| Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar solos. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching. Air guitar is generally used in the imaginary simulation of loud electric guitar music. Since 1996 the annual Air Guitar World Championships contest has been a part of the Oulu Music Video Festival in Oulu, Finland which nowadays governs Air Guitar World Championships Network of official national championship competitions. In 2007 the network consisted of seventeen countries: Finland, USA, New Zealand, Canada, The Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Mexico, Norway, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Japan, and Australia. The judging panel included Finnish guitarist Juha Torvinen, and prizes included a custom made 'Flying Finn' guitar and VOX BM Special amplifier donated by Queen guitarist Brian May. The ideology behind the event was that "wars would end and all the bad things would go away if everyone just played air guitar." Returning 2006 United States champion Craig Billmeier, who uses the stage name Hot Lixx Hulahan, claimed a second national title in the 2008 US Air Guitar National Finals, held in San Francisco, California, on August 8, 2008. Hulahan won the title despite fracturing his thumb during the first round of competition. |
Air Guitar World Champion 2008 Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier from USA performing two songs live at Air Guitar World Championships 2008, Oulu, Finland, August 22nd 2008. |
| SOURCE: Air Guitar World Championships |
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