Aaron Richard Bruno (born November 11, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist, 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 rock band 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 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.