Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Something in the air

Facemelter says “Step up, SD. Pry this air guitar from my hands.”
Facemelter says “Step up, SD. Pry this air guitar from my hands.”

This year’s San Diego U.S. Air Guitar competition has taken shape, for the first time, as a grassroots affair.

Jason Farnan (aka Lieutenant Facemelter, the 2010 and 2012 San Diego air-guitar champion) is taking the reins as both the event’s host and promoter. The major change is that the San Diego stop is now one of many “qualifiers,” which will be set up by, in most cases, local veterans of the air-guitar circuit. In the past, one winner from each city on the tour won a free trip to the finals. This year, two contestants from each city will qualify.

“This certainly creates an advantage for potential competitors,” Farnan says. “And since last year’s regional winners get a free pass to semifinals [Farnan included], it also opens up an opportunity for newcomers to win a city that might normally be won by a seasoned veteran.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Farnan says the changes will also allow the promoters in each city to tailor each event to their particular tastes.

“The great thing about the new format is that U.S. Air Guitar is allowing locals to license their own shows and run them in any way they want. This gives us a real grassroots approach, as it allows us to work with any sponsors we can get, advertise in any format we can find, and run the show in our own, unique way to draw more people in.” For example, Steve Weinberger, local author of the book No Air Guitar Allowed, has “generously offered up a few books to give away at the show. I thought it was a pretty fun collaboration to have a book with that title be given away at the air-guitar competition.”

Since Farnan will be busy hosting the show, San Diego is wide open for new talent to conquer the evening.

What is it about getting onstage and sacrificing all your dignity in the service of a rock song?

“The art of air guitar is all about loving a song so much you can’t help but wish you were a part of it,” Farnan explains.

The U.S. Air Guitar San Diego qualifier takes place at the Casbah on Saturday, June 29.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Facemelter says “Step up, SD. Pry this air guitar from my hands.”
Facemelter says “Step up, SD. Pry this air guitar from my hands.”

This year’s San Diego U.S. Air Guitar competition has taken shape, for the first time, as a grassroots affair.

Jason Farnan (aka Lieutenant Facemelter, the 2010 and 2012 San Diego air-guitar champion) is taking the reins as both the event’s host and promoter. The major change is that the San Diego stop is now one of many “qualifiers,” which will be set up by, in most cases, local veterans of the air-guitar circuit. In the past, one winner from each city on the tour won a free trip to the finals. This year, two contestants from each city will qualify.

“This certainly creates an advantage for potential competitors,” Farnan says. “And since last year’s regional winners get a free pass to semifinals [Farnan included], it also opens up an opportunity for newcomers to win a city that might normally be won by a seasoned veteran.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Farnan says the changes will also allow the promoters in each city to tailor each event to their particular tastes.

“The great thing about the new format is that U.S. Air Guitar is allowing locals to license their own shows and run them in any way they want. This gives us a real grassroots approach, as it allows us to work with any sponsors we can get, advertise in any format we can find, and run the show in our own, unique way to draw more people in.” For example, Steve Weinberger, local author of the book No Air Guitar Allowed, has “generously offered up a few books to give away at the show. I thought it was a pretty fun collaboration to have a book with that title be given away at the air-guitar competition.”

Since Farnan will be busy hosting the show, San Diego is wide open for new talent to conquer the evening.

What is it about getting onstage and sacrificing all your dignity in the service of a rock song?

“The art of air guitar is all about loving a song so much you can’t help but wish you were a part of it,” Farnan explains.

The U.S. Air Guitar San Diego qualifier takes place at the Casbah on Saturday, June 29.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Next Article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader