This past June, US Air Guitar boarded a (rather expensive) tour bus, loaded the air-gear, and took to the road for their first National Tour, spanning 14 cities across the country. MC’d by journeyman/star of the theatrical movie Air Guitar Nation/THE Ambassador Of Air, BJORN TUROQUE, and with the support of TouchTunes, the Tour brought out an unprecedented line-up of virtual virtuosos both seasoned and new. In its 5th year, with more US cities and sold-out shows than ever before – and with a two-year losing streak at the World Championships – US Air Guitar is hopeful that on August 16, THE US AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIP in New York City will spawn the US Champion who can turn things around in the 2007 Air Guitar World Championships in Finland this September.
Before a sold-out Bowery Ballroom audience in June 2006, San Francisco Regional Champion HOTT LIXX HULAHAN became the 4th US Air Guitar National Champion. With near-perfect scores in the compulsory round, he defeated a formidable array of talent from across the country, including defending National Champion THE ROCKNESS MONSTER and the raw talent of New York’s WILLIAM OCEAN. For those who were not in attendance that night, let’s just say that amidst a scoring controversy, the judges, crowd members, and fellow contestants alike were all clamoring for a sudden death Air-Off between the eventual champion, Hot Lixx Hulahan, and the local NY hero, William Ocean. Well, they will all get their collective wish. William Ocean repeated as New York City’s Regional Champion, and has arch rival Hot Lixx Hulahan in the crosshairs in 2007.
The tour kicked off in Washington DC to a sold-out show of over 1200 people at the 9:30 Club, where a (oh, how do we put this) seasoned veteran known simply as THE SHRED brought the house down with moves he must have learned watching American Bandstand or at various sock-hops, we’re guessing. Frankly, we were just glad he didn’t break a hip ;) The tour wrapped up on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, where perennial LA champion and 2005 US Champ The Rockness Monster narrowly edged out what was probably the single greatest display of talent in a Regional event thus far. In this, his 3rd US Finals appearance, “Rockness” has vowed to wipe last year’s Finals disappointment off the books and reassert himself as the nation’s preeminent Air Guitar powerhouse.
But in 2007, the veterans of Air Guitar will not be alone in their quests for greatness. News of the 2007 Tour spread like wildfire over the last few months, bringing out of the woodworks a very promising array of Air Guitar hopefuls from all over America. Chicago Champion and upstart young-gun SKEETY JONES is, by all accounts, the real deal. By bringing a whole new level of style and flow to Air Guitar, “Skeety” dethroned The Windy City’s popular incumbent NORDIC THUNDER. Boston’s McNALLICA brought the thunder on a muggy New England night to become the greatest female contender since 2004’S US and World Air Guitar Champion, SONYKROK. USAG headed south in 2007, and at a truck stop along the way, we found a pair of identical twins known as STRYKER and BIG RIG, who took top honors in Dallas and Houston, respectively; no doubt, a proud moment for the entire family. San Francisco’s regional champion won the whole thing last year, and this year’s representative looks to do the same. And with a name like RICKY STINKFINGERS who’s bold enough to doubt him?
In short, the 2007 Air Guitar Tour was chock full of wild misadventure. Air was shred, scores were given, hearts were broken, dreams fulfilled, and the Gods of Rock looked favorably upon all the land.
2007 US FINALISTS
Team USA would like to congratulate all the Regional Champions, and the defending National Champ, for representing their cities and our nation with dignity and "airness." Below is a list of the 2007 Regional Champions, all of whom will be flown to New York City for the US Finals
on August 16:
Washington DC • Lance "The Shred" Kasten
New York City • Andrew "William Ocean" Litz
Boston • Erin "McNallica" McNally
Cleveland • Garth "Chuck Mung" Donald
Columbus • Dave "Derek Not-So-Smalls" Weissman
Chicago • Leldon Omar "Skeety Jones" De La Cruz
Minneapolis • Cami "Airisol" Phillippi
Dallas • Ryan "Stryker" Strecker
Austin • Arthur "Gentleman Joe" Simone
Houston • Randy "Big Rig" Layman
New Orleans • Preston "The Ultimate Loser" Kuhn
San Jose • Kurt "Shred Nugent" Brown
San Francisco • Alex "Ricky Stinkfingers" Forbes
Los Angeles • Fatima "Rockness Fucking Monster" Hoang
2006’s US Champion: Craig ‘Hott Lixx Hulahan’ Billmeier
One person from The US Finals on Aug 16 will be crowned the 2007 US Air Guitar Champion, and will be sent to Oulu, Finland in Septmber to represent America and vie for the international title of 2007’s World Air Guitar Champion.
THE MOVIE
AIR GUITAR NATION Set To Be Released on DVD Aug 28
Exclusive presale at the US Finals on August 16th.
On August 28, the highly acclaimed AIR GUITAR NATION arrives for its DVD encore. After storming 100+ markets across the country, the tour-ready release includes the original hilarious documentary in 5.1 Surround Sound, plus bonus features including never-before-seen deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, additional air guitar performances, "Where Are They Now" updates, and more. It will be available nationwide for $26.95srp, wherever DVDs are sold and online at docurama.com.
"Air + Guitar = Genius. On a scale of zero to seven, we give it an eleven."
David Ansen, Newsweek
ABOUT THE US AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIPS
In a time when US military and economic leadership faces unprecedented criticism around the world, it is our belief that air guitar represents one human endeavor that our country can dominate without controversy. The US Air Guitar Championships is here to make this possible. Founded in 2003, US Air Guitar is the official Air Guitar Association of the United States and is responsible for operating the US Air Guitar Championships, official Regional events, and specialized championships. US Air Guitar is devoted to taking our nation's unofficial pastime out of the bedroom and putting it up on the world stage. US Air Guitar is an official member of the World Air Guitar Association. Entering its fifth year in the US and its eleventh year world-wide, official national championships currently are held in the USA, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United Arab Emirates, with more countries participating every year. The 2007 Air Guitar World Championships will take place this September 5-7 in Oulu, Finland.
THE COMPETITION
All 14 Regional city winners, and defending champ Hot Lixx Hulahan, will be brought to New York City to compete in the US Air Guitar Finals on August 16 for the crown of US Air Guitar Champion. The 2007 US Champ will then be sent to Oulu, Finland in early September to represent the USA in the World Championships, where he or she will compete against the national winners from countries around the world. The US Finals will consist of two rounds. In Round 1, each competitor performs to a song of their own choosing. In Round 2, the top competitors from Round 1 perform to a surprise compulsory song. In each round, contestants perform for one minute of a song and are judged on a combination of technical merit, stage presence, and “airness." All guitars must be invisible. The jury is a panel of independent judges that are hand picked by US Air Guitar. The results of the jury cannot be protested.
2007 USAG SPONSOR
TouchTunes provides the "ultimate music experience" by delivering the best-in-class combination of easy-to-use technology and an unsurpassed music library. TouchTunes' industry-leading online network of digital jukeboxes in bars, restaurants, and other establishments throughout North America is the industry's largest, more than 2.5 times the size of the nearest competitor. To date, over 1.6 billion songs have been played on its interactive digital jukebox network. A TouchTunes digital jukebox was installed at every US Air Guitar competition, where the company offered demos and free plays to audience members, including songs from the official US Air Guitar playlist.
http://www.TouchTunes.com/
2007 USAG PARTNER
GMG Entertainment creates and executes entertainment-based ideas and experiences that benefit consumers, media partners and brands alike. GMG fuels each idea with the vision and complete implementation desired by partners and demanded by consumers. Blending the creative-side of the business world and the business-side of the creative world, GMG lives at the intersection of entertainment, marketing and media.
www.GMG-Entertainment.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION
US Air Guitar official website: www.USAirGuitar.com
To view and/or embed some fresh Air Guitar video, visit: http://www.youtube.com/USAG2007
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