April 11, 2008

The latest installment of GCM’s exclusive EA Trax interviews covers an up-and-coming Australian band that has been doing one hell of a job of reviving the sounds of classic rock and metal from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Airbourne are currently touring the US in support of their second album Runnin’ Wild.

Airbourne also has songs featured on a number of EA videogame soundtracks including Madden 08, NHL 08, Burnout Paradise, NASCAR 08, Need for Speed: ProStreet, Skate, and NFL Tour – as well as the television commercial for Army of Two. They can also be found on non-EA titles like Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, and the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV.

Needless to say, these Aussies really get around – and Game Chronicles was lucky enough to catch them on their Midwestern leg of their US tour to answer a couple of questions.

GCM: First off let’s talk about irony – you guys are most likely the youngest fellas we have interviewed so far in our series, and yet you deliver the oldest of the old school rock and roll. What are your ages?

AIRBOURNE: Ryan and Justin are both 21 and Dave and I are 24. Growing up we listened to nothing but that old rock’n’roll we never really listened to anything new coming out. My uncle had a massive collection of rock ‘n’ roll records full of Rose Tattoo, The Angels, Motorhead, AC/DC Iron Maiden and Credence.

GCM: Leafing through all of the bands on tap from EA Trax and Artwerk, I came across your bio citing influences from the likes of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, and Billy Thorpe. Needless to say, as a thirty-something rocker who grew up listening to those guys, it immediately grabbed my attention. In a day and age where bands seem to be content either tagging along on the 80’s new wave revival, trying to hammer out a niche in the 60’s garage scene, or pensively contemplating the their psyches in the Emo world – you guys toss aside all the eyeliner and black clothes and dive head first into the riff-heavy Aussie rock of the 60’s and 70’s. And I’ll be damned if you don’t pull it off flawlessly. Has it been difficult to attract attention to you time-honored style amongst the sea of trendy acts?

AIRBOURNE: It does take a very long time to attract attention; Ryan and I started the band about 8 or 9 years ago and Justin and Dave came along about 5 years ago. There are so many places to play and people to play to. But I think people are missing that good times, fist pumping, rock and roll and they are getting right into it and giving us a lot of support. People want to rock out, get drunk and have a good time and that’s what we’re all about.

GCM: There is no question that you guys borrow heavily from your influences – many of your riffs come straight out of the Angus Young School of Rock. It is fairly obvious that any similarities are intentional – a tribute of sorts – but has Airbourne had to field criticism for sounding a little too much like their influences?

AIRBOURNE: In this day and age you're always gonna be compared to someone and AC/DC is one of the greatest true rock n’ roll bands ever so if we're going to be compared to anyone we couldn't ask for anyone better. It’s the Aussie Pub Rock sound that we love and live by, so that’s what we play.

GCM: You guys had a couple of big gigs, opening for the Rolling Stones and Motley Crüe. The Stones show was held at a large arena, while the Crüe show was in a smaller nightclub. How did the two experiences (big venue, small venue) differ, and in your opinion what kind of venue does Airbourne rock best in?

AIRBOURNE: Both big and small venues are great. The good thing about a small venue is you’re so close to the crowd and the shows get really intense. We feed off the energy from the crowd and when there are fans crammed from front to back going off their heads, it's a hell of a lot of fun, and makes us rock out harder. Big venues are good too; hearing the cheer of thousands of people as you walk on stage is one of the best feelings in the world. Festivals are great too, there is such an energy all around, every one is there to rock out, get off their heads and have a good time.

GCM: When you guys go out on your international tours, are there any countries that stand out as having the most hardcore Airbourne fans – other than Australia, of course.

AIRBOURNE: The fans in the US are great. They love rock and roll and go crazy. They get right into it singing all the words and rocking out. We've had circle pits and stage divers; it gets really wild. The UK, Germany and Canada are really good as well we get a lot of fans jumping up on stage and we love it. The more wild and chaotic the better.

GCM: You guys are on a US tour as we speak. Is this your first time to the US?

AIRBOURNE: This is our first tour in the US, but we have played here a few times and have recently all moved in together in a house in New Jersey. We spent 6 months recording the album over here in 2006 and played about a bunch of shows here before we moved over.

GCM: Are you guys in a bus with a driver, or are you going DIY in a van?

AIRBOURNE: We are in a van for this tour but we have 3 mates with us who are really great they usually do a lot of the driving coz we’re always over the limit. Hopefully we'll be in a bus next time so everyone can drink.

GCM: You seem to be hitting the Northern US and Canada right at the worst time possible – sloppy, cold, and wet weather means slippery roads and ugly scenery. Have you had a chance to get out of the bus and check out the sights and sounds of the cities you visit?

AIRBOURNE: Nah we haven’t really seen anything on this tour except a lot of venues. We've seen a lot of mountains and stuff like that on the drives but we don't really get any time to check stuff out. We hang out and have a few drinks at bars whenever we get the chance.

GCM: What has been the favorite North American spot so far?

AIRBOURNE: Our favorite place in North America that we've played is Baltimore; we have played there twice now. The local radio station has been really supportive and has been playing the record flat out so the two shows were sold out and they were wild. They were packed and the crowd went crazy.

GCM: Have you guys come across any US or Canadian bands that have grabbed you interest so far on the tour?

AIRBOURNE: The two bands that we are on tour with Stonerider and Endeverafter are both great. We really wanted the whole night to be about rock and roll and both these bands rock. They really get the crowd going and we get to see two great bands before we play.

GCM: What bands do you guys listen to while on the road?

AIRBOURNE: On the road we listen to Kix, Cinderella, Maiden, Motorhead and rockin’ country tunes. We have a satellite radio so we listen to the classic rock station a lot.

GCM: So, what’s the band’s favorite brand of beer? Are you guys into sampling local beers, or do you stick with commercial brands?

AIRBOURNE: The band’s favorite beer is VB Victoria Bitter, that’s an Australian beer made in Melbourne but you cant get it here. We love trying local beers and we usually get something different everywhere we go. We really like Yuengling from Philadelphia.

GCM: I’ll be honest in saying that you are the first band I have ever interviewed that mentioned Billy Thorpe as an influence. We Americans have only really known Billy Thorpe as the one-hit wonder behind the amazing 70’s jam Children of the Sun – but he’s a veritable legend Down Under with his work with his band the Aztecs, the television show, his solo albums, and film scores. Did you guys get a chance to hang with Billy before his untimely passing last year?

AIRBOURNE: No, we didn't get to meet Thorpy or see him play, we've been kicking ourselves ever since. He was one of the first to play the Aussie Pub Rock sound; he pretty much started it all. He is a legend in Australia and he is greatly missed.

GCM: OK, GCM is a gaming site, so we really should talk about the games. Airbourne is featured in a number of recent and upcoming videogames – a number of them being high profile releases like Madden, Tony Hawk, and Grand Theft Auto IV. That is an incredible amount of international exposure for a handful of longhaired Australian rockers – how did Airbourne get hooked into the gaming world, and has the added exposure seemed to be opening doors for you guys?

AIRBOURNE: Electronic Arts wanted one of our songs in Madden NFL 2008 but I guess they liked us so much that one wasn't enough, were on like 8 or 9 EA games now, which is awesome. We love the guys at EA; they come down to all the shows around their area and always rock out and party on with us after the show. The exposure we get from the games is great, some of them sell millions of copies and that means millions of people are listening to our song. We have a lot of people coming to the shows telling us they heard us on a game.

GCM: What video games (if any) do you guys play on the road?

AIRBOURNE: We don’t have as much time as we’d like to play video games on the road but we have a BIG collection for when were at home. Medal Of Honor, Call Of Duty; lots of military first person shooter games.

GCM: I should let you guys get your eyes back on the road and finish up this tour. We want to thank you for taking a few moments to chat with us, and we look forward to hearing more from you guys in the future. In the meantime, have a great tour, stay out of trouble (or not), and try to keep that hearing intact – I hear you guys like to play a little on the loud side!

Thanks again guys.

You can also get more info about Airbourne, find tour dates, and purchase music and T-Shirts at their official website or get more info about the band on Airbourne's MySpace page.