincing people.

You don't need to convince people. I know people have bucket lists, right? But an even better list, those are things you want to do that you haven't done yet. My list that I treasure is the things I used to do that I don't do anymore. That's the great list. Because I used to do so many things that were tedious

or I didn't really want to, especially when I was really young. Of course, you have to work any job they offer you. You can't even eat the food you want because it's too expensive if you're poor. You know, that's, and as you get older, you just eliminate so many things that you used to do that, oh, no, I'm not doing Christmas at all.

How about that? No gifts, no parties, no, I'm not doing Christmas at all. How about that? No gifts, no parties, no showing up anywhere, just another day, because that's how I really feel about it. That's awesome. That to me is better. There's really nothing on my bucket list. Yeah, I don't have a bucket list. I find that's a weird concept, a bucket list.

Because then I think it's so sad when you've done something, then you have to think, get it. Sometimes people come and see my then I don't know, yeah, I don't get it. Sometimes people come and see my show and they say, this is my bucket list moment. Right. Oh yeah. We're going anyway. Come back next year, I've written another record. What are you talking about?

This is ongoing, darling. I need regular sushi. But that's for them. Sushi. Thinking about you. They're thinking about, you know. The funny thing is that I'm really proud of where we began and proud of being from the 90s.

But it's the funniest thing when people go, when, you know, because it's this mixed thing. Obviously it's really amazing, right? But when people come into the show and they say, oh my God, it's so great, it's like being back in the 90s. They think, hang on, the fuck am I, like a relic? It's like I'm not a. No, but I always thought...

I understand, I don't mind it, but it always makes me laugh. But there is something about the 90s, and of course I was my 30s, so that's what the 90s, a lot of people, it's their more formative years. But I always thought of your band as sort of like the British answer to grunge which was the

prevailing wind over here for At least the last middle of the middle part of the 90s, you know the Seattle sound and I felt like you put the British Spin on that and and I do it really we all I think you influenced by it Yeah, I think there's a really exciting music. You know, at the time in England, there was what we call Britpop, which is the bands that, you know- Wham? No, after wham, more Blur, Oasis.

Oh, Blur, I remember them. Oh, Oasis. Oh yeah, more Beatles. Well, just the Britpop sound, it was like swayed, and they're very proud of it. And I liked it, but what I didn't like about it, for me, I prefer the American style, it didn't allow for a big performance. Like I like, I grew up like the Sex Pistols, like post-punk, so I like a little bit of wham with the guitars, with music, And so those bands didn't have that. So I like Jane's Addiction, I like Soundgarden, you know. It was so exciting to me. And what they did as well is that at that time, rock music for me was, I didn't know Judas Priest, Iron

Maiden growing up. I knew these big bands, but I didn't know them. Well, those are heavy metal bands, aren't they? Yeah. But it was like, it was Guns N' Roses. And so all these screaming bands. So there's only one I heard, The Pixies. The Pixies were the band that really kind of woke, slapped me in the face of where I could fit in the landscape of music. That was to do off-kilter lyrics, quiet, loud music, quiet, a bit loud, and just talk about how you feel and your complaints and therefore go against that whole Sunset Strip,

Poison, Motley Crue, that style of sort of, mine was more sort of more so more Calder culture Ginsburg. I certainly don't think of you anything like those bands. No, no, but that's what I mean is that is that those you asked me those American bands, they sort of liberated me to see they they sort of were so inspiring as to how you can make rock music without screaming and being spandex and with like hairspray. Do you know what I mean? When again, not if you want hairspray.

Again, I'm really permissive. I'm from London, so you can do anything you like. We're very open for reference. If you want to wear spandex and do your hair, how about it? No, I feel like the zeitgeist of the middle late 90s was angst. I'm not sure why. Well, you know what? Don't you think there's been some cause, one thing that has really connected to me is that it's funny because like angst on its

own without some kind of qualification can be seen as like naval gazing or something like that. But if it's angst, if it's existential, you talked about it earlier, there is an ennui that goes with people and with existence, and with trying to get things right and how to get people right, get your job right. It's really hard. I found that when people talk about grunge music, it was really more so much about the lyrics. It was always about the lyrics and about that approach of being more sensitive, more open. And now it almost has come full circle where mental health

is being discussed, suicide rates are astronomical, servicemen and women, suicide rates are astronomical, gun problems, drug problems, geopolitical issues. It's just as you know better than anyone. And so it's great to have music that you can get lost to and someone can, you know, that I made the record, I Beat Loneliness it's called. And it's this thing that people, I think a bit struggling and it's just great to provide something that people can listen to and get lost in. And is a form of

armor. Because I see music as armor and weaponry and make you feel good and lift you up, elevate you. You know when you listen to it right and understand you. Yeah, it's very rare to find a person who doesn't have music of some sort in their life. We all have different bands. Of course, as we should. It's very rare to a human who like, no, I don't listen to any music. It's something. It's almost like a need.

Not obviously like to live, like food and air, but there is something very primal about poets. Part of it is lyrics. Do I have a lot of poems memorized in my life? No, even though I had to, old enough to have a traditional good education where we learned certain poems and Shakespeare and so forth. But that doesn't stick in my mind,

but there's a thousand pop songs where I could sing along every line because I've heard it hundreds of times. Yeah. You know? And obviously, now I can like a song if the lyrics suck, if the song is great. I can't. I can't do it in reverse. If the song isn't good, no amount of great lyrics. None. No. You agree with that? None. Fuck it.

Right. You gotta like the song. You gotta, it's gotta be, everything's gotta be on song. Yeah. And you know, there are You agree with that? No, fuck it. Right. You gotta like the song. Everything's gotta be on song. Yeah. And you know, there are umpteen number of songs where they just are not even trying with the lyrics. I mean, I love the Beatles as we all do them more than any, but I mean, they would, I'm sure be the first to admit some of it is just gobbledygook.

I've said it before. It got better and better though for me. It did. No, no. At the beginning it wasn just gobbledygook. It got better and better though for me. It did. No, no, at the beginning it wasn't gobbledygook. It was just what teenagers in 1964 were interested in. Love Me Do and I Love You and I'll Be True and they were very young and those were the songs. Where's Tupac singing I Want to Hold Your Hand?

What? Where's Tupac singing I Want to Hold Your Hand? It sort of feels a bit twee. You want to hold your pussy. What? Where's Tupac singing, I want to hold your hand? It sort of feels a bit twee. You want to hold your pussy. Where is your hand? By the way, whose hand is that? Your hand is on my twat. Once you go to wet ass pussy.

That was crazy, wasn't it? How much further can you take it? None. There's nowhere else to go. No. It's so funny because. But wasn't that incredible that it became an, it's an anthem for women and younger women. And Gavin, how do you interpret the message

of what ass pussy, if you were had to put it in layman's terms. I mean, it's a poetic, of course, work of art, but What Ass Pussy, what is she saying about What Ass Pussy? Yeah, it's very, it's- We should aspire to it or that- I think it's the greatest haiku ever. Yeah. Or the third greatest haiku ever.

Well, it would need 14 more syllables. Isn't the haiku seven? Yeah, it's the shortest haiku ever. Haiku, I know, I'm not an expert on haiku, but I know it has a lot of rules. I know haiku has a lot of rules. Sometimes people will say things just in their, Trump does it sometimes. It is a haiku. It's like a short thing and it doesn't have to make sense, but it just sounds like a haiku.

Somebody turned the whole book of somebody's sayings into haiku. Maybe it was Yogi Berra, somebody like that. So you're drinking, good. Sometimes rock stars, their later years, become so evangelical about the opposite because they have had the experience of being around and doing it too much. I'm still a lot of fun. I'm a lot of fun all the time.

I remember ever reading anything about you and drugs, but maybe I missed it. Like, I never, you never seem to like go overboard with the drug thing like so many musicians do. There is a connection I'm trying to find that the jug between me and Freddie Mercury, but we both are very clear with our band names. I always thought that was gonna be,

but I didn't want to be impolite. I always thought that was gonna be a men's night. I didn't want to be a belied. That was the era when you of course had to like sneak in. If you wanted to tell a dirty joke, I mean the Beatles did it with, in Penning Lane there's some line, for a fish and finger pie. I'm not sure what it means, but I know it's dirty. And in Girl, the song Girl, it's on rubber sole,

they, the background, you know, the backing vocal, the harmonizing vocal, they're singing tit tit tit tit tit tit. It just sounds like one of those things you sing when you're in the chorus, but they're saying tit tit tit tit tit tit tit. It just sounds like one of those things you sing when you're in the chorus but they're saying tit tit tit and then they did a Sound effect of smoking and joint but you know it had to you had to really be clever to fly under the radar of the sensors Now you're just like my new singles called wet-ass buzz

deal with it They had me um, there's a, what's the line? There's a new single, and the song is coming out. It's two lines, it goes, I see stars when I fuck the system. I see stars when I fuck. That's great. And then they go, thank you, and they go, so we better do a safe, we need to do a radio version.

I was like, what are you talking about? They said, someone suggested, what about, what about, I see stars when I make the system. Flick, I see stars when I change the system. I was like, so the line about the man, we're going to change to suit the man. No, it makes no sense. We'd have beats, like really good loud beats if they change. But who cares? There used to be a song where you couldn't have come on the radio. I like that word, come. It's a really great word.

C-U-M. Absolutely. But I also like the C-O-M. Absolutely. I like that word come. It's a really great word. C-U-M. Absolutely. But I also like the C-O-M-E. Absolutely. I'm English. Come, of course. Of course. Come on, you can't. Yeah, come is a great word. But they don't allow that on the radio. They don't like it when you're singing it, which

is really pure, it's anical and it's really strange. And also more reflective of the person who's saying it's a bad word. There are many explanations for come. Would it make you think less of me if I admitted that there are times when I have texted someone, come over and spelled it C-U-M? Would that make you hate me? I couldn't blame you. I think that was being direct, isn't it? I think it's being clever. Well, it's definitely like... In fact, it probably went over their head,

the dumb bitch. You should have just sent it with a ass pussy soundtrack, then that would have been really good. A meme with that. Oh my God. What do you think about Kanye? What do you think that there's a guy, I mean, if wet ass pussy is as far as you can take it sexually,

I gotta think that I'm a Nazi. I mean, there's punk and then there's just like, wow. And still they let him get away with it. I mean, even on a Nazi and a T-shirt with the swastika on it, that's how powerful music is. It's like, yeah, but I still like his old records. You know, Michael Jackson, just, I mean, once Oprah came out on the side of, these kids aren't lying,

I just thought things would change. No, he's got a show on Broadway. It's just like, I like those records. And you know what, I'm the first one to say, I can separate the two. I play R. Kelly. I'll play anybody. The record didn't rape anybody. You know? Well, I wouldn't have played them in the first place, actually, if it wasn't for me. R. Kelly. I'll play anybody. The record didn't rape anybody. You know?

Well, I wouldn't have played them in the first place, actually, if it wasn't for me. R. Kelly? He has some great... R&B is very hard for me. I know people love it, and I'm like very, I don't mean that that's a correct opinion. Just what it does to me is,

I just find it really hard. In the same way that if I played someone who loves R&B, if I played them my record, they'd be like, they'd run. Well, I know, most of the... It's just that, you know, music goes into two categories for me. Either you're magnetized by it and connected to it, or it's just watered down a sieve. You just, oh, okay. Right, it's complete personal opinion.

One or the other. That's why I think record reviews are the stupidest thing in the world. Because it's like you cannot put something in writing that will affect how I feel about this record. I can only- Where were you in the 90s? I have to, it still goes on. I just have to hear it.

No amount of writing will change my opinion that much. I either like it or I don't. And I'll pretty much know that the first time to hear it. No amount of writing will change my opinion that much. I either like it or I don't. And I'll pretty much know that the first time I hear it. I used to read the newspapers in England, the melody maker enemy growing up. Sometimes I'd read reviews of bands or descriptions of bands that were so esoteric and removed from, I couldn't even understand what was happening. And then I'd be like, I've got to hear this, I hear it. It'd be like, I don't know how you got from that to that.

Undeniably, always works way to have a horrible record collection is to do it by what you read in a record review. You will have all the records that are like important. I don't want important records. I'm just a young man in the 22nd row. I don't want important records. I'm just a young man in the 22nd row. I just want to like... It sounds like a library you don't read a book, you know, library of unread books.

Right. No, I just want what I like R. Kelly thing, he does have like some great, the lyrics were always comically awful, but that almost makes the song better. But he does have some really great sort of like, yeah, R&B songs like of that era. And then a slew of shit. and then I Believe I Can Fly, which doesn't really sound like any of the other songs he's ever done, but that's probably his biggest hit,

and it's such a crossover hit. I mean, it should have been done by Michael Jackson or somebody like that. It's so, I believe. What is it you think as a man, like as women, it's like these guys that blow their lives up to this we're seeing right now, when Diddy Trial, you know, it's women men. It's like these guys that blow their lives up to this we're seeing right now.

When Diddy Trial, we got Ye having a lot of problems, finding himself all the right things to say. No, he's having a great time. You think he's having a great time? Of course, I just think it's ridiculous that, look, you know. He's sorry now, though. No, I'm just saying you can get away with certain things

if you're, you know, certain parameters in life. One is being a musician. I'll also just say in passing, I think if, say, I don't know, Michael Buble put out a T-shirt that said I'm a Nazi and paraded his wife naked on the red carpet. I feel like there would be more feedback, blowback rather, and both. I mean, I just think, you know, some people,

it's just like so arbitrary. Who gets to get away with what? I mean, I've said it before, I don't mean to pick on them, but Charlie Sheen has done so many more cancelable things, like super cancelable, like AIDS and beating up hookers and hookers. And yet he's just a scamp. And other people have done really not that bad. California roles that have stopped signing. Basically, yeah. You know, masturbating. I see there's a special coming out, a movie, I guess, about Pee Wee Herman.

You remember Pee Wee Herman? Of course. And I remember when, I mean, I didn't know him, but he would come into the improv when I was working there, and it was, oh, a big star came in. And, you know, he was always in character, so I had zero relationship. He seemed like a nice guy. And like, the career just went and of course he did a kid show, I get it, but the career just went just completely disappeared

him. I mean like disappeared, like Trump disappears people just like over masturbating in a porn, this is the days when people went to the theater. The theater, a movie theater, and was jerking off in a movie theater. That was his big offense, he was caught doing that. And just gone, never to be heard from. Well, Louis C.K. said that everyone has their thing. Everyone has their thing. Another masturbator who, who like overpaid for,

okay, by his own admission, it wasn't cool, and although, you know, comics, it's different, it's a little complicated, and they made it like, no, not complicated. I mean, this Me Too thing was a great. He's one of our greatest comics we've ever had. He's fantastic, I love him. One of the greatest.

Yeah, he's finally gonna do my show and I think he's got something coming out in October. But you know, I mean, and he fought his way back to like certainly having a very, very, here's the successful touring career. I buy his shows intentionally. But yeah, but he still has to like do everything like without the aid of a studio or something. Like he still has to do everything without the aid

of a studio or something. He's so toxic from the masturbating that we can't go near this guy. Because no one else masturbates. Speaking of cum, there's still cum. There might be cum on the contract. We can't sign a contract with this guy. I mean, it's just so ridiculous.

And to his great credit, he says, well, you know what? I don't need the middleman. And that's, of course, more and more the way it's going in show business. I mean, haven't recording artists put out songs like directly through Starbucks? And isn't that a way to do it? Like you can sell your thing without microplastics.

Yeah. Yeah, I, you know. But you still have a label. Yeah, just. You know what I mean? It's like we, yeah, we do have a label. We have a great label, but our label is now based in Germany. It's complicated. I mean, it's just, the funny part is it never stops being a fistfight.

Never stops being, I don't know what it's like for you, but for me, I'm like medium, really good, working musician, successful. It's still a fight. It's a fight. It never stops being a fight. There's no, it's always like. We told you it never would. I don't know, but I just was thinking that one day

it was being stopless, you know. I was like, Coldplay don't have to go through this shit, do they? Chris Martin. Yeah, sometimes, a lot of it. I mean, it varies. I just think, I mean, it's a healthy thing, right? We like the fact that it's fucking grit and determination. There's this sort of unseen, necessary quotient-like out, wherever you are with stand-up comics, musicians, actors, you need

a steel, you need to be kind of made a steel to just sustain, right? Yeah, including about what you're just talking about. I mean, I can relate to that because, you know, again, I just stopped touring, but I did it for like 40 years. And, you know, the last 25 were all in nice theaters. This wasn't the comedy clubs anymore. I was selling a good number of tickets, enough to always travel private, good number that bad, and still make a lot of money. But I still noticed, shall we say, oh, there are guys who are half as funny as me, who

sell twice as many tickets, and that's okay. Because the last thing in the world I think you want to do is have gotten 99% of what's good in life and start bitching about the 1%. Like, yeah, you know what? There is an absolute justice in show business. In fact, there's very little. Right. There. Right.

There's none. Yeah, I mean, Madonna had that great line that she said when Kanye went up to Taylor Swift, remember famously in the Yankees. That was a horrible one. Yeah, and again, if Michael Buble did it. I'm sorry, I don't mean to drag Michael Buble into this. I'm sorry.

But come on, Buble, admit it, if you did it. I mean, I just feel like it would have been more of a tangible event. Anyway, when he did that, oh, what was I going to say? Buble, Taylor Swift, and Kanye on stage. Yeah, but why? What was she saying about,, that Madonna says something about. Oh, Madonna, her comment after that was, don't go to an award show expecting justice.

And I just thought, would a perfectly succinct, exact, wise thing to say. And yet from Madonna, it doesn't seem like, no, she's probably very, I mean, she's certainly a genius. First of all, her record called The Immaculate Collection is not mislabeled. When Madonna made a record, it was fucking usually great. I mean, even into this century.

She's incredible. Yeah, I mean, Ray of Light was, She's incredible. A while ago, but like, and then I think there was one after that. I mean, there's some... I love how she just fucking lives her life how she fucking wants and everyone else can fuck off. It's fucking great. Yeah, I do, but I also think she's that typical,

what I think of as rock star for so long, that like what's really in that noodle of hers is just a lot of nonsense. Some stuff that isn't, but just when you're that insulated from having to deal with reality, there's a lot of nonsense in her head. I'm sorry, I just think there is. And also, you know. She looks so fun. She's always having fun.

She does not look fun. She doesn't look fun. I feel like she looks like she's having fun. You don't think she looks like she's having fun, she's always having fun. She does not look fun. She doesn't look fun. I feel like she looks like she's having fun. You don't think she looks like she's having fun? She may be. I don't know about the people around her. She does not. They're all dancers and everyone's laughing.

Dancers are great because they dance and then they laugh about it. They dance and they laugh about it. I don't know if she really can let go of who she is enough to just be one of the people. And that's okay, I mean she enjoys being a diva and she earned it, but there's a price to pay for that I think, which is you don't get to sort of be down and dirty with a bunch of people. Everybody's always gonna be walking on eggshells

and like, should I kid her? Well I guess I should, but if it goes wrong, you know, I'll be thrown into the sea where they put Bin Laden, you know, they'll be wanting something where people can like make a martyr out of me. I'll just disappear, you know. I mean, that's my impression of her.

I don't know, but she just looks cold as ice. I just never thought, I thought she was very pretty, but not sexy. Like I never got the sexy vibe off her because I just felt like she'd be like directing me to do something. Bill, get it right. Exactly, Bill. This is not working. Yeah. But I could be all wrong. These are just surmises. I don't know. Maybe you know her. I don't know her. I've only met her a couple of times. I've had a couple of funny dinners with her a couple

of times. Was she nicer to you than fuckface Brandon Russell, Russell Brand. Yeah, yeah. Well, she, I went for dinner with her. I mean, it was crazy. It was like me, Guy Ritchie, and Gwen, the four of us having dinner together. Oh, that makes sense. It was really funny. And like, I really love being around people that, like, it was really fun to be disarming and be funny and make jokes because I didn't get

the sense that that was happening a lot. Right. So for me, I was like, and I remember, I remember like, you know, they weren't really drinking much but I was, I was like, yeah, bring wine. And so I was having the wine. And I just, I just remember at the end, Madonna standing I think behind me towards the end of the dinner. So I was like thinking, I was like, I think that's the end of dinner. I think that's the end. The signal. So I wasn't giving you the dancer vibes. If I was a dancer

and I could have like done the moonwalk, I would probably have lasted longer. But I was a dancer and I could have done the moonwalk, I would probably have lasted longer, but I was out. Not making any judgments. The dinner ended when Madonna decided the dinner ended. Yeah. That's what I would guess. Again, that doesn't make her a bad person. I'm just saying that's who I would guess was going to call the evening at whenever.

You know the funny story about that is, is that I ended up nicking her housekeeper. Her housekeeper was working there that night. She ended up working for us for 17 years. And then when I got divorced, that then said housekeeper came with me where I went. So it was Madonna's housekeeper. How did you do that? I don't know. What happened is that when we went to Madonna's house, that housekeeper

was working for her and we had the dinner. And then after that, when we were looking for someone to help us, she was like, she was in between up working at Madonna's house and then something happened or, so anyway, we inherited her and she was with us 17 years. And then when I moved to my new more Bill Ma flavored life, I took her, she came with me, which I always really loved. She came with me. It was so sweet because she just came with me. I didn't know I was gonna live, lived in Bel Air actually. I guess, yeah.

So I guess when rich people get divorced, they have to fight over the housekeeper. I mean, privilege'm privileged about that. We're just deciding who owns this human that we shared. I think it's a much better insight into like, it was a beacon of light in a dark time. Well, that's very poetic. I am poetic. Well, that's very poetic, as you put that in front of a beacon of light in a dark time, as we pour ourselves more liquor.

But this is a very clean liquor. It is. What are you pouring in there? What's that little elixir you have? This is called C2. It's a combination of ketamine and cocaine. No. But I heard about that.

That's the new drug. Did you hear that? Which one? I think it's ketamine and, no, ketamine and molly. That's like, I think they call it C2 or 2C or something. I think it's a gay weekend, isn't it? It's not just gay. Drugs are not just for gay people anymore.

No, but ketamine, my old assistant, I'm being facetious, but my old assistant, he did a lot of Ketamine through the clubs, so we began with him in the gay clubs. But anyway, I digress. What is this new, this new combo? Yeah, Corey, I mean, I think a big change in the last decade with drugs is that... Is it your Siroc? Is it your...

No, I have not... You're not involved? You're not involved? I have not done anything except have a few drinks a week and really only a few joints a week. I just save it for here and a few other places. But no, no, those days are over. I mean, that would just scare the shit out of me

to do anything like fentanyl or ketamine. Anything, I wouldn't do any of that. Ketamine's also been used for psychoactively, like a psychiatric stuff as well. All of them come from, I mean, LSD did. All of them came from somebody with legit. Trying to help someone. And sometimes it does.

I mean, LSD help people. Anytime people are sort of trapped in their mind, like some of, we have a lot of mind trapping mechanisms. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, drugs can help a lot. Ayahuasca, I mean, people are often, I mean, not to mention what it did for my record collection. Sure, Bill Hicks is the king of that.

The idea of drugs open up everything. If you wanted to take all the people out of your record collection that weren't stoned when they made those records, you have achieved silence, sir. Apart from some Christian polka music. I mean, it also can have the opposite effect. You could do, well, the drug, I mean, certainly I know like the Eagles talk about

how they were, when they were trying to make their last record, there was just too much cocaine. Well, you know what the thing is that I found, I grew up in London where cocaine really was like, that the cocaine in London is like, you used the word cunt earlier, the people use that. Cocaine is just like,

like when you walk into a restaurant in California or in America and they put a glass of water down, that's what it's like in England with cocaine. People are just like, especially in London, right? Now? Yeah, still people are crazy. Wow. But what I found, to me, is that,

is the least creative drug I've ever experienced in my life. The worst drug. When I speak of weed, I mean, I've probably never, most songs I've written, I'm not, you know, usually. So, but I remember trying to once, you know, because in England, you know, sometimes just out of, like, out of manners, you end up doing two nights of cocaine with your friends. You're like, oh, okay.

So you stay up for a day and a half and I write something, and it was always the worst shit I ever wrote in my life. And you have those conversations, it's just such bullshit. So I never connected to it. So I can, and it makes everything sound, it's like there's Oasis records where they're really skinny, listen to a lot of cocaine, it's really bright. It's just such bullshit. So I never connected to it. And it makes everything sound, it's like there's always this records where they're really skinny,

listen to a lot of cocaine, it's really bright. People just get, it's not bright enough. It's not bright enough. It's too, I don't know, basic. You get this records, it's like yes. It's terrible. Because it's not really cocaine.

That's the problem. This is horrible. If you were doing pure coca leaf, I mean this is what I'm told. You know, you would have a great career. No, but it doesn't have that speedy effect on you. It's, they've been doing it, chewing it in the Andes for centuries. And it was just more of a good high. And getting back to what I was going to say about like in the last decade, they have found ways, of course, because there's money in it, to sort of perfect these kind of drugs for the common person, not just the person who's like 24 and body can handle it and they're out on the weekend

and it's gonna abuse their body and somehow come back the next day like nothing happened, which you can do at 24. But what about the guy who's 40 and 50 even? Yeah, they found a way. They just perfected like microdosing acid, microdosing mushrooms, these things like, oh, this amount of ketamine and this amount of ecstasy, it's not like over the top,

it's not gonna last all night, you can come, you're just gonna feel fucking amazing for an hour and then maybe you'll do a little more. I think that's what's going on. Now again, I know people will be like, oh, how do you know all this, Bill, you see, because I talk to people who do it, but I don't do it. If I was their age, I would.

Trust me, I'd love to be doing this. I would love to be doing this. That's your bucket list. Yeah, but it would put me in a bucket. That's the problem. It's my coffin list. So, you know, I mean do I wish I was 26?

Not really because I knew what was in my head at 26 and it was just so painfully stupid I couldn't go back there. But I mean if hypothetically say there was somebody in my life who was. Don't you feel sweet? Don't you feel like protective and empathetic towards that person who is just fucking trying to figure it out against all the odds that life threw at you in 26. Not really. You don't, you know.

I just hate myself for being so stupid. For just not, for like. But everyone's stupid, that's the beauty of you, that's the luxury of you. You're meant to be stupid. I know, but I just think of how much easier so many things could have been, and how much better so many things could have been

if I just wasn't stupid, that stupid. A lot of not knowing about women, that's a lot of what. If Auntie Martha had balls, she'd be Auntie Arthur. It's Uncle Arthur, you can't. But you probably. You know, just sort of like, coulda, woulda. I think it's beautiful, I think it's beautiful to be able to sort of have perspective on your life.

That at that time, you were blind, but why should you be able to see at 26? You're right. Why should you be any different? Oh, you still can't see. I mean, we just see better. But why should you be any different? Like, I think it's great.

It's like the natural evolution of people, and it's wonderful. I mean, you of all people, Jesus Christ, I can tell you have an incredible life. You set up an incredible life. Yes. I think you made your way through. No, I'm very lucky. I mean, first of all, I love where I live. Despite the fires and despite the taxes, and like,

there's a lot of bad things. It's true. It's sort of. About LA? Yeah. Oh, it's magic, right? But it's still the best. I mean, why do you live here?

You could live anywhere in the world. You're not even from this country, but you want to live here. Everybody wants to live here. Well, what happens is. Like, it's amazing how everybody, you think people who don't live here, they live here. Johnny Depp lives here. I know you think he lives someplace exotic. I did, I thought he live here. Well, what happens is- It's amazing how everybody, you think people who don't live here, they live here. Johnny Depp lives here.

I know you think he lives someplace exotic. I did. I thought he lives here. Angelina Jolie, I know. She's got a thousand kids all over the world. She could be somewhere else. All races. She lives here.

Okay? They all live fucking here. You know what's the weirdest thing is that when I was a kid, I grew up in North London, in a regular little house. But when I used to think how much I didn't wanna be there, I used to dream of Los Angeles. I had no reason, no rhyme. You had a reason, this is where Hollywood is.

I know, but when you're a young kid, it's like being an atheist. It's like I didn't know why, I just thought it was nonsense. I just thought it was nonsense. So when I thought I eulogized about LA, I didn't actually, I wasn't sophisticated enough to know that it had, I just saw it was nonsense. So when I thought I eulogized about LA, I didn't actually, I wasn't sophisticated enough to know that it had, I just saw it as a mecca.

It just was easy and it sounded like everything. That was, I was in love with skateboarding. So I just one of the time I thought that Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, San Diego and LA were all the same place. I didn't know, you know, so I was just far away. And the wildest thing is that LA, I'm like the living American dream because I came over here, I signed a deal because I was inspired by the Pixies. I signed the only deal I was offered, which was in the Valley. I didn't know what the Valley was.

So I was in London and I signed a deal in the Valley and through the radio station here at K-Rock in LA, gave me life and I began. And it's- Oh really, they were the ones who played your record? Yeah. Is that funny bands in the 60s? Kevin Weatherly. Kevin Weatherly.

So he's the one man who has been huge in my life. And then I fell in love and we were always gonna live in London and then as soon as my then wife got pregnant, she was like, we're gonna be in LA, we're gonna be at Cedars. So I was like, so that was it, I moved from my kids, and now since I'm divorced a long time, 10 years now, and in fact I was never married now,

because it was annulled, I'm virgin again. I'm a virgin again. That's the Catholic Church for you. I'm a virgin again. I love the Catholic Church. We don't believe in divorce. We believe in saying things never happened. These three kids. But I love it and I have this beautiful thing.

I have my family and everyone in London and I'm lucky enough to get to go to London a few times a year. But really I live here. whenever I come back here, I feel this is where I'm meant to be. I'm meant to be where my kids are, but I love the light, I love the space, I love everything about it.

I really, I mean, love it. And I wouldn't want to live in New York. I like, I prefer Brooklyn now. I don't like New York as much as I used to. It's just, I prefer Brooklyn, which just feels like a gentrified New York, just a calmer New York. I love Brooklyn.

So when you go to New York, you go to Brooklyn. And what's in Brooklyn? What do you do there? Just a great hotel, and it's 10 minutes away, William Vale, really cool hotel. 10 minutes away from what? From the city. Oh, you have to go to work by subway.

Yeah, no, no, I mean, if you... If you require across the bridge. If I go to Jones Beach, that is from there. You know what? I prefer it, I prefer it. Jones Beach? You go to Jones Beach? Well when I'm doing a show, if I come to New York.

The show, of course. I remember seeing shows at Jones Beach. I grew up in New Jersey. Right, right, so we're playing The Garden this summer. That's awesome, The Garden. August 3rd. That's awesome to be old like you and still play in the Garden. I mean, because Rock and Roll... That's a lovely way of putting it.

Rock and Roll was... That's a lovely way of putting it. Thank you. Rock and Roll was not meant to be an old person's game. I mean, I was around. I was not the first wave of Rock and Roll, but I was 12 in 1968. Okay, the Beatles were still playing. That's when I first listened to music.

And no one was, I remember, no one was thinking it would go past 40, let alone. Surely you'd be dead at 40. You wouldn't be dead, but no one thought Mick Jagger would be doing it at 80. I don't know about, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he finds so much, and he's engaged to his 39-year-old with a four-year-old kid.

Gotta love him. He knows how to live. Now, I always wondered with Mick, he knows how to live. We have to wonder how much Mick is ever engaged. I mean that philosophically. Sure, but engaged enough so that he sustains the life that he wants, right?

He's figured life out. He is one of none. Because first of all, his waistline has not changed. No, he's size 28. We're the same stylist once. So we found out they all have size 28 waists. Who's all? The Stones.

No. Maybe in their heyday. No. Everything for me in their hay day. No. Up until, I mean, everything for me is pre-COVID, having the stylist. Yeah, they know. Well, he was definitely a size 28. What's Keith? And he's not a size 28.

Well, Mick was a size 28. I can't believe we're arguing about Rolling Stones waist sizes. Boy, this is a gay show. Okay, but no. Mick, but Mick Jagger, I mean, yes, first of all, also, this is a gay show. Okay, but no, Mick, but Mick Jagger, I mean, yes, first of all, also, they never lost their hair. Even the one who got cancer didn't lose his hair.

It's amazing, they were like born rock stars, you know? So they, I always say this with the Stones, when they were young, they were skinny and ugly, and when they were old, they were skinny and ugly, and that's what worked for them, you know? They weren't the Beatles, they weren't the sweet little, do-do-do, you know? They were the bad boys.

Which in a way is cooler, not that the Beatles aren't the coolers, but they certainly had their thing. And to think that somebody could do it at 80, and the reviews were good of their last, they were on tour now, or they were very recently. It makes you feel, already feel like jumping to you want me to save someone when you hear that? Like, doing that show. And it, by the way, incredible. I saw the videos of him dancing and doing it. So, for me, it's, obviously for me, it's my lineage.

I'm like, I'm only conveying though. I'm there in 12 minutes. That don't seem like it. 15 minutes I'm there. No, but in 20 years or something. Yeah. And then, but why there. No, but in 20 years or something. And then, but why not? No, of course, the funny thing is that.

Just don't do it in a wheelchair. So like there are people like Phil Collins and I love him, God bless him, or I've seen other people do it, like they break their leg and they're out there. Don't do it, just cancel the show. Do it like the kids do. Like I love the Gen Z people, like I have a headache. Canceling the show. Like really, did you ever hear about the show. Do it like the kids do. I love the Gen Z people, like, I have a headache.

We're canceling the show. Like, really, did you ever hear about The Show Must Go On? They just don't give a shit. Don't tell Jopple Rowan about The Show Must Go On, or any of these kids. It's like, if I have a fucking hangnail, we cancel the show, and the kids deal with it. God bless them.

Do you cancel shows much? Have you done that? I haven't had any. I never missed a show on either politically incorrect or real time. That's over 32 years, except the two they forced me to miss when I quote unquote had COVID because I would have endangered the entire city. So, but I personally never missed a show. Stand Up never missed a show except two because the plane broke and so I couldn't get there. Never once canceled or missed a show because yeah, there were times when I felt shitty.

There's no business like show business. I had the last week of my last tour on, just this, on Flu, had Flu. That's the worst when you feel shitty. Well Flu, God. When you's the worst when you feel shit. Well, Flu. God, when you feel like shit, and you have to just get up. It took half a bottle of sake every night,

just to kind of get. Oh, so you did it with the Flu. Of course. You did. God bless you. Well, there's no other way. Wow. There's no way, it is what it is.

You can't fucking, who cares? No, by the way, no one cares. Be good, we paid money. Be great, these are all my memories, we're depending on you, you know? It's like, you have a responsibility, I like that. Well, I mean, sometimes it's a hard call because if you do the show sick, yes,

congratulations, we appreciate you being a true person. Didn't sound like it used to. It sucked. It didn't sound like it used to. It shouldn't sound like it used to. And I say this from personal experience, because in 1984, I was opening for Mr. Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons. Hold your applause to the end. But yes, I love Frankie.

He was always great to me, and I was 28. There was a big feather in my cap to be opening in Las Vegas, Nevada for Frankie. But it was a two-week gig, I was 28, there was a big feather in my cap to be opening in Las Vegas, Nevada for Frank. It was a two week gig and you know, it's very dry in Vegas. And singers get something called Vegas throat. And you know, Frankie had to cancel like half the shows. I remember, and he was doing everything.

Remember, he was taking, they said, they gave me, one day he said, yeah, they gave me a steroid. I remember, and he was doing everything. Remember, he was taking, he said they gave him, one day he said, yeah, they gave me a steroid. I had one the other day. I took a steroid, dexamethasone, because of my... And it helps? It's weird. I was like, give me the Lance Armstrong. I want the cocktail. I want to fucking,

I want to be the strongest guy in here. You're like the pregnant woman. I want to pick up the audience one by one. You're like the pregnant woman who didn't want the epidermal. And so the bet until. Give me the epidermal. Now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I was, I was all about it. But it's funny.

You've taken four hours before. I was like, what's going to happen? I was like, I thought it was like the, you know, remember the incredible Hulk was in the one or six million dollar man. Yeah. Get annoyed. But didn't that stay with keep you up all night? Yeah. I was like, get annoyed.

But didn't that stairway keep you up all night? Can you sleep after? Yeah, yeah, it was a little bit. Aren't you so keyed up after? I was a lot of fun. I was a lot of fun after the show. Really? Really?

Yeah. Even with the flow. Yeah. Well, because once you've had that adrenaline, it's only the next morning you wake up, you go, did I get it? And you go, oh no. And you go, do you have that sort of haze around you when you go into the-

How long are you ever on the road without being at home? How many days in a row? Well, I just came back from five weeks. I'm about to do seven weeks. Then I've got two and a half months, then I've got 10 weeks. So I have a lot coming up. I'm just kind of overwhelmed by it, but it's something. But you'll be away for 10 weeks

without being home at one time. That's tough. Yeah. I've never had that. No, it's a lot. And every night, it's different, same for you. Actors are different, because they get to go to a location. But what do you do on the days,

I mean, you can't perform every night in a row. No, I beat, now they have me on a show, because we do acoustic shows on the day, so we do them this VIP meet and greet, and I have this idea of, it would be nice, people, you know, they come and they queue up, they pay a bunch of money, they line up, and they have this picture with you, they're always fumbling with what they wanna say, they never get across how they feel, it's very emotional for people. And you have to respect that.

And I say to them afterwards, I say, look, I know you didn't say what you wanted to say. It didn't come out right, and you were more tongue-tied. Let's just have a moment, I'm gonna sing a couple of songs for you, so we have a special moment, 100 and, wow, in a room. We have a great moment with us and this is just for you, just for now.

How many songs do you do? Just two, but it means I gotta warm up in the day at 12. I'd rather see two like that than a lot of bands for the whole hour. Oh, you like it? Let me play one more. Because that's an experience you'd never really have otherwise.

Yeah, they're one-offs, they're deep cuts, we play them. But what happens is that my time on tour, it's not miserable. It's incredible on stage, incredible with people. The rest of it is miserable because I have to be silent. Can't speak. Save your voice. Yeah. It's just like the easiest way to say it. What do you do on the day off?

That's what I'm asking. Like the day between gigs. The day between gigs, usually we have our tour manager, Yvette, she's amazing. I'd go home, but you don't. Well, no, we can't, we're too far away. So we get always to the place we are. And really, I go off and I play tennis,

I play tennis a lot. So it gets me away from there. I'm usually so out of it. I've come in, I've got like, you know, it's been on the bus for 12 hours. But I go somewhere and I do something different and I sweat a bit and I have a day off. It's a feels like, remember those when you're a kid

at school, even though the days are great, you have that sense of your day off is so important, and then by Sunday, by the night, like, oh my God, I'm back tomorrow, silent. Oh, I know. So it's a really, it's not, you know, I'm really grateful, but it just takes a lot of focus. Like, the way that I don't go crazy on tour

is to just really focus so heavily on the show that I'm like an athlete that's for the match, the game. That's all it is. Because if I lose sight of that, it's just another thing. Then I'm lost, rudderless. It's the golden goose. It pays the bills. Makes everything else possible.

Yes. So that's what my whole thing is about. What did I do yesterday? Was the all-sight list? And it's what you can count on because it's you. I mean, you've been in a lot of things as an actor, but you can't count on them. Somebody has to hire you. This is what you control.

If my kid's Amazon bill was dependent on my acting career, there would be no Amazon bill. It's like, yeah, it's- Yeah, but it's not your main thing. It's your hobby. No. You can't like- I enjoy it.

I'm doing a movie coming up soon. Yeah, with a girl I've worked with a little bit before Christmas, before COVID, Janelle Shirkliff. I did this film, Habit, and I'm doing another movie with her coming up. I'm excited about that. I like the process. Someone else had to think of it. The writers, they have to think of all that stuff. It's a holiday to have someone that's thought of it as something first and they get to reinterpret. Because I think it's magic how actors make words come alive off of a page. It's something super special that I really like.

And somehow I just, I'm an adrenaline junkie, so I like that moment where the camera's going to go, okay, keep rolling, and camera, and action. And if you fuck up, you've got like 100 people who have to reset. So I like that thing, the responsibility, of not only trying to be great for the film, but not let people down.

I went from, I did 100 million dollar movie, I worked on a million dollar movie. I was downtown on a bank, it was called Hard Rob a Bank. It didn't really end up being a great movie, but it was a great process. And we shot this downtown. I played a bank robber. And I remember this moment where all the extras are lying on the floor. And now it's a marble floor, these lovely old banks. And I thought, you know, I don't like to be stuck up. So it was like these people on the floor and I was like, how you doing? She's like laying down as a hostage.

I said, how you doing? She goes, are you all right now? They must be cold. She goes, oh no, it's such a pleasure to work with an actor who knows his lines. I thought, oh poor thing, where's she been? But yeah, you know, you work on an independent movie. You have to know your lines, know your marks,

and not fuck up. Because. Well, not just an independent movie. Or any movie. Any movie. I remember doing a. Well, some actors will show up, don't know their lines. I remember doing a movie at the Weekend,

in the 80s, I was on sitcoms. We have some of the posters around here of my horrible movies. And I remember this actor who I was kind of like impressed to work with him because he, I remember, had been on some show when I was a kid, like a TV show, when I was 10 years old and now I'm 28, and I'm working with him. So I was 10 years old, and now I'm 28, and I'm working with him.

So I was kind of excited. And his day had passed, he was not on TV, but he was still an actor being hired, he was probably 45 now or something. And he had a scene, and I had done my scene, so I was just watching, and he could not get the line. I mean, he could not remember. He either just didn't put in the time to memorize it,

and it just, every time you don't do it, it gets worse. There's more tension on the set, and everyone's looking at you like you fucking loser. We could have been home by now, but you didn't learn your lines, and you're just, and now you're getting mad, and you're cursing, and it's getting awkward because sets, as we know, are very tense places.

Sorry. And the makeup trailer is the center of all activity. You'll find out everything that's going on in the movie by getting your makeup done. And the best advice is to keep quiet and listen. I bet you the makeup people know all the- Everything. Right, because that's where they go

and they're bitching, I can't believe you did that, right? And that kind of shit, and they're hearing it. My favorite thing is the first movie I did was this film called Game of Their Lives. It was an ensemble piece, and David Anspore, amazing director, amazing guy. But the chaos and the madness of a big ensemble cast. And we had this amazing soccer player, Eric Winaldo, who used to play for Bayern Munich,

who's USA's top scorers. He's an incredible footballer. But he had this real, he was doing the soccer stuff and the choreography, and he was getting a little bit too comfortable in his role. David was running a movie and Wes Bentley was the star, and Wes who was the only one who wasn't a soccer player. The rest of us were soccer players, is how we got the gigs.

So we were all pretty proficient in soccer, but Wes, who was the star of the movie, wasn't. And Eric and Wes- American Beauty, right? Wes Bentley? Yeah, and he's an incredible actor. And he, this is the greatest moment, most hilarious moment, where I was just learning how on a film set you just shut your mouth and know your lines, your mouth and know your lines, was Wes had set up this free kick that he could do that he was comfortable with. Eric was really upset that he had taken away the directorial reins of this piece.

He was like, dude, let him take the fucking kick, who cares? But he took the kick and then they had fight, and then Eric took the ball, and as it was, he threw the ball at him, and he hit the star, and everyone was like, oh my God, it's like mutiny, like what is this chaos? So I learned on my first movie, just know your lines, know your positions, and shut the fuck up.

Just shut up, be good, and go home. Because like, and those ensemble pieces, and Jerry Butler was in it. He was fun, you know, I met a lot of him. He was great, he's a great, I always watch his movies and support him because he's a lot of fun. You know, I gotta tell you something about English movies.

I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Like Guy Ritchie movies. Snatch, come on. I cannot watch it what the fuck you're talking about. Like Guy Ritchie movies. I cannot watch it without the subtitles. I mean, it might as well be in Chinese. Can't you people learn to speak English? Yeah, no, not really. We just want to include you. You're not invited.

I got to tell you something. This is true. I don't know, I don't know. I don't know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don my driver and I didn't know where I was and I had to tell him and I got on the phone, cell phones were, thank God we had them by then because otherwise I never would have gotten my driver or found my hotel that night but he and I could not make each other understood.

I had to get the girl whose code I had given to get on the phone and translate for me so that I could get, so that he could understand where I was and get the car there. I don't know what that says about the world, but it just... The Savoy. Maybe that we think we're more alike than we are and we're really still very far apart. Or maybe I'm just reading into it. But it was...

The Saxon. It was like, wow, if I can't get this done in London, I am not going to Vladivostok. I'm just not. I'm not going to Vladivostok. I'm just not, you know. I'm not a traveler though. You like travel. No. No. Can't stand it.

Oh really? Fucking boss. Yeah, I'm a homebody. I'm a homebody. I just really. I love a home. I tell you something, Gavin, I was on the road for 42 years and last year was my last year.

I've only been off for six months. And I mean, 42 42 years you would think. And I was conflicted about stopping. Even though last year, the whole year, I was kind of counting down the gigs. I just had enough of hotels that don't know how to do shit anymore. And just getting places.

What do you do in the day? Like out of, what's your day? Well I only did weekends. so there was no day. I flew in the morning of the morning, the afternoon. I flew in right before the show started. The great thing about a private plane. Went right to the venue with the luggage, did the show, then went to the hotel, then went out,

then woke up the next morning in that city. Yes, my dearest friend who travels with me, we'd have breakfast in the hotel the next morning, breakfast like at one in the afternoon when I woke up. I'd have to kill a few hours, then we'd fly at afternoon to the second city, do that show, and then fly home after that show. So I was never anywhere, I know. They say to me, what do you want to do this year?

I want a tour until I get a jet and it doesn't matter. But doesn't that schedule sound good? Two cities. I would do it, I would do that. Two cities but only staying over one night. Genius. So I loved it, but even that became too much. And even though I've only been off six months,

I can't imagine right now doing it. I wake up on Saturday and I'm like, oh, I don't have to go to Cincinnati today. And I love Cincinnati. I just don't have to go there. And it's just like joyous. I'm home. I can go feed the ducks.

Or in the pool again. I tell these home. I can go feed the ducks. Now I realize. The pool again. I tell these ducks, you can sit on the side of the pool, but you can't go in, and they take advantage of me. They know better. You have to work all those years so the ducks can have a place to be.

I have ducks and also groundhogs here that have ruined the lawn, but I left them because everyone needs to make a living. And- It's a great complex you have there. What am I, a suburban dad? I want a perfect lawn to who? Impress who?

My fucking teenage daughter? I'll trip on my lawn if I like. My teenage daughter who doesn't exist? What's she gonna say? Dad, your lawn's embarrassing. Ha ha ha. So you live close. Oh, wow.

Like 15 minutes. And do you live with. Oh, wow. Like 15 minutes. And do you live with someone? No, I live with my kids. Oh, you live with all three? Well, I live with my 18-year-old, my soon-to-be 19-year-old on Monday. He lives with me exclusively.

This is cool with Mom? Oh, that's a whole nother podcast, but yeah. Well, I think we're in the wrong podcast for that. But no, he lives with me and I look after him. And then the other two come on and off. So they're there now. They're all there now. This rich time between parents?

With me and their mom. And it's, whatever the situation, you know, it's not ideal, but I mean, it's funny because they have such diametrically opposed lifestyles. And I say, isn't it amazing, you know, you have, because obviously over, you have these views, extremely religious views, and over here you have an extremely non-religious view. Isn't that beautiful that you get to make your own decisions of what that means? But I do have an older one. If you need a tag team partner on the religion thing, just send the kids over here because the kids love me. I'm sure your kids are amazing.

They are. Yeah, we'll see how that pans out. The most important thing for kids, and nothing worse, I know you're not into parenting, but nothing worse than a parent who forces their child to live vicariously through their inadequacies, or whatever they do. And it happens a lot. Oh, it's just like, let them be who they are.

Exactly. They are not you. Right. And that's it. So I really remember. Yeah. And if they're, I mean, it wouldn't be odd if they did have musical talent. And-

But I find it, I promise you, I tell you what's interesting. I'm a really big cook. I love cooking. And so, but I also don't know how to delegate and I'm not sure if I've been a good father in the sense of forcing them to do chores and forcing, I just been a bit more laid back about things. So when they're with me, I make food for them because I can't be bothered to ask someone here, I've got 16 steps on this dish, help me with steps seven, eight, nine and 10. They're not interested, they do their thing in the house. But what's amazing to me is that they all,

well, the two older ones, I mean, will then go and cook at their mom's place. What they learned at your place? What they mirrored, not even what they asked me, what they saw. And so that to me is more valuable than, hey, let's cook together. It's just that they were just soaking up what they wanted to, and then they go off and do

the thing. And that to me is, that's the greatest. You're right. I've never been interested in parenting, but I always have. No, it's true. It's okay. But I've always thought that if you are a parent, one of the most important things you can do is you just have to accept that while they're

children they are not going to express the proper gratitude. It just kind of comes with being a kid. And because they're kids, you have to let that go. Now I'm basing this on having young girlfriends. But I do think it's very true. They haven't thanked you appropriately. Not appropriately, but I know they love me. They meant to thank me.

I know it's just not part of their being. You know what, they probably thank you in absentia. When you're not there, you know what, Bill was so great, damn, that sushi was good. When they get older, absolutely. But I really feel like that is true with kids. To me the most important thing with my kids, I'm a musician, so the fuck am I meant to talk about kids?

But I ended up having a load of kids. Make them likable. Because to have an, I say to them, be funny, be polite, be funny. And life is gonna be so much easier for you. Because if you're unlikable. How about, can I add one? Sure.

Humble. Right, yes. Be fucking humble. You know, that's what is so, I feel, lacking in the obnoxious. Whether you're obnoxious of the left, obnoxious of the right, it is like a lack of humility. And I say that as someone who, when I was younger, did commit sins of lack of humility.

Was a branched, branched. But isn't that because that's diametrically or intrinsically connected to the lack of knowledge you had? Correct. And the more knowledge you gain, the less you gain. The lack of knowledge and the preponderance of insecurity. It was, I think, more insecurity. Yeah, it was the same you gain. Well, the lack of knowledge and the preponderance of insecurity. It was, I think, more insecurity. Same as everyone. I know, but when you're young,

that is how you compensate for, like, maybe if I act like I'm, big, yelling people won't notice that I'm not, and I'm afraid I might never be. That's the big fear, that you might never be. Everyone is broken. Everyone is broken. Everyone is broken.

You don't seem broken. You seem perfectly there. I'm perfectly present, but I have scars. Oh, it doesn't. Of course. I went through life. No. It's whether the scars are rendering you somebody who is,

I mean, you don't strike me as not present, you don't strike me as crazy, you don't strike me as egomaniac, you don't strike me as anything that you could be. I'm present, right here, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but I mean, yeah, for sure, thank you. You're like a good dad.

Yeah, I'm obsessed with my kids. They're incredible. And it's really, you know, we all have our own things and I enjoy them a lot. But I also have this incredible thing between doing the band and that takes so much time. I don't know, do you think about things like is it important to have meaning in your life? Like for me, reflecting the last few years, it has been important for me to know my place and to know my contribution to myself

and to make sure that yeah, I was doing the right thing all the time and having this artisan life of devotion to music. It really helped me to make what I think is a really good record because I'm just full of gratitude, humility about it, knowing I'm just a working musician, but what a gift to make songs that people will listen to. Are you saying looking for the meaning of life? That's what inspired this record? Well, it's just the idea of like, did I get it right?

Let's plug in. It's coming out in July? July, yeah. What's it called? I Beat Loneliness. I Beat Loneliness. That's a great title. Thank you. That came to you just while you were doing something? It was one of the first songs that I wrote.

It just came to your head? Yeah, it's not a very convoluted system. I get a bit of music that I like. I play it in my house. I have a studio in one of the spare bedrooms. I've tricked it out a bit so it looks like a studio, but it's really just a spare bedroom. And the closet has actually got a window in where I sing. So it's very modest, but it just, yeah, I just like to create

these environments where I think about things. So when I got that phrase, just singing along to the track that I've made. When I sing these things, you just know intrinsically if they're right or not. You might sing, blah de blah, or you might say, I'd be loneliness. You find and it just fits.

Almost set up the aesthetic for the record, all the intention of the record. It's wild how it came together because it looks very complete and very thought out, way smarter than I actually intended it to be. It's one of those funny things that the sum of the parts is way greater than the individual efforts that went into it. Suddenly, look, this sort of journey of this record that is very exciting. And I think that... of this record that is very exciting. I will be the first online to buy it.

I'm going down to the record store, to the EMI shop, on Woll Pole Street in London in 1962, and I'm going to buy this record. But I don't know, I'm anxious to hear the lyric to that song because you're a rock star, you're a good looking guy, I'm guessing you beat Loneliness a long time ago. But if you're still having problems with it, please come back here, will you? Yes, I want to come back here.

I was very flattered that you wouldn't do this show. Oh my gosh. It's a, you know. It was mutual, I was like, I thought, I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna, a lot of people are scared of me, they think I'm terrible, am I terrible, I thought I was like, oh my God. I mean, that's pretty. A lot of people are scared of me. They think I'm terrible. Am I terrible?

I'm not terrible. No, I think that you're absolutely, you're a very straight shooter. Which people aren't straight shooters. So you've built a girl who's a straight shooter. That scares some people. It scares some people. And it should.

But that's their shortcoming. People are scared of a shooter. But this show, this show anybody can do. can do, because it's just me getting high. Real time, sometimes celebrities will be like, well, I don't think I'm smart enough to do that show. And I don't say it, but I always want to say to them, you're correct. You are not smart enough to do that show.

This is different. This is just two people shooting the shit. Well, on that front, I always remember that line Christopher Hitchens that we spoke about, that we both love, who, you know, that aphorism that people talk about, they say everyone has a book inside of them. And he said, yeah, everyone has a book inside of them,

but most of the time, it's where it should stay. Just to bring Christopher in the ending. Alright, Gavin Rossdale. That was so much fun. Thank you. It was a pleasure to get to know you. Thank you. It was really fun. Alright.