Airbourne is an Australian rock and roll band originating from Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, where they gained a steady following with their pub rock sound.
The band was formed in 2003 by the brothers Joel and Ryan O'Keeffe. Joel picked up his first guitar at the age of 11 and Ryan had his first drum kit at the same age with Joel being 15 at the time.[1] It would take the brothers several years to find like minded musicians with the same taste for making rock 'n' roll music in their hometown. 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 ran into him while stumbling home drunk from a party one night. As it turned 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 born.
Airbourne's independent eight track EP 'Ready to Rock' was released in 2004. In early 2005, the band relocated to Melbourne. Later that year, the band signed a five album record deal with Capitol Records and have since supported Mötley Crüe, Motörhead and The Rolling Stones, as well as playing in several summer music festivals.
In 2006 Airbourne relocated to the States to begin work on their first international studio album, Runnin’ Wild, with legendary producer Bob Marlette. Runnin' Wild was released in Australia on 23 June, 2007. Three singles were released from the album, "Runnin' Wild", "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" and "Diamond In The Rough". On 19 February 2007, Capitol Records cancelled their record contract with Airbourne, but the album was still released in Australia through EMI. The band has now signed with Roadrunner Records for distribution throughout the rest of the world. Amongst all the overseas hype Airbourne still fails to be played on any of the major Australian Radio networks.
On September 2, 2008, MetalSucks had an exclusive interview with Joel O’Keeffe. On the issue with vast comparisons to AC/DC, Joel said, "Oh, mate, in this day and age, 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..."[2] On Friday 28th November at the Astoria arena in London, Dan Hawkins (Stone Gods/The Darkness) joined Airbourne on stage to play AC/DC classic Whole Lotta Rosie. Hawkins played Joel's guitar (white Gibson Explorer) while Joel sung without playing guitar.
[edit on Wikipedia] Upcoming album (2009 and beyond)
After an interview with Airbourne's rhythm guitarist, David Roads, he confirmed the band would be entering the studio at the end of January 2009 to work on new material.[3]
A big part of Airbourne's growing success is the exposure they have gained in other media; most notably video games. Airbourne has provided some of their music to add to the soundtracks of the following games:
Another place Airbourne have gained exposure over the past year is in the WWE. Their song, "Stand Up For Rock And Roll", was the official theme song for WWE's Royal Rumble 2008.[4] They also perform a version of Mr. Kennedy's entrance theme "Turn Up The Trouble" which has replaced Jim Johnston's original version.
On the Lost boys: The Tribe; sequel to the original lost boys, the song "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" is featured.
The guitarists use Gibson Explorer's, Gibson SG's and Marshall Amps as their main instruments. Bassist Justin Street uses primarily Fender Precision Bass's.
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- Nominated: Best Rock Vocal Performance (2007) for Runnin' Wild
- Nominated: Best Rock Song (2007) for Runnin' Wild
- Nominated: Best New Artist (2007)
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- Winner: Best New Band (2008)[5]
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Airbourne |
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| Joel O'Keeffe · Ryan O'Keeffe · David Roads · Justin Street |
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| Studio Albums |
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| Live Albums |
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| Singles |
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| Tours |
Pub Rock (2006) · Runnin' Wild (2007-2008)
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