AIRBOURNE's Joel O'Keefe - "AC/DC

AIRBOURNE's Joel O'Keefe - "AC/DC Is Probably The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World"

Chartattack.com spoke to AIRBOURNE singer/guitarist Joel O'Keefe recently about a number of topics including their new album, Runnin' Wild due out in North America on January 29th via Roadrunner. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

www.Chartattack.com: There are going to be a lot of AC/DC comparisons when Runnin' Wild comes out. Is there any pressure on you guys?
O'Keefe: "AC/DC is probably the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world, well definitely to come out of Australia anyway. We're an Aussie pub rock band. ROSE TATTOO, AC/DC, THE ANGELS, or ANGEL CITY, I think it was called overseas. AC/DC was the biggest one to get out of Australia, that's [the sound] that used to come out of Australia. But it's been like 10 or even 20 years since there's been a band with a similar sound to ours to come out of there. The last one was called The Poor. Yeah, we wear our influences on our sleeves, but at the end of the day it's all about rock 'n' roll and it's all about a good time. I don't think we've got any shoes to fill. I don't think we're 30 years to late. I think we've still got that newer sound, quite harder and faster, a bit more like MOTÖRHEAD."

www.Chartattack.com: You guys toured with Motörhead in Australia. Did you get to meet Lemmy?
O'Keefe: "He was at the side of the stage when we came off at a couple of shows and he said he really liked us and I was like, he's a god of rock 'n' roll. If he likes your band then you're doing something right. If Lemmy says it, then that's it."

www.Chartattack.com: You also toured with The Rolling Stones. How was that?
O'Keefe: "They're probably like the biggest band in the world, but they're just the nicest bunch of guys. The security didn't even care. Whereas with MÖTLEY CRÜE it was the other way around. We weren't allowed to go near Motley Crue. The closest we got was Tommy Lee dancing around to hip-hop backstage (laughs), which is not very Mötley Crüe at all."

Read more here.