They exploded across Australia’s music media five years ago after signing a five album deal with Capital records rumoured to be worth over two million bucks. Since then Warrnambool expat’s Airbourne have ground out a career for themselves in Australia and now overseas. They survived their culling from Capital records and the initial difficulty they had making inroads with Australian radio.

Now, with the release of their second long player, No Guts, No Glory, the Aussie pub rock champions seem to be on a good wicket. With the ink on a new international record deal with Roadrunner drying and sell-out crowds waiting for them in several European countries, the band look set to make good on their promising start.

RedHotPie caught up with Airbourne drummer Ryan O’Keefe as he cut through Finnish ice on a ferry en route to another European date, one of many on their current world tour.

(RHP)G’day Ryan, where are you mate?

(Ryan O’Keefe) We’re in Finland, it’s snowing, and we’re on a ferry and we’ve be breaking through ice drifts all night!

It’d be a bit of a shock to the system coming from such a warm climate I guess

Mate if you hear me coughing throughout the interview you’ll know why (coughs and laughs)

So where are you guys in the current tour?

Well in Europe things kicked off on the 22nd of February but prior to that we did two weeks in Canada with Motley Crue but yeah, the official Airbourne No Guts No Glory tour kicked off on the 22nd of Feb, well I guess it kind of kicked off with Motley Crue as well you know.
br> And how are things going, apart from the sniffles

Good yeah, really good, the shows have been packed out every night, We’ve got a semi-trailer out here with us, the shows are getting bigger, we’ve got 6,000 in Paris coming up, we’ve got 5,000 in London so we’re just pushing onwards and upwards and were making sure we can bring the best possible show we can every night.

Do you think you should be doing better in Australia when you consider how well you’re travelling overseas?
br> Well Australia’s picking up now, with No Guts, the radio stations are all playing it, which is great, so it looks like in October we’ll be coming back.

It’s strange, while pub rock is considered overseas to be the classic Australian sound, radio stations back here don’t really play much of it, do you think that’s hindered you guys much?

Well I think maybe it just needed to go to sleep for a little while, to make people realise how loved it actually is, I think it has, but it never went away, not in our lives, not in a lot of people’s live in Australia. Yeah I think it’s coming back and I think a lot more bands are starting to play it again and obviously we love playing it.

You guys see people loving pub rock at every show and it’s obviously still a big part of our culture, but the radio stations and music directors have been off contemporary pub rock for years, is that a bit weird?

Yeah it’s very interesting that isn’t it, especially when we toured Australia night after night and people were just refreshed you know, that fact that they were getting to listen to some good old Aussie pub rock ‘n’ roll. So fingers crossed the trend does turn.

Well having AC/DC out recently helped that some no doubt, do you guys still have the AccaDacca tag thrown at you?

Here and there but at the end of the day it’s an accurate comparison, we all grew up on AC/DC, we are an Aussie Pub rock band and AC/DC and The Angels and Billy Thorpe and Cold Chisel, they’re all the bands that we love and still love.

Have you ever had the chance to play with AC/DC?

No, when they started doing the Black Ice tour we were working on the record so we weren’t able to pitch for that, but yeah man, we’d love to tour with AC/DC.

Have you got the Phil Rudd ciggie in the mouth groove down?

(Laughs) Nah, nah, nah, I think it’d take a helluva long time to get that beat right.

Now did I hear one of your old stomping grounds in your home town of Warrnambool burnt down recently?

Yeah, the Criterion Hotel, yeah I think they said the top floor had been gutted, i think it was some kids playing around in there.

What sort of link did you guys have to the Criterion?

Oh man, that’s where we played our first shows at the Criterion Hotel, it’s also where we spent the first six months of 2009 working on songs for No Guts No Glory. Yeah, we had the keys to the pub

Do you guys get back to the Bool much?

Yeah well, it was really just that writing period, not really I mean we’ll be out on the road for two years with No Guts No Glory and there’ll be pockets of touring out in Australia as well you know.

Are you guys based in Melbourne when you’re in Australia?

Yeah Melbourne, head down to Warni sometimes, just where ever we end up you know, I mean we don’t own houses or anything given the rich budget the band operates on (laughs.) We just find mate’s couches, it’s alright.

Now it wasn’t that long ago you fellas were coming up through the Warrnambool ranks, now on paper you guys look like an overnight success, is that a fair comment or not?

Not really, no, I mean my brother Joel and I started when I was 11, our first show was when I was 13, from when I was about 15 we started taking it seriously, touring a lot. So if we go from when I was fifteen, that’s excluding the four years prior, if I’m 23 that means we’ve been doing it 8 years.

So it’s hardly overnight

Not really, but in the world’s eyes, fair enough you know, it’s obviously pretty hard to get over here and tour so luckily we were embraced when we first came over, the shows have grown organically.

As you said earlier it’s been a slow grind in Australia, but was it different overseas? Were you embraced straight away by those markets?

Yeah, yeah, the show being what it is now helps a lot, I mean we can walk into a venue and not be surprised that’s it’s a 3,500 head room filled to capacity you know. It’s kind of strange when that’s the case when we used to build a whole six months of a 900 capacity show in Australia, we’d be all excited and you know, build a tour around playing at the corner in Melbourne or something.

But now we’re overseas, it’s just a day to day thing, it’s insane but it’s also something we hold very dear to our hearts. That’s why we’ve got a semi trailer with us, it’s why we’re throwing every last cent we have at the show to make it that much better every night and we’ll continue to do so as long as our fans keep coming to the shows.

And to help the business side of things I hear you’ve just inked a new international deal with Roadrunner records.

Yeah Roadrunner will be releasing the first record as well as this one worldwide and when we were leaving Emi they gave us our album back and they sort of said if you could keep one of our smaller brothers in Australia then that would be great, so we did, EMI Australia have been great, they’ve worked really hard building the band, it’s been good.

And what will Roadrunner be bringing to the table?

We basically it’s going to be a huge worldwide release, everything from German vinyl to a lot of tours and a lot of things like that and Roadrunner and just really getting behind it worldwide.

Do you think you’re entering a period of stability on the label side of things?

Yeah I guess so, I mean the more you achieve the more that’s the case I would imagine, yeah I definitely think so. It’s good to be able to work on the second album with the label because as you’d know there’s a lot more understanding of the band.

So on the material front, the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll charter that the band is so well known for, how much do you live it and how much of it is just for show?

Well hence the cough throughout this whole interview mate I’d say I’m bloody well living it (laughs then coughs, and then laughs.) We were on a ferry last night drinking way too much but you know, everything in moderation including moderation itself. We never want to ruin anyone’s show and we’ll never let it ruin an Airbourne show because the shows are so very important but it’s also important to have a good time.

Very Important

So you only get to live once and we make sure we do, so yeah the saying I live by is everything in moderation including moderation itself

Have you come across any bands out on the road that you couldn’t keep up with on the partying front?

Well, probably just the one man, Lemmy, he just outdoes everyone.

When was your last encounter with Lemmy?

I guess it would have been touring in Europe last time, we did some shows over here at the end of 2008 and it’s just always great to be out with the great man and it’s always amazing to see him consistently delivering the Motorhead show.

And I suppose he delivers at the after parties as well does he?

He absolutely does! He’s still got the chicks hanging off him, it’s great.

Well sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, in order, which do you love the most?

Well i always like to say sex, rock ‘n’ roll and alcohol, I mean I don’t mind having a toke on a doobie every now and then as we all do, each to their own, or when in Amsterdam, but basically it’s gotta be rock ‘n’ roll for sure, absolutely.

The others can battle it out for second and third eh?

Yeah, and they definitely do fight it out I can tell ya!