AIRBOURNE from Australia...tomorrow night at The State Theatre...here's some links
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dknc...@gmail.com
Mar 17, 2008, 3:06:14 PM3/17/08
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New rockers to the Roadrunner roster are Airbourne, from Melbourne
Australia! If you haven't heard them yet, you're missing some serious
straight up no fuss rock 'n roll (especially if you're an AC/DC
fan!). You'll be able to catch Airbourne in St Petersburg at the
State Theatre on March 18.
http://airbournerock.com/index.php?page=Index
http://www.roadrun.com/artists/Airbourne/
Joel O'Keeffe - vocals/lead guitar
David Roads - guitar
Justin Street - bass
Ryan O'Keeffe - drums
"All right people/Welcome to the show/Are you ready to rock?/Are you
ready to go?/Now we've got what you want/And we've got what you need/
So get your ass down here/And let your ears bleed."
- Stand Up For Rock'N'Roll
It is as clear a statement of intent as you're ever likely to hear.
One verse that says everything you need to know about Melbourne, AU
four piece Airbourne and their debut album, Runnin' Wild: forget your
worries, get down to the front of the stage and lose your mind to some
ear-bleeding, sweat-soaked rock'n'roll. Or, as the song continues,
"Drink your beer/Drink your wine/Let's have a good time." Stand up
for rock 'n' roll indeed.
Airbourne vocalist Joel O'Keeffe first realized rock 'n' roll was
worth defending at the tender age of nine. Born and raised in the
rural Victorian town of Warrnambool - population: 32,000 - the local
pastimes revolved around playing football and falling down drunk. For
young Joel, however, his only interest was devouring the albums he'd
stolen from his uncle by Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, The Angels, Billy Thorpe
and The Aztecs and Cold Chisel. "It's hard to explain, but that's
always what I wanted to hear," remarks Joel. "Straight-ahead Aussie
pub rock."
By the age of 11, Joel had picked up his first guitar and was trying
to emulate the riffs of his Oz-rock idols. Paying close attention was
younger brother Ryan, who'd also fallen under the spell of his
brother's "adopted" record collection. By the time he'd turned 11, and
with Joel now 15, Ryan had bought his first drum kit and the brothers
were spending their weekends rehearsing, much to the delight of their
neighbors, who constantly sent the police over to the O'Keeffe
household to plead for silence. "It got to the point where the cops
would just end up saying, 'Look, come on, guys, we've gotta stop
coming around here 'cos we've got other people to arrest,'" laughs
Joel.
Instantly convinced that their futures lay in rock 'n' roll, it would
take the O'Keeffe brothers several years to find like-minded musicians
in their hometown. After a few false starts that saw the band perform
as a three-piece with a now long-gone bass player, Joel was introduced
to guitarist David Roads when the two worked at the Hotel Warrnambool.
Bringing their guitars to work and, after their shifts, jamming on
song ideas, Dave was soon asked to join the O'Keeffe brothers for a
jam at their house. Bassist Justin Street completed the picture in
2003, when Ryan literally ran into him while stumbling home drunk from
a party one night. Turns out his new mate played bass, and, yes, would
be interested in jamming with a band that were looking to move to
Melbourne. Finally, Airbourne were ready to fire.
Though it would be another nine months before the quartet relocated
permanently, they began driving to the Victorian capital to play shows
as regularly as they could, often returning to Warrnambool as the sun
came up with just $25 to their name and a full day of school ahead of
them. This exposure to the realities of being a working rock 'n' roll
band in Australia would prepare them for when they finally made the
move to Melbourne. The band quickly found a four-bedroom house that
they could call home and started gigging relentlessly. "We absolutely
attacked Melbourne," says 20-year-old Ryan. "We painted the town with
posters for every gig we were doing. If they were getting ripped down
we'd go back and put them up. We had to walk, though, 'cos we couldn't
afford a car."
This work ethic helped create a substantial buzz. One-off shows in the
Melbourne pubs became one-off gigs in enormodomes such as the Rod
Laver Arena (concert stadium and home of various sporting events
including the Australian Open) supporting the Rolling Stones and the
recently destroyed legendary Aussie nightclub The Palace opening for
Motley Crϋe, a remarkable feat given that by this stage the band had
only released one EP, the appropriately-titled Ready To Rock. National
tours with the likes of Dallas Crane, Jimmy Barnes, The Living End,
You Am I and Magic Dirt helped further hone their rowdy live show - it
is, after all, not an Airbourne gig unless Joel has jumped on the bar
mid-song at least once - while a main stage slot on the 2006 Big Day
Out festival confirmed Airbourne's reputation as one of the country's
fastest rising bands.
"It comes from growing up in Warrnambool and being pissed off with
people telling us that all the bands we listened to were old and we
should be playing Blink-182," explains Ryan of the band's explosive
live show. "So we always go onstage and try to prove a point about how
good rock 'n' roll is."
In 2006 Airbourne got their biggest break yet when, after a huge
amount of interest from several international labels, they relocated
to the States to begin work on Runnin' Wild with legendary producer
Bob Marlette. With Marlette's CV one of the most impressive in the
business - his credits include albums by Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper
and Shinedown, for starters - Airbourne embarked on a lengthy pre-
production stint, whittling the 40-odd songs they'd written down to
the 11 that comprise Runnin' Wild. And just to ensure their immense
live energy translated to CD, the band not only enlisted Andy Wallace
(Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, Linkin Park, Slipknot) to mix the album, but
made sure that what was committed to tape was done so with the amps on
11. In 2007 Airbourne attracted interest from renowned A&R man Ron
Burman of Roadrunner Records in New York, and by July, Airbourne had
secured a worldwide record deal.
"One of my ears actually blew out 'cos I had my headphones so loud,"
laughs Ryan. "So I recorded the album with one ear!"
From the album's fist-pumping title track to the anthemic What's
Eatin' You and the self-explanatory rock explosions of Too Much, Too
Young, Too Fast and Diamond In The Rough, Runnin' Wild is an exercise
in booze-and-sweat soaked rock 'n' roll that isn't looking to change
the world by abolishing Free Trade, but simply provide the ultimate
soundtrack to the biggest all-night rock party there is.
"You have to bleed and do anything you can to make sure the album gets
out there," says Joel. "Every day you wake up and say, 'how are we
going to do this?' We haven't had time off in three years. It's every
day, 24 hours."
The album 'RUNNIN' WILD' is set for release on Roadrunner Records in
early 2008.
www.airbournerock.com / www.myspace.com/airbournerock /
www.roadrun.com/artists/Airbourne
Australia! If you haven't heard them yet, you're missing some serious
straight up no fuss rock 'n roll (especially if you're an AC/DC
fan!). You'll be able to catch Airbourne in St Petersburg at the
State Theatre on March 18.
http://airbournerock.com/index.php?page=Index
http://www.roadrun.com/artists/Airbourne/
Joel O'Keeffe - vocals/lead guitar
David Roads - guitar
Justin Street - bass
Ryan O'Keeffe - drums
"All right people/Welcome to the show/Are you ready to rock?/Are you
ready to go?/Now we've got what you want/And we've got what you need/
So get your ass down here/And let your ears bleed."
- Stand Up For Rock'N'Roll
It is as clear a statement of intent as you're ever likely to hear.
One verse that says everything you need to know about Melbourne, AU
four piece Airbourne and their debut album, Runnin' Wild: forget your
worries, get down to the front of the stage and lose your mind to some
ear-bleeding, sweat-soaked rock'n'roll. Or, as the song continues,
"Drink your beer/Drink your wine/Let's have a good time." Stand up
for rock 'n' roll indeed.
Airbourne vocalist Joel O'Keeffe first realized rock 'n' roll was
worth defending at the tender age of nine. Born and raised in the
rural Victorian town of Warrnambool - population: 32,000 - the local
pastimes revolved around playing football and falling down drunk. For
young Joel, however, his only interest was devouring the albums he'd
stolen from his uncle by Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, The Angels, Billy Thorpe
and The Aztecs and Cold Chisel. "It's hard to explain, but that's
always what I wanted to hear," remarks Joel. "Straight-ahead Aussie
pub rock."
By the age of 11, Joel had picked up his first guitar and was trying
to emulate the riffs of his Oz-rock idols. Paying close attention was
younger brother Ryan, who'd also fallen under the spell of his
brother's "adopted" record collection. By the time he'd turned 11, and
with Joel now 15, Ryan had bought his first drum kit and the brothers
were spending their weekends rehearsing, much to the delight of their
neighbors, who constantly sent the police over to the O'Keeffe
household to plead for silence. "It got to the point where the cops
would just end up saying, 'Look, come on, guys, we've gotta stop
coming around here 'cos we've got other people to arrest,'" laughs
Joel.
Instantly convinced that their futures lay in rock 'n' roll, it would
take the O'Keeffe brothers several years to find like-minded musicians
in their hometown. After a few false starts that saw the band perform
as a three-piece with a now long-gone bass player, Joel was introduced
to guitarist David Roads when the two worked at the Hotel Warrnambool.
Bringing their guitars to work and, after their shifts, jamming on
song ideas, Dave was soon asked to join the O'Keeffe brothers for a
jam at their house. Bassist Justin Street completed the picture in
2003, when Ryan literally ran into him while stumbling home drunk from
a party one night. Turns out his new mate played bass, and, yes, would
be interested in jamming with a band that were looking to move to
Melbourne. Finally, Airbourne were ready to fire.
Though it would be another nine months before the quartet relocated
permanently, they began driving to the Victorian capital to play shows
as regularly as they could, often returning to Warrnambool as the sun
came up with just $25 to their name and a full day of school ahead of
them. This exposure to the realities of being a working rock 'n' roll
band in Australia would prepare them for when they finally made the
move to Melbourne. The band quickly found a four-bedroom house that
they could call home and started gigging relentlessly. "We absolutely
attacked Melbourne," says 20-year-old Ryan. "We painted the town with
posters for every gig we were doing. If they were getting ripped down
we'd go back and put them up. We had to walk, though, 'cos we couldn't
afford a car."
This work ethic helped create a substantial buzz. One-off shows in the
Melbourne pubs became one-off gigs in enormodomes such as the Rod
Laver Arena (concert stadium and home of various sporting events
including the Australian Open) supporting the Rolling Stones and the
recently destroyed legendary Aussie nightclub The Palace opening for
Motley Crϋe, a remarkable feat given that by this stage the band had
only released one EP, the appropriately-titled Ready To Rock. National
tours with the likes of Dallas Crane, Jimmy Barnes, The Living End,
You Am I and Magic Dirt helped further hone their rowdy live show - it
is, after all, not an Airbourne gig unless Joel has jumped on the bar
mid-song at least once - while a main stage slot on the 2006 Big Day
Out festival confirmed Airbourne's reputation as one of the country's
fastest rising bands.
"It comes from growing up in Warrnambool and being pissed off with
people telling us that all the bands we listened to were old and we
should be playing Blink-182," explains Ryan of the band's explosive
live show. "So we always go onstage and try to prove a point about how
good rock 'n' roll is."
In 2006 Airbourne got their biggest break yet when, after a huge
amount of interest from several international labels, they relocated
to the States to begin work on Runnin' Wild with legendary producer
Bob Marlette. With Marlette's CV one of the most impressive in the
business - his credits include albums by Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper
and Shinedown, for starters - Airbourne embarked on a lengthy pre-
production stint, whittling the 40-odd songs they'd written down to
the 11 that comprise Runnin' Wild. And just to ensure their immense
live energy translated to CD, the band not only enlisted Andy Wallace
(Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, Linkin Park, Slipknot) to mix the album, but
made sure that what was committed to tape was done so with the amps on
11. In 2007 Airbourne attracted interest from renowned A&R man Ron
Burman of Roadrunner Records in New York, and by July, Airbourne had
secured a worldwide record deal.
"One of my ears actually blew out 'cos I had my headphones so loud,"
laughs Ryan. "So I recorded the album with one ear!"
From the album's fist-pumping title track to the anthemic What's
Eatin' You and the self-explanatory rock explosions of Too Much, Too
Young, Too Fast and Diamond In The Rough, Runnin' Wild is an exercise
in booze-and-sweat soaked rock 'n' roll that isn't looking to change
the world by abolishing Free Trade, but simply provide the ultimate
soundtrack to the biggest all-night rock party there is.
"You have to bleed and do anything you can to make sure the album gets
out there," says Joel. "Every day you wake up and say, 'how are we
going to do this?' We haven't had time off in three years. It's every
day, 24 hours."
The album 'RUNNIN' WILD' is set for release on Roadrunner Records in
early 2008.
www.airbournerock.com / www.myspace.com/airbournerock /
www.roadrun.com/artists/Airbourne
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