Airbourne
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Airbourne

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After tracking down the band during a Canadian sojourn, just before they set off to Europe, I spoke to bassist Justin Street about life on the road, the risks of the rock‘n’roll lifestyle, and the recording process that resulted in Black Dog Barking.

“We worked on one song at a time during preproduction, where we would take each song apart and look at every single little bit,” Streety recalls. “Then we would record almost everything before we would start the next song. We also had a lot more time to write the songs, but not much time to record them. We had about 40 songs written before we got to the studio.”

With the success of previous albums Runnin’ Wild and No Guts. No Glory taking Airbourne across the globe for choice support slots, festival appearances and their own headline tours, the wordly experiences have worked their way into the fabric of Black Dog Barking – whether it be in the form of lyrical content or simply riffs discovered along the way. “The songs are about things that happened on the road and a lot of the riffs come from jamming at sound check. You’re influenced by what you experience in life, and our life has been touring for the last eight years.”

Nailing the hard rock formula on Black Dog Barking, the album showcases fist-raised riff action and belter chorus scream-alongs. I put the question to Streety – which is more important, the riff or the chorus?

“It’s all about the riff,” he answers. “A good chorus comes from a good riff, and should be sung over a good riff.”

In those eight years, the band have performed for countless thousands while spreading the good word of rock‘n’roll. Rising from regional Victoria, the band have realised the rock‘n’roll dream. But is it all that it’s cracked up to be? “We get to play rock‘n’roll to thousands of people all over the world,” Streety grins. “We wanted to play music and travel the world, and that’s what we are doing. There are a lot more boring bits than I thought there would be, but I’m not complaining.”

Though every show, whether intimate or grand, showcases the mightiest of rock‘n’roll majesty, Streety recalls his favourite onstage moment. “That would have to be headlining Waken in 2011. It was a massive crowd – about 90,000, I think – and they were all loving it. We had the most lights and amps we have ever had, and we had a big ramp to run around on. It was epic.”

As to why rock‘n’roll still resonates with so much power, Streety is philosophical. “It is a powerful thing it takes people out of their world of work and worries and makes them head bang, raise a fist and scream their lungs out.”

Though they’ve clocked up appearances in a multitude of continents, Airbourne still relish the chance to perform in their homeland. “The most insane crowds we have ever had have been in Australia,” Streety proclaims. “They love to get on the stage rock out a bit and stage dive, they just go fuckin’ crazy.”

Their impending return to Australia will also mark their first hometown performance in quite a while. As Streety exhibits, you can take the boys out of Warrny but you can’t take the Warrny out of the boys. “[Warrnambool]’s great. It’s good to chill out there, go to the beach, see the parents and hang out with old friends. I can’t wait to play there again its been about five years it’s going to be wild.”

Those who have seen Airbourne in the wild know that frontman Joel O’Keefe is partial to a bit of beer-smashing, scaffold-climbing action. But don’t expect to see him play it safe any time in the near future. “He hasn’t toned it down a bit, we do get a bit worried for him because if he falls he is dead, that’s it,” Streety rationalises in a typically no-nonsense manner. “No two ways about it.”

BY LACHLAN KANONIUK