Regional Air Guitar Championship ‘airs’ Saturday

“A lot of people don’t realize the kind of glory they can achieve,” said Chris Pelczarski at an air guitar workshop held May 7 at Old Pine Social. The workshop was in preparation for the Custer Air Guitar Championship, a regional U.S. Air Guitar-affiliated event.
The competition will be held this Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Custer Beacon. The winner earns a spot in the national competition in Denver and a cash prize of $500 intended to cover travel costs.
Pelczarski and Jason Deuhr, both previous Custer champions presented on the rules and culture of air guitar to a small group of attendees to the workshop.
They explained the importance of  essential air guitar performance components like competitor’s song choice, persona and costume. Stage presence, technical merit and “airness” are the three judging criteria used at air guitar competitions across the country. Technical merit refers to how well the music corresponds to the invisible fretwork of the performer. For stage presence, contestants are judged on how well they engage with the audience and command the stage. The last criteria, airness, is the most difficult to define and perhaps the most important.
The offical air guitar rulebook defines airness as “the extent to which a performance transcends the imitation of a real guitar and becomes an art form in and of itself.”
“You know it when you see it,” said Pelczarski.
Air guitarists wishing to compete should prepare a one minute cut of a song of their choice. Performances are scored on a scale from 4.0 to 6.0, and the top five advance to a second round to perform a surprise song. The competitor with the greatest combined score wins.
This year, though, “theres a second path to glory” through a fundraiser for the Lukemia and Lymphoma Society.
The competitor whose network raises the most money toward advancing the organizations progress toward a cure for blood cancer will win a slot in the U.S. finals as the Dream Big champ and a U.S. slot at the Dark Horse in Finland. The Lukemia and Lymphoma Society will cover the costs of travel to Finland to compete in the international competition.
Those planning to compete in the event are required to be at least 18 years old and register for the event, which costs $20. They should also prepare a cut of their song in advance to avoid technical difficulties and arrive at 6:30 p.m. to sign in and get briefed on the competition.