AIRBOURNE Frontman On Touring With Heavier Bands, Constant Comparisons To AC/DC

September 3, 2008

MetalSucks conducted an interview with AIRBOURNE lead singer/guitarist Joel O'Keefe at the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival stop at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York. O'Keefe shared his thoughts about hard partying on the road, being the only hard rock act on an extreme metal tour, and the constant comparisons the band receives to AC/DC. Excerpts from the interview follow:

MetalSucks: So how's the [Rockstar Mayhem] show aspect of the tour going?

O'Keefe: Oh, it's great. For us it's a different crowd. It's predominantly hardcore metal. It's not something you can walk into without getting your head chopped off. We play hard and every band on the bill is definitely out there playing hard. I think that's the common ground that [the other bands are] finding with us. We don't go out there to fuck around. We go out there to play hard. It's go hard or go home. We're from Australia, and to have a soft day on stage and weaken up a bit, you just let a lot of people down, including yourself. You could get turfed out of the country all the way back home again and never come back. So you've got one chance. You're not a cat with nine lives. You've got one chance to make a kill, and you definitely make sure that you fucking kill that thing to death.

MetalSucks: One last question and we'll let you go. We just want to ask you about AC/DC. You guys get compared to them a lot obviously. Does that make you happy? Or do you wish people would let you have your own identity?

O'Keefe: 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. I could list a thousand bands that I would not want to be compared to. There are a handful that any band does [want to be compared to]. If you get compared to a band like AC/DC or MOTÖRHEAD or ROSE TATTOO or IRON MAIDEN or METALLICA, you can't be doing anything wrong because that's real rock and roll. I think Mick Jagger said it best, "It's only rock and roll but I like it."

To read the rest of this interview, go to www.metalsucks.net.

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