Awol On The Wild Side

It’s a scorcher of a day in London and Aaron Bruno, mastermind behind Awolnation is concerned for my comfort. Would I like a soda? Some water? Is my chair in the shade?

The manners seem the result of parental, not media, training. The humility, however, was learnt the hard way. Released in 2011 Awolnation’s debut, Megalithic Symphony, has been a critical and commercial success after ten years of him failing to make an impression. At 21, his band, Home Town Hero, signed a deal and Bruno was going to be a rock star.
“I butted heads with the president of the label. I was a cocky young kid – I thought I was the best. We were on tour with this band and they were really rude to us. One night we drank a lot and it was the first time anyone in the band had taken any pills so everyone was high as a kite and we trashed the stage. I’d always wanted to smash my guitar, like my heroes The Clash and Nirvana.
“Right away we got kicked off the tour, a month later we got dropped from the label. From then on we were damaged goods – ‘Aaron Bruno is difficult.’ I would hear my name and ‘difficult’ was always attached to it.”
The bad reputation dogged Bruno through his next band, Under The Influence Of Giants.
“We were known as dicks, as difficult and cocky and arrogant. It was very humbling to learn that everyone thinks that of you. We signed to Island Def Jam and when MTV played the video, we thought we were going to be rich! But no radio stations played us and we got dropped from that label too. At that stage I was about 27 and I’d been dropped by two labels.”
By 30, Bruno was working in a restaurant, couch surfing and relying on the kindness of family and friends.
“With this record I was so vulnerable emotionally. I’d hit rock bottom and this is sort of, metaphorically, a journal of my life. I was scratching by and borrowing to pay for food, but I had enough people in my life that were really supportive of what I was doing. In my family there’s a lot of love and my girlfriend really believed in me and we started dating when I had nothing. She paid for dinner and as a man it was slightly embarrassing and emasculating. Half of me was really depressed and scared because of what my life had become as an adult male and half of me felt like a kid again starting over.”
Down and out, Bruno rediscovered the punk rock ethos that had originally driven Home Town Hero.
“I got lost along the way – the idea of major labels and making money, and MTV and being a rock star. I was disgusted with myself. This time around I was, ‘Fuck that!’ I’ll do my own thing and express myself truly.’ When I wrote those songs I just wanted to make a record I could feel proud of.”
These days, he says, he’s “very anti-rock star.” He lives in the suburbs north of Hollywood but avoids the party scene.
“I’m pretty good at not going to the cool parties, you know that Kanye West and Jamie Foxx are at with the cast of some horrible reality show like The Hills. I would have loved that when I was younger. I was insecure. It made me want to have worthless relationships with multiple girls, and drink and do different drugs. I felt that because of my failure that if I lived the rock star lifestyle it validated me. It’s not my proudest moment.
“Somebody asked me what it was like to eat off a golden spoon and be able to hang out with models and actors and politicians. I don’t do that. I think it’s interesting that musicians hang out with politicians and world leaders. I’d never do that. Politics are disgraceful.”
So no Bono antics in future?
“Don’t get me started on Bono! I loved U2 but now when they come on the radio I change the station. I can’t even listen to their old music. Sorry about that – Ireland is going to hate me now!”