Rossdale Opens Institute

"My life's changed a lot in the last couple of years, and hopefully this reflects it," Bush frontman (and Gwen Stefani's husband) Gavin Rossdale says of his new band, Institute. Don't expect marriage to have mellowed him out, though. The group features Chris Traynor of hardcore heroes Helmet on guitar and former Helmet frontman Page Hamilton behind the mixing board. Rossdale's first effort since Bush's Golden State (2001), Distort Yourself will hit stores on September 13th.

"I wanted to do something a little bit harder than Bush," says Rossdale. "It's got a paranoid edge to it. It's a pretty difficult transition to go from my band Bush to this new terrain, this whole other world."

The relentless first single, "Bulletproof Skin," currently featured in the soundtrack to the Jamie Foxx action movie Stealth, began life as a drum-and-bass track by Photek. "The premise of that song is finding ways to deal with whatever's thrown at you," says Rossdale. "Wherever you are, whatever you do there are always tremendous pressures thrown at you, and one of the only ways to survive is to have this ability to roll with what life throws."

Other titles include "Animals Attack" and "Come on Over," both of which he describes as "supremely crushing and heavy," while "Save the Robots" is "delicate." And "Ambulances" features Stefani on backing vocals. "If I want to get a certain color and use a female voice," says Rossdale, "who better than her?"

Institute tour dates:

8/11: San Diego, The Casbah
8/12: West Hollywood, The Roxy Theatre
8/13: Tempe, AZ, The Clubhouse
8/16: Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room/Ballroom
8/17: Houston, Engine Room
8/19: Atlanta, Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
8/20: Saint Louis, MO, Blueberry Hill's Duck Room
8/23: Minneapolis, Ascot Room at Quest Club
8/24: Chicago, Double Door
8/26: Philadelphia, Theatre of Living Arts
8/27: Pittsburgh, Rex Theatre
8/29: Boston, Paradise Rock Club
8/30: New York, Bowery Ballroom