Background and career
Aaron Richard Bruno (born November 11, 1978) is an American musician who is the founder, lead singer and last remaining original member of Awolnation. He is also the vocalist of the hardcore band The Barbarians of California, along with other members of Awolnation. He is a former member of the indie rock band Under the Influence of Giants, the post-grunge band Home Town Hero, and the post-hardcore band Insurgence.
Bruno was born and raised in Westlake Village, a city west 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" (Absent With Out Leave) for leaving parties early and used this nickname in rap battles. Bruno failed his Spanish I class second 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. Bruno 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.
Bruno was a member of the punk band Ice Monkeys with Drew Stewart, Jon Monroy and Dan Fowler while in high school. Stewart, Monroy and Bruno later formed Insurgence, a punk band, when Bruno was in high school.
In December 1999, Bruno and Stewart started a new band under the name Home Town Hero with drummer Ray Blanco and bassist Todd Burnes. Bruno was credited under the name "Blues" on the group's first project, a demo CD titled Blues Tex Vince Hunter. The group 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. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2006.
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.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
