By DAVID SCHMEICHEL

In the words of the immortal AC/DC, it's a long way to the top if you want to rock 'n' roll.

No one knows that better than fellow Aussie pub-rockers Airbourne. They didn't just ditch their tiny hometown in search of fame and fortune -- they've swapped continents to get even closer to the rock 'n' roll dream.

But to hear frontman Joel O'Keeffe tell it, the band came by their trademark sound (clearly influenced by AC/DC, but also The Angels, Cold Chisel, and The Aztecs) quite by accident, after he and brother Ryan O'Keeffe inherited their uncle's record collection as pre-teens.

"I remember listening to my first Rose Tattoo album and saying, 'F--in' hell! That's it!' "O'Keeffe recalls, in an accent so thick, it's almost indecipherable. "That sound, when you hear it, it just takes you over. It makes you want to punch the nearest guy in the face, but it also makes you want to f-- the nearest chick."

Now, given the legions of legendary rock acts that have hailed from Down Under, you wouldn't think the O'Keeffe brothers would have had much trouble finding friends to share their discovery with.

But as Joel explains, his classmates in Warrnambool (pop:32,000) were too interested in dance-pop and post-grunge to care.

"You feel like a bit of an outcast," says O'Keeffe. "The f--ing teachers at school knew who we were talking about, but the kids didn't."

That all changed once O'Keeffe was introduced to guitarist David Roads -- a workmate from a hotel in town -- and bassist Justin Street, whom Ryan (Airbourne's drummer) met while stumbling home from a party in the Australian dunes.

The four started jamming and soon began driving to Melbourne to play pub gigs. It wasn't long before they'd taken up residence there, landing opening slots for the likes of Motorhead, Motley Crue and the Rolling Stones.

"I don't think they've ever given up on their youth -- they're like 18-year-olds," says O'Keeffe, now 24, of the latter act. "Keith Richards really is Keith Richards. You read about him, and then as soon as he walks into a room, you're like, 'Ahhhh' ... And it's the same with Lemmy from Motorhead. It's like God has just walked into the room, if God was the most masterful rock 'n' roll outlaw who ever lived."