Air Guitar Hero
This should give you a good idea of the sort of people I hang out with.
We have quite a few excellent air guitarists in my circle of friends. Two of whom, “The Justins”, definitely stand out from the group as true masters of their craft, but it was just one half of “The Justins”, now going by the name “Nordic Thunder”, that has recently taken his air guitar to new heights, attempting to actually earn himself a title in this overlooked artform.
First, some background. Air guitar shows are a pretty common form of entertainment when our group gets together, often with the Justins playing off each other, and the results are always incredible. Where the Justins differ from any other drunk air guitarist, though, lies mostly in performance and expression. You have to watch the faces. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen, real instruments or not, was a night during which the Justins treated us to nearly a full Iron Maiden set. I forgot which song they were on, but Nordic Thunder was REALLY playing to the audience, namely Bonnie and I, and somehow managed to literally blow a knee mid-thrash. He finished the song on his back, but later required a visit to the emergency room. Nordic Thunder was on a crutch for weeks…from an air guitar injury. I had seen Nordic Thunder give a couple half-hearted air guitar performances since, but I figured his serious shredding days were over.
This was until I received a phone call from him a week or so ago.
Apparently the US Air Guitar Championships were holding a regional contest in Chicago, where Nordic Thunder currently attends film school. He was going to enter. I thought it was a great idea, but had basically completely forgotten about it until I showed up at the dudes’ house several days later and they informed me that he had actually won the regional contest, winning himself an all expenses paid trip to New York for the nationals. I wish I could have seen the performance, but the judges LOVED it, and apparently so did the audience (I mean, there’s MONEY in his loin cloth for fuck’s sake). I think he has a pretty good shot at the nationals, which will take him all the way to Finland for the world championship.
The performances last for 60 seconds, and his song was a Dragon Force cut that netted him an almost perfect score from the judges. In the second round, the judges picked a song (a Bon Jovi song he had never heard before), on which he scored a perfect 6-6-6.
Definitely check out his myspace page, and help support Nordic Thunder’s world conquest.
May 28th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
I can’t wait for Howard to do the talk show circuit if he wins, and c’mon, it’s fucking Howard, OF COURSE he’s going to win.
May 28th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
Holy crap.
May 31st, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Of course he will win!! What more could you expect from the most amazing rocker ever!!!!