Emerging Artist:

Airbourne

Published June 2, 2008

Forget your worries, get down to the front of the stage and lose your mind to some ear-bleeding, sweat-soaked rock 'n roll with Melbourne, Australia-based band Airbourne. Consisting of Joel O'Keeffe (vocals/lead guitar), David Roads (guitar), Justin Street (bass), and Ryan O'Keeffe (drums), their signature style is nicely packaged in their debut album, Runnin' Wild.

The band Airbourne.

Joel and his younger brother Ryan started the band years ago and it's always been based on classic Australian rock influences such as AC/DC and Cold Chisel. "It's hard to explain, but that's always what I wanted to hear," remarks Joel, "straight-ahead Aussie pub rock."

That style, and a considerable work ethic, saw them graduate from playing small Melbourne pubs to opening for Mötley Crüe at the legendary nightclub The Palace. After a main stage performance at the 2006 Big Day Out festival, they crossed the sea to the United States and began work on their debut album with producer Bob Marlette.

The cover of Runnin' Wild.

Runnin' Wild is very much wild-man style rock with classic anthems such as "What's Eatin' You" and the must-hear "Too Much Too Young Too Fast." All eleven tracks on the album represent the band's rowdy style and active live shows. "It comes from … being pissed off with people telling us that all the bands we listened to were old and we should be playing Blink-182," says Ryan, "so we always go onstage and try to prove a point about how good rock 'n roll is." Point proven.

A stunningly ambitious tour schedule should get their music known throughout the land. "You have to bleed and do anything you can to make sure the album gets out there," notes 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."

Runnin' Wild is out now on Roadrunner Records in the U.S., UK, Europe, and Australia.