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[Paul Jones <pjones AT metalab.unc.edu>]

http://www.salon.com/people/wire/2002/08/24/air_guitar/index.html

Briton wins world air guitar crown

By Matti Huuhtanen

Aug. 24, 2002  |  OULU, Finland (AP) --

Zac Monro played a mean guitar as he jumped on an outdoor stage in 
northern Finland, but he didn't even strike a chord.

As the red sun set behind the dark fir trees, he changed tactics and 
rolled on his back while thrashing madly with his hands -- enough to give 
him the Air Guitar World Champion title for a second straight year.

Monro, a 32-year-old architect from Brixton, London -- also known by his 
stage name "Mr. Magnet" -- was one of 12 finalists in the three-day 
contest with competitors from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, the 
United States, Norway and Austria.

Some 3,500 spectators cheered, clapped and whistled in the balmy summer 
night on the outskirts of this Baltic port city, 600 kilometers (370 
miles) north of the capital, Helsinki, egging on the long-haired artists 
in masks, headbands and bright, skintight pants.

The contestants each mimed a minute-long excerpt from a rock piece of 
their choosing, followed by a mandatory performance of part of "Last 
Night," by The Strokes, a New York rock group.

The seventh Air Guitar World Championship is one of several zany events 
the Finns arrange in the summer, which include a cell phone throwing 
contest, boot throwing, wife carrying and mosquito swatting.

Pieces chosen by competitors were mostly heavy rock numbers by Kiss, 
Motley Crue, Motorhead and Lenny Kravitz, but organizers kept the 
mandatory song a close secret until the last round of the competition 
began late Friday.

The air in Oulu was full of expletives, the beer flowed freely and people 
partied into the early hours of the morning in a seaside concert park on 
the island.

Not a single guitar string was seen on stage until Monro was named the 
winner of the first prize and he was handed a handmade guitar known as a 
"Flying Finn" worth some 2,000 euros (dlrs 2,000).

He won the same prize last year and said he could now think about forming 
a group. "I understand that a band needs two guitars, a lead and a rhythm, 
so I now have half a band."

But for Monro, playing air guitar -- which he has only done for a year 
since discovering the competition in Oulu last year -- is much more than 
about prizes.

"There's a purity to playing air guitar," he said. "It's a zen thing."

For the first time, some countries, including Australia and New Zealand, 
held preliminary rounds this year before sending national winners to this 
seventh international contest in Oulu.

Two judges, including Juha Torvinen, a Finnish rock musician, graded the 
performers on a scale from 4.0 to 6.0 points.

"The standard was very much higher this year," Torvinen said. "We look for 
spontaneity and improvisation, and we certainly got that. The compulsory 
piece is the one that usually brings out the true artist."

Mr. Magnet scratched up almost full marks with a double set of 5.9 points 
for his convincing performance of "Last Night."

Sharing second place were Toby "The Tobanator" Peneha, from Hastings, New 
Zealand, and Andrew "Air Raid" Buckles of Nova Scotia, Canada.

David "Super Dave" Williams, the national champion from Sydney, Australia, 
who failed to make the top three, was accompanied to Finland by a loud 
group of fans who waved Australian flags.

"Naturally, I would have liked to win, but this has been such great fun. 
I'm enjoying myself tremendously," Williams said. "I've been playing air 
guitar since I was a young kid, and am not going to stop now.

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                             Paul Jones
                    "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
http://www.ibiblio.org/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As MetaLab.unc.edu
  pjones AT ibiblio.org   voice: (919) 962-7600     fax: (919) 962-8071
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