home stereo: Central Ohio resident in spotlight after taking regional guitar-miming title
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Aaron Beck
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Since ancient times, man has taken up the guitar, practiced methodically and appealed to the masses. Since the late 1960s, with the advent of the electricguitar god, man — in front of his home stereo, behind the wheel of his car, next to the jukebox, in his arena seat — has mimed riffs and chords.
Millions are continuing the tradition, although a splinter group of six-stringers is performing sanctioned air-guitar tunes.
One sultan of silence is 23-year-old David "the Rocktopuss" Ayling.
The Columbus resident, whose actual guitar skills "suck," floored three U.S. Air Guitar judges at the Midwestern regionals Saturday in Metro Bar & Grill.
Thanks to a flamboyant stage presence, spot-on ghost-guitar wizardry and the requisite lack of shame, Ayling mimed his way to the U.S. Air Guitar National Championships — to take place June 22 in New York.
Outside the Metro bar, holding a suitably gaudy 1-foot trophy for his lightning fretting on the Darkness track Get Your Hands Off My Woman, Ayling said: "Wow, I can’t tell you how ridiculous I feel."
Yes, in the world of official airguitar competition, feeling ridiculous is required — at least after the fact.
In front of about 200 patrons, Ayling and 11 other contestants — male and female, from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan — took turns air-guitaring on a ramshackle plywood stage.
During a series of blaring, 60-second clips from selfchosen guitar-centric music, the performers riffed lead runs and chords; and mimicked Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young of AC/DC and Warren DeMartini of Ratt, Swedish classical-metal madman Yngwie Malmsteen and several other men who play actual instruments.
Guitar picks and cases, costumes and "air" roadies were allowed and encouraged, but official U.S. Air Guitar rules barred the mimes from using anything that resembled a guitar. Air rhythm sections, pyrotechnics and air banter were not permitted. (Official rules do apply, as listed at www.usairguitar.com.)
Three judges evaluated the talent, using a system (4.0 the lowest, 6.0 the highest) to score performances.
The judges, the master of ceremonies said, were looking for "technical merit, stage presence and the most difficult and most decisive quality: ‘airness.’ "
Moments before fake guitarists took the stage, the Metro bar was pregnant with tension.
Shirtless Josh Dolen, a wiry 18-year-old from Zanesville in black faux-leather pants and a shoulder-length blond wig, said: "This is one of the biggest moments of my life. I’ve been practicing Cowboys From Hell for months."
Practicing?
"I’d get in my bedroom and turn it all the way up and just let my airness flow, man."
Dolen, who like most of the other contestants doesn’t play guitar, has "been playing air guitar for years."
Brian "Duke Thrashington" Shapiro twirled his curly locks, made many a heavy-metal guitar face and raced his fingers up and down an imaginary fret board to an earpiercing clip of super-shredders Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio.
Shapiro, a senior at the University of Toledo, heard about the competition after tuning in an episode of Late Night With Conan O’Brien with 2005 national champion Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang.
"I practice air guitar all the time," the 20-year-old said — "in my room, in my car, walking down the street. I’m always rocking out."
So said Pete Rose look-alike Jamie "Rockin’ " Russell, 38, of Campbellsville, Ky.
"All of my friends think I play guitar because I actually look like I’m playing," he said.
The real-estate agent started his segment with a snippet of Ratt’s Lay It Down — then, biting his lower lip, closing his eyes and confidently strutting toward the audience, segued into Eddie Van Halen’s shred masterwork Eruption.
Afterward, as the Airoin Junkie — dressed in red-whiteand-blue briefs — strolled by, Russell said, in all seriousness, "I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but this is my first official competition."
His maiden public air-guitar demonstration — spring break 1987, Daytona Beach, Fla. — featured Eruption and another Van Halen chestnut, Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love.
"I had 8,000 people eating out of my hand," he said. "I won 30 cases of Budweiser for me and my friends."
During the weekend, however, Russell walked away empty-handed.
"This was all about flash," he said in disgust — "nothing technical at all.
"I’m coming back next year as Gene Simmons. I already got the wig and the kabuki (makeup). If that’s what they want, I can give it to ’em."
As for Ayling, he is setting his sights entirely on becoming the fourth U.S. Air Guitar champion.
The videographer and documentarian for Ignition Films in Toledo also commutes there to sing in the rock band Onceover.
"I missed a recording session tonight to do this," he said.
"My band mates will understand, I think. But I can’t wait to tell my boss I have to take off work to go to the national Air Guitar championships."
abeck@dispatch.com
Aaron Beck
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Since ancient times, man has taken up the guitar, practiced methodically and appealed to the masses. Since the late 1960s, with the advent of the electricguitar god, man — in front of his home stereo, behind the wheel of his car, next to the jukebox, in his arena seat — has mimed riffs and chords.
Millions are continuing the tradition, although a splinter group of six-stringers is performing sanctioned air-guitar tunes.
One sultan of silence is 23-year-old David "the Rocktopuss" Ayling.
The Columbus resident, whose actual guitar skills "suck," floored three U.S. Air Guitar judges at the Midwestern regionals Saturday in Metro Bar & Grill.
Thanks to a flamboyant stage presence, spot-on ghost-guitar wizardry and the requisite lack of shame, Ayling mimed his way to the U.S. Air Guitar National Championships — to take place June 22 in New York.
Outside the Metro bar, holding a suitably gaudy 1-foot trophy for his lightning fretting on the Darkness track Get Your Hands Off My Woman, Ayling said: "Wow, I can’t tell you how ridiculous I feel."
Yes, in the world of official airguitar competition, feeling ridiculous is required — at least after the fact.
In front of about 200 patrons, Ayling and 11 other contestants — male and female, from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan — took turns air-guitaring on a ramshackle plywood stage.
During a series of blaring, 60-second clips from selfchosen guitar-centric music, the performers riffed lead runs and chords; and mimicked Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young of AC/DC and Warren DeMartini of Ratt, Swedish classical-metal madman Yngwie Malmsteen and several other men who play actual instruments.
Guitar picks and cases, costumes and "air" roadies were allowed and encouraged, but official U.S. Air Guitar rules barred the mimes from using anything that resembled a guitar. Air rhythm sections, pyrotechnics and air banter were not permitted. (Official rules do apply, as listed at www.usairguitar.com.)
Three judges evaluated the talent, using a system (4.0 the lowest, 6.0 the highest) to score performances.
The judges, the master of ceremonies said, were looking for "technical merit, stage presence and the most difficult and most decisive quality: ‘airness.’ "
Moments before fake guitarists took the stage, the Metro bar was pregnant with tension.
Shirtless Josh Dolen, a wiry 18-year-old from Zanesville in black faux-leather pants and a shoulder-length blond wig, said: "This is one of the biggest moments of my life. I’ve been practicing Cowboys From Hell for months."
Practicing?
"I’d get in my bedroom and turn it all the way up and just let my airness flow, man."
Dolen, who like most of the other contestants doesn’t play guitar, has "been playing air guitar for years."
Brian "Duke Thrashington" Shapiro twirled his curly locks, made many a heavy-metal guitar face and raced his fingers up and down an imaginary fret board to an earpiercing clip of super-shredders Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio.
Shapiro, a senior at the University of Toledo, heard about the competition after tuning in an episode of Late Night With Conan O’Brien with 2005 national champion Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang.
"I practice air guitar all the time," the 20-year-old said — "in my room, in my car, walking down the street. I’m always rocking out."
So said Pete Rose look-alike Jamie "Rockin’ " Russell, 38, of Campbellsville, Ky.
"All of my friends think I play guitar because I actually look like I’m playing," he said.
The real-estate agent started his segment with a snippet of Ratt’s Lay It Down — then, biting his lower lip, closing his eyes and confidently strutting toward the audience, segued into Eddie Van Halen’s shred masterwork Eruption.
Afterward, as the Airoin Junkie — dressed in red-whiteand-blue briefs — strolled by, Russell said, in all seriousness, "I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but this is my first official competition."
His maiden public air-guitar demonstration — spring break 1987, Daytona Beach, Fla. — featured Eruption and another Van Halen chestnut, Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love.
"I had 8,000 people eating out of my hand," he said. "I won 30 cases of Budweiser for me and my friends."
During the weekend, however, Russell walked away empty-handed.
"This was all about flash," he said in disgust — "nothing technical at all.
"I’m coming back next year as Gene Simmons. I already got the wig and the kabuki (makeup). If that’s what they want, I can give it to ’em."
As for Ayling, he is setting his sights entirely on becoming the fourth U.S. Air Guitar champion.
The videographer and documentarian for Ignition Films in Toledo also commutes there to sing in the rock band Onceover.
"I missed a recording session tonight to do this," he said.
"My band mates will understand, I think. But I can’t wait to tell my boss I have to take off work to go to the national Air Guitar championships."
abeck@dispatch.com
