Here's something you might be interested in.
Experimental noise musician and composer Randy Chiurazzi recently auditioned for NBC’s America’s Got Talent reality series in which performers competed for a $1 million prize and a chance to perform in Las Vegas.
“They basically hated it,” says Chiurazzi, not without a sense of humor. “I got through most of it though. You’re supposed to get 90 seconds. I got through about a minute.”
Chiurazzi performed at the Houston studio for an audience of 1,500 in his homemade Sound Suit, which debuted at the 2nd Annual Experimental Guitar Show at the Soda Bar in January. The suit is a full-body apparatus comprising a ceramic tile, a chain, wire, a plastic bottle, sanding discs, pipes, and machine metal, which Chiurazzi uses to evoke unique sounds from his electric guitar.
“They called me back a week after putting my video in on the web and said they really liked it,” Chiurazzi says in a phone call. “I think they send that note to everybody. Then they get back to me and say they want me to come down to Houston. So I was 30% like they found it interesting, and 70% like I’m going to end up on a gag reel.”
His performance was titled “Sound Suit AGT” and employed techno beats to acknowledge the television program’s pop sensibilities. The performance started with Chiurazzi saying “Sound Suit activate!” and swinging his guitar down to do a glissando when the beat dropped while singing about “do you have what it takes to wear the Sound Suit?”
According to Chiurazzi, the judges’ responses included:
“Do people come see this?” “Sound effects are not entertaining, so sorry.” “That, I believe, is the worst performance of the day.”
The sentiments were endorsed with criticisms and ample accusatory fingers from the audience.
“It’s a real cult of personality type of audience,” Chiurazzi says. “They want to vicariously be a part of the judging. It’s like a den of wolves in there. I went into this whole thing thinking, I love the exposure. So, come hell or high water, I’m going to enjoy it. Get up there, test my metal, test my nerves. And I handled it. The more I handled it, the happier I got.”
Upon his exit, Chiurazzi “held up my guitar in rock star mode, said, ‘Thank you, Houston!’ and marched off triumphantly.”
He calls the episode “a great, great success.”
Experimental noise musician and composer Randy Chiurazzi recently auditioned for NBC’s America’s Got Talent reality series in which performers competed for a $1 million prize and a chance to perform in Las Vegas.
“They basically hated it,” says Chiurazzi, not without a sense of humor. “I got through most of it though. You’re supposed to get 90 seconds. I got through about a minute.”
Chiurazzi performed at the Houston studio for an audience of 1,500 in his homemade Sound Suit, which debuted at the 2nd Annual Experimental Guitar Show at the Soda Bar in January. The suit is a full-body apparatus comprising a ceramic tile, a chain, wire, a plastic bottle, sanding discs, pipes, and machine metal, which Chiurazzi uses to evoke unique sounds from his electric guitar.
“They called me back a week after putting my video in on the web and said they really liked it,” Chiurazzi says in a phone call. “I think they send that note to everybody. Then they get back to me and say they want me to come down to Houston. So I was 30% like they found it interesting, and 70% like I’m going to end up on a gag reel.”
His performance was titled “Sound Suit AGT” and employed techno beats to acknowledge the television program’s pop sensibilities. The performance started with Chiurazzi saying “Sound Suit activate!” and swinging his guitar down to do a glissando when the beat dropped while singing about “do you have what it takes to wear the Sound Suit?”
According to Chiurazzi, the judges’ responses included:
“Do people come see this?” “Sound effects are not entertaining, so sorry.” “That, I believe, is the worst performance of the day.”
The sentiments were endorsed with criticisms and ample accusatory fingers from the audience.
“It’s a real cult of personality type of audience,” Chiurazzi says. “They want to vicariously be a part of the judging. It’s like a den of wolves in there. I went into this whole thing thinking, I love the exposure. So, come hell or high water, I’m going to enjoy it. Get up there, test my metal, test my nerves. And I handled it. The more I handled it, the happier I got.”
Upon his exit, Chiurazzi “held up my guitar in rock star mode, said, ‘Thank you, Houston!’ and marched off triumphantly.”
He calls the episode “a great, great success.”