When Brian Johnson started experiencing hearing issues during AC/DC’s Rock or Bust tour in 2016, he had to immediately and unexpectedly come off of the road. The band regrouped and with help from Axl Rose, finished off what had become a chaotic outing. But had circumstances worked out differently, they might have made a more local choice.As Jet vocalist Nic Cester told the UCR Podcast during an interview for an upcoming episode, his hat was very unexpectedly in the ring for the gig. “I’d just arrived back in Australia. I’d been living overseas for a long time,” he says. “We came back for a holiday and I was really jet-lagged. I was reading the newspaper that morning and the front page [had an article that said] Brian Johnson had left AC/DC. I remember that I said to my father-in-law, ‘Jesus, you do not want to be the guy stepping into those shoes.’ Literally 30 minutes later, my phone rang and I was being invited to audition in Atlanta, Georgia.””I just laughed and said, ‘Jesus,'” he recalls. “I didn’t honestly think I’d get the gig, so I thought, I’m just going to go along for the ride. Because what an experience? And I was right. I didn’t get the gig, obviously, but it was a hell of an experience. I got to spend two days singing in a tiny rehearsal studio with AC/DC.What Songs Were Part of the Audition?The Australian singer auditioned and found himself facing a mix of material from Johnson’s era, but also songs from the Bon Scott period. “I knew ‘Back in Black,’ because I’d done it with Muse,” he remembers. I practiced the shit out of ‘Highway to Hell’ and smashed it out of the park. I did ‘Back in Black’ and it was going really well. I thought, ‘I’ve got this in the bag. This is looking good. Then, I did ‘Whole Lotta Rosie,’ which I knew pretty well as well. Then, Angus [Young] started throwing songs at me one after another and another. I think in hindsight, it was absolutely intentional, just to see how I’d react to that kind of pressure. In fact, every single aspect of that audition was orchestrated in a very intentional, purposeful way, just to create pressure and see how I would react.”READ MORE: The Ultimatum AC/DC Gave Axl RoseThough Cester has called the volume in the room “the loudest thing” he’s ever heard in his life, he says the mood in the Black Crowes’ rehearsal studio in Atlanta, where the audition took place was “pretty chill.” It’s something which didn’t surprise him. “I know this might sound cliche or stupid, but the fact that they’re [also] Australian, immediately there was a different kind of [bond],” he explains. “We shared a common ancestry, musically, even. I grew up listening to not only ACDC, but [bands that were in the] DNA of AC/DC, like the Easybeats. AC/DC is part of our culture here, but there’s [also] a lot of bands that [maybe] you’ve never heard of that never made it out of Australia.”Jet Celebrates ‘Get Born,’ Prepares New MusicMore than 20 years after they found worldwide success with their 2003 debut, Get Born, the Australian band has spent the past year revisiting the album in concert. Brimming with singles like the breakout “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” Cold Hard Bitch,” “Rollover DJ” and “Look What You’ve Done,” the group naturally feels nostalgic about the early days they spent making the album here in America at Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound. A special Record Store Day release lands on April 12 featuring rarities and outtakes from Get Born.They’ll launch a U.S. tour May 28 in Montreal and there’s a new album that’s been taking shape as well. They previewed their latest music last fall with a single, “Hurry Hurry,” that’s been in the set list for their recent concerts. But they’re not feeling any pressure when it comes to delivering the new album, which will be their first full-length since 2009’s Shaka Rock. “We’re chipping away at it. I guess there’s no real timeline or deadline, so we thought we’d just rather take our time and get as many songs together as possible,” Cester says. “It’s been a process, because there were a lot of songs already a year ago. But we weren’t really a band then, because we’d been away. I think over the last year, we’ve been playing together and [renewing that bond].”AC/DC Lineup Changes: A Complete GuideGallery Credit: UCR Staff