Twenty Air Guitar finalists from 20 cities across the U.S. competed last night at Nashville’s Exit/In, by bringing their best tracks, costumes, creativity, choreography, riff moves, and a whole lot of “AIRNESS.”  After seeing the show, I am absolutely convinced that the air guitar competition is not just a thing –it’s a cultural MOVEMENT of rock enthusiasts who put their entire bodies in character and perform to the perfect sound track, while striving to convince the audience to completely indulge in and get lost in the surrealness of the moment. 

             Yes, “Airness” is an actual term and the third criteria used in judging a competitor.  The contestants are scored much like in a figure skating championship on a scale of 4.0 to 6.0.  According to the organization, Airness is “the most difficult to define yet often the most decisive of all. Airness is defined as the extent to which a performance transcends the imitation of a real guitar and becomes an art form in and of itself.”  The other two criteria are “Technical Merit” and “Stage Presence.”

I talked to Judge and former Air Guitar champion, Tony Tetracino, to try and get a clearer definition of “Airness”.

“Airness is the one that you just know it when you see it.  It can’t be explained…it’s this invisible force, but when you see it, you know it.”

The competition originated in the country of Finland, and the U.S. organization was formed sometime in 2003.  Last night’s winner – Rob “The Marquis” Messel, of Portland, will be flown to Finland to represent the U.S. in the Air Guitar World Championship. 

 Curious as to whether I was alone in my lack of awareness as to Airness, I  talked to some folks in the audience to see what they knew about it and why they were there.

LTHN:  Have you guys ever been to an Air Guitar competition before?  Did you know it existed?

RYAN:  It’s our first time.  I knew it existed, but never sought it out until I came to Nashville.  We’re always looking for fun new ways to engage music, and there’s always a lot of Nashville shows, but this is a different level.

Before the show, I also talked with one of the Air Guitarists, “Thrilly Willy,” about his experience and what goes into training for such a competition.

LTHN:  How long have you been doing this?

THRILLY WILLY:    Ten Years.

LTHN:  How do you prepare for something like this?

THRILLY WILLY:  Well it’s kind of hard to explain, but basically, you want something that’s going to speak to the audience that you are playing to, obviously, but you also want something that’s going to be true to yourself, whether you are somebody who is very outgoing and you’re just erratic and impulsive and that kind of thing…so it runs the gamut of highs and lows. 

LTHN:  The other night at the Dark Horse, there was a show and another competition.  Tell me about that?

THRILLY WILLY:  I won it, and that’s why I am competing tonight.  That was a show for the Air Guitarists, kind of like the best of the rest kind of show…kind of a menagerie of people that were playing over there, and out of 23 people, I came out and won. 

The event included, guest performances from Air Guitar champion, Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard of Chicago, who took the gold in 2011, and won the Air Guitar World Championship in 2012, as well as celebrity Judge and professional wrestler, Jeanne Basone a/k/a “Hollywood” of wrestling’s “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.”

   The entire show could not have been more fun and entertaining, and it really opened my eyes to a whole new Air world and existence.  I want to thank Whit Hubner of WMOT Roots Radio for educating me about Airness, and inviting me into this crazy and wonderful world of the Air Guitar competition.  It was an absolute blast!

P.S.  I will be posting videos and more pictures from the event on my Facebook page for Louder THAN HELL – Nashville.  Enjoy!