In the new issue of Details, Gavin Rossdale sat down for an interview to discuss his music over the years, and how he is reuniting with the members of Bush. The full interview is here. Can I just admit something right now? Bush is one of those bands that give me such a heavy wave of nostalgia for my college days, it’s not even funny. Like, I can taste the Boone’s-mixed-with-clove-cigarettes in my mouth right now. In college, I also was friends with a dude who pretty much thought he was Gavin Rossdale – and he wore leather pants EVERY DAY. They showed off his adorable, perfectly-formed ass. Ah… memories. And no, I never hit it. But I did hit it with his roommate. Ah… sketchy memories. Anyhoodle, in the Details interview, Gavin talks in some detail about the drag queen/transvestite (I don’t what she/he is, how this person self-identifies) Marilyn. Marilyn came out last year and claimed that he/she had a five-year-long relationship with Gavin when they were both very young. Since then, Gavin has never really spoken about it, other then to offer vague denials. Details gets him to open up a little:

Details: Last year, the cross-dressing pop singer Marilyn revealed that he was romantically involved with you in your teens—an assertion Boy George first made in 1995. Why haven’t you talked about those claims?
Gavin Rossdale: I think at the outset there was a sort of fear—that was right at the beginning of Bush, and I didn’t want it to be part of it. It felt like a cheap shot, so I was like, “I’m not getting involved.” I’ve never wanted to appear closed about it. It’s not something I’ve talked about really because it’s always been in the glare of a tabloid world. It’s just one of those things: Move on. When you’re 17, Jesus Christ. I don’t think there’s anything strange about any form of—you’re learning about life. It’s a part of growing up. That’s it. No more, no less.

Details: So it was just a one-time experimentation?
Gavin Rossdale: Yeah. That was it. You have to know what you like, and I know what I like.

[From Details]

Do I think it was just a one time thing? No. But I also don’t buy that it was a five year affair either. Split the difference – they had a relationship for months, probably (long enough for them to pose for photos together). But I do buy that Gavin was just going through an experimental phase. Girls are allowed to (generally), so why not boys? Also, Gavin is really cute throughout the rest of the interview too:

Details: Your ancestral surname is Rosenthal. What’s the most Jewish thing about you?
Gavin Rossdale: My father was a lapsed Jew, but my grandfather was practicing, so he used to do the Friday-night thing. I love the culture of it, the tradition, the theatricality, the funny outfits, the buildings, the history. I’m half Jewish, half Scottish, so I have a bizarre obsession with being generous, because one of the stereotypes leveled at Scots and Jews is the inability to share. I’m fighting the good fight.

Details: You met your wife, Gwen Stefani, while touring with No Doubt in 1995. Do you remember your first date?
Gavin Rossdale: I threw a party in New Orleans just as an excuse to hang out with her. We drank a bunch of hurricanes and went around the French Quarter. We had our first kiss that night, just walking around, being careful to step over the puddles of pee. The next day we had that sort of cute, embarrassed, sober meet-up.

Details: You have two sons together—Kingston, 4, and Zuma, 2. Who’s on diaper duty at home?
Gavin Rossdale: Whoever’s nearest, really. We have good people around us. If there’s no one there, I can do it, but otherwise I sort of slide away—I get very interested in my BlackBerry at that point. A friend once told me, “By the way, they never thank you for changing their diapers when they grow up, so don’t sweat it.” I thought it was good advice.

Details: Is it true you and Gwen bathe together to conserve water?
Gavin Rossdale: The first half is true, maybe not the latter. Or, the ecological benefits are a healthy consequence.

Details: Keep your romance alive, save the planet?
Gavin Rossdale: Exactly! And stay clean! But no, we don’t stage bath-ins.

Details: You play tennis regularly with your friend Roger Federer. Ever come close to beating him?
Gavin Rossdale: No, it doesn’t really work like that! With Roger, my fun is just to hit with him enough so it’s a workout for him. That’s my Wimbledon: to hit with Roger and not waste his time. I’ve scored points on him, of course. If you hit a good serve, you could take out anyone in the world. But can you do it over five sets? Probably not.

Details: In 2004, you learned you have a daughter, the now 21-year-old model Daisy Lowe. How do you shift from being a dad to toddlers to being a dad to an adult?
Gavin Rossdale: With the boys it’s traditional: I’m all they know, and I’m with them all the time. With Daisy, I don’t know her in that context. The way I nurture those boys, I never got a chance with Daisy. I love my connection with her, but I don’t have any say in who she is. With the boys it’s my job to correct them and shape them. With Daisy, I just have to be respectful. I suppose it’s more like a friendship.

[From Details]

Honestly, I think Gavin is one of those rare guys like Tom Hardy – where he spent his youth f-cking everything and everyone, just for the hell of it. I buy that Gavin has matured into a loving husband and father – and I think he’s lovely.

Photos courtesy of WENN.