Aaron Bruno
| Aaron Bruno | |
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_performing_at_The_Library_Institute_Birmingham_28-05-2014_2014-05-29_01-10.jpg)
Aaron Bruno (foreground) performing at The Library Institute Birmingham in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Aaron Richard Bruno |
| Also known as | AWOL |
| Born |
November 11, 1978 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, songwriter |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Red Bull, Island Def Jam, Maverick |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | awolnationmusic |
Aaron Richard Bruno (born November 11, 1978) is an American rock musician who is best known as the founder and lead singer of Awolnation. He is a former member of the post-grunge band Home Town Hero, the indie-pop group Under the Influence of Giants, and Insurgence.
Bruno was born and raised in Westlake Village, a city just north of Los Angeles. He started playing guitar before he was 10 years old. He was diagnosed with Attention deficit disorder in high school. During high school Bruno was nicknamed "AWOL" for leaving parties early and used this nickname in rap battles.
Bruno failed his Spanish I class Sophomore year of high school. It was during his time retaking the class in summer school where he would meet lifelong friend Drew Stewart. Bruno and Stewart immediately hit it off after realizing they had the same birthday and liked the same type of music.
Bruno briefly attended Moorpark Community College but dropped out after taking only two classes. Aaron says he attempted to go to college to please his parents, but after realizing he was paying his own money to take the classes, started skipping to go surfing and record and rehearse with his band at the time, then ultimately dropped out. He still believes school is a great tool for people who don't know what they want out of life yet.
Bruno was a member of the punk band Ice Monkeys with Drew Stewart while in high school. Stewart and Bruno later formed Insurgence, a punk band, when Bruno was in high school.
Bruno and Stewart formed the punk band Home Town Hero with Todd Burnes and Ray Blanco and signed with Maverick Records in 2001. The band toured with several acts, including Stone Temple Pilots and Linkin Park, before they were dropped by their label after trashing a stage and after Bruno refused to shoot a video with a label-provided director. Home Town Hero disbanded in 2004.
After Home Town Hero disbanded, Bruno formed Under the Influence of Giants and signed with Island Def Jam.
Bruno continued to write music. He created the song "Sail" in 2010 as part of AWOLNATION's first EP, Back From Earth. "Sail" would hit #5 on the U.S Billboard Alternative Songs chart, going sextuple platinum in America and double platinum in Canada. In 2011 the album Megalithic Symphony was released. In March 2015, AWOLNATION released their second album, entitled "Run". Bruno, with some help from his engineer, recorded the entirety of the new album by himself, doing not only the vocals but also the instrumentals and the writing for the new release.
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