Bringing The Message Home With JOEL O'KEEFFE From AIRBOURNE

Interview by Kris Peters
Australia's hardest working rock outfit Airbourne are the official supporting act for Guns N' Roses across the Australia and New Zealand leg of their World Tour. This high-voltage stadium tour pairs two generations of fierce rock icons.
Hailing from Warrnambool, Victoria, Airbourne was formed by brothers Joel and Ryan O'Keeffe and are a seamless fit for the legendary Los Angeles band. Airbourne has spent decades carrying the torch for raw, traditional Australian hard rock. Their straight-ahead rock 'n' roll style is heavily reminiscent of pub-rock pioneers like AC/DC, slotting comfortably alongside Guns N’ Roses' multi-platinum, stadium-sized catalogue.
The stadium series of shows brings out the principal star power of Guns N' Roses, with original members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan completely committed to the line-up, promising a blending of classic anthems like Sweet Child O' Mine and Welcome to the Jungle, mixed with fresh, contrasting modern tracks Atlas and Nothin'.
Airbourne acts as the perfect match to ignite the stadium environment. Frontman Joel O’Keeffe is legendary for his reckless live antics, which include climbing high stage scaffolding and tearing through blazing guitar solos. Criminally more popular overseas than in their own back yard, this upcoming tour will hopefully help Airbourne gain wider acceptance where it matters.
At home.
HEAVY caught up with Joel to talk about the tour and the excitement of sharing the stage with Guns 'N Roses.
"We're coming back to tour Australia!" he enthused, "And we are very excited because one of our favorite bands of all time - Guns N' Roses - has decided to take us with them! So we're going all around Australia and it's gonna be a blast. In the world that we live in today you've got everyone attached to their phones, or you got to go to work tomorrow. We're always thinking about the future; thinking about the past, chained to this; chained to that. This is the opportunity to literally live right in the present and rock and just be purely free. No phone. No job. Nothing but beers and Guns 'N Roses. What gets better than that?"
In the full interview, Joel talked more about the upcoming tour and what it means to Airbourne to be playing. He described role as openers and the expectations on the band, as well as the potential for learning by watching one of the worlds best in action.
We talked about Airbourne's live show and what to expect, including his own high energy performances. Airbourne's recently released new single was spoken about, as was their upcoming album and what to expect. Joel went deeper into how the album respects the life and legacy of Lemmy Kilmeister and more.


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