reck'n'roll: BOURNE TO ROCK

I'm gonna step away from the 70's and 80's this time, although by listening to whats on the compilation, you gonna think I only stepped about 3 inches to the left...Ladies and Gents, friends AND associates...its my extreme pleasure to introduce you to the next big thing to come roaring outta Aussie....AIRBOURNE....I could bang on for the next wee while telling you how great they are...but great doesn't do them justice....these cats are......

AWESOME

Airbourne were bo(u)rn(e) in late 2001 in the Victorian country town of Warrnambool by Joel O'Keeffe and his younger brother Ryan, Joel and Ryan had played guitar and rums since a young age. Joel met David Roads when the two worked at the Hotel Warrnambool pulling pots for the locals.

Joel and Dave brought their guitars to work and, after their shifts, jammed on song ideas (as you do) Roadsie was asked to join the O’Keeffe brothers on rhythm guitar for rehearsals at their house. By late 2001, Adam Jacobson had joined on bass guitar, the name Airbourne was agreed upon and played regular gigs at the other local pub in their home town, the Criterion Hotel

In March 2003 the four-piece won a state-wide band competition, Push-On, in Melbourne. Their early material, as anyone can tell, was influenced by Aussie legends AC/DC, The Angels, Billy Thorpe and Rose Tattoo. They recorded an eight-track extended play, Ready to Rock, which appeared in June 2004 as an independent self-funded release. By that time Jacobson was replaced by Justin "Streety" Street on bass guitar – Ryan had met Streety while the pair were stumbling home drunk from a party one night....amazing , right?

In early 2005, the band relocated to Melbourne and in August, they signed a five album record deal with Capitol Records. According to Joel, while the band were living in a shared house they threw a party, and during listening to a Krokus CD, Rock the Block, a blown fuse resulted in a fire burning the back part of the house. The group have supported Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Iron Maiden and The Rolling Stones, as well as performed at all major summer music festivals

In 2006 Airbourne travelled to the United States to begin work on their first studio album, Runnin' Wild, with producer Bob Marlette (Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper).Runnin' Wild was released in Australia on 23 June 2007. Three singles were issued from the album, "Runnin' Wild", "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast", and "Diamond in the Rough". In February, Capitol Records had cancelled their contract with Airbourne, but the album was still issued in Australia through EMI. In June, the band signed with Roadrunner Records for international distribution.

The album peaked in the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, top 40 on New Zealand's RIANZ Albums Chart and appeared on charts in Austria, Switzerland and France. During late 2007, the group toured the United States supporting Kid Rock and Korn. Runnin' Wild was issued in North America, Europe and Japan in January 2008, after which they relocated permanently to the US. The album reached the Top 100 on the UK Albums Chart and appeared on the Billboard 200. In September 2007, they issued a five-track live extended play, Live at the Playroom

In a interview with MetalSucks, Joel discussed comparisons with AC/DC, "whoever you are when you come out, especially if you’re from Australia and you sound like we do, you’re going to get compared to anyone who is out there. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are going to get compared to somebody. To be compared to the best rock and roll band in the business, who are still going today and are about to release another album, there is no higher compliment... In November at the Astoria in London, Dan Hawkins (Stone Gods/The Darkness) joined Airbourne on stage to play the AC/DC song, "Whole Lotta Rosie". Hawkins played Joel's guitar while Joel sang without any guitar.

Roads confirmed that in January 2009, Airbourne would enter the studio to begin recording their second album, No Guts. No Glory.... In the 17 January issue of Kerrang! magazine, Joel revealed they had earlier written the tracks in the Criterion Hotel, "We're getting all our gear plugged in and getting set for Aussie pub rock written in an Aussie rock pub.