BUSH's GAVIN ROSSDALE: 'I Think That It's Crazy That People Don't Wear Masks'

BUSH frontman Gavin Rossdale has blasted people who refuse to wear a mask in public spaces to protect others from possible infection.

Rossdale addressed the hot-button issue as lawmakers push harder for their constituents to wear face masks to limit the spread of coronavirus. President Donald Trump has been loath to wear a mask, despite the advice of public health experts.

Asked in an interview with Shroom of the 102.7 WEBN radio station how he feels about wearing masks, Gavin said (see video below): "I think that it's crazy that people don't wear masks. When you're in your house or you're around people that you've been with… There's a few people that I know who've been quarantined who come and spend time with me — very small [group] of people. And they are fine with it. But if I go anywhere publicly, I always wear a mask. I see people all the time not wearing masks. It's amazing.

"Yeah, if you're outside in the park or running around, they probably can't give you [COVID-19] unless they sneeze in your mouth and hold you there, but at the same time, it just doesn't show the right energy — it's not the right attitude, because you're saying, 'I actually don't care about you,'" Gavin continued. "'Cause even if you've had it, people get the wrong impression. When you wear a mask, you're saying, 'I care that you don't get it as well and you don't bring it to your family. And I hope you don't give it to me. And we're all on the same page.'

"I saw a guy yesterday in Beverly Hills a sort of buff dude with a tight t-shirt with a gorgeous younger wife and a young son, and [the wife and son] were both wearing masks, and wearing rich people's Beverly Hills outfits. And he's got the expensive jeans and the tight shirt, and he's not wearing a mask. And I was thinking, 'I can tell he's an arrogant guy in life.' He's got this very beautiful girl, he's having a baby. And I just thought, 'Why aren't you wearing a mask?' Now, I could be getting it wrong and judging, so I apologize if I was, but it did strike me as a bit unnecessary. It's so easy to put a mask on."

During the same chat, Rossdale confirmed that BUSH is one of the bands who have taken federal funds to support their crew for any current and future postponed tours. According to documents from the Small Business Administration And Treasury Department, GUNS N' ROSES, PEARL JAM, GREEN DAY, DISTURBED and many other touring musicians also took out loans. The financial support is part of the federal government's $2 trillion CARES Act to assist small businesses impacted by the coronavirus.

"It was very, very quick," Gavin said. "We were lucky. We had a very generous help, because we employ a lot of people, and so it's a quite difficult situation where a lot of people depend on us. I was happy. We have great people around us, and the business manager was, like, 'This is what we do. It's the right thing.' I was worried about people. I said, 'What do we do about it?' Well, this is what we do. It's something to help towards a really bad time for people.

"GUNS N' ROSES, you're talking about stadium bands, who make a lot of money [who have also taken out loans]," he explained. "Everyone who runs a small business is in the same position of having a staff that you've gotta take care of and people that give their lives to you. We have grownups who have jobs and mortgages and families; it's like a real thing. It's not like we do it so we never have to work again, and they now all have homes in Hawaii. It's a generous help that only lasted, like, two months. After that, we still have to take care of business ourselves."

According to Rolling Stone, more than 50 musicians and groups across all genres were among the 660,000 recipients who were granted a loan for more than $150,000. THE EAGLES, PEARL JAM and DISTURBED were granted somewhere between $350,000 and $1 million, while many of the other artists received between $150,000 and $350,000.

BUSH's new studio album, "The Kingdom", will be released on July 17 via Zuma Rock Records under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management.

The first single from "The Kingdom", "Flowers On A Grave", was unveiled in March. The track, co-produced by Erik Ron and Rossdale, is the follow-up to "Bullet Holes", heard atop the end credits to "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum". Produced by Tyler Bates, "Bullet Holes" will also be featured on "The Kingdom".