- Title: FINLAND: DAVID JUNG WINS THE WORLD AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIP
- Date: 29th August 2003
- Summary: (W1) OULU, FINLAND (AUGUST 29, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS, NORWAY'S CHAMPION ANDRE ULRIKSEN PLAYING AIR GUITAR TO THE TUNE " UNDER A GLASS MOON" BY DREAM THEATRE 0.21 2. CLOSE OF GIRLS IN THE AUDIENCE SCREAMING 0.25 3. VARIOUS, UNITED KINGDOM'S IAN "THE RED PLECTRUM" STAFFORD PLAYING AIR GUITAR TO " ALL RIGHT NOW " BY TREE 0.43 4. CLOSE OF WOMEN SCREAMING 0.49 5. VARIOUS. NEW ZEALAND'S DAVE RAWLANDS PLAYING AIR GUITAR TO " PHANTOM OF THE OPERA " BY IRON MAIDEN 1.17 6. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) ZAC MONRO, LAST YEAR'S CHAMPION SAYING: "I see the future, I see the new civilisation founded upon the air guitar. Right now we are suffering a period of flux, a lot of things are changing. There is a lot of strange people running things. This guy George Bush, what is he about." 1.34 7. VARIOUS, FINLAND'S JUSSI "KAKKIS" ARHINMAKI PLAYING AIR GUITAR TO DR ALBAN'S NO COKE 1.58 8. CLOSE OF GIRLS IN THE AUDIENCE SQUEALING 2.02 9. VARIOUS, DAVID "C-DIDDY" JUNG FROM USA PERFORMING TO " PLAY WITH ME " BY EXTREME 2.27 10. VARIOUS, JUNG RECEIVING REAL GUITAR AS AWARD FOR WINNING CONTEST 2.36 11. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID JUNG, WINNER OF THE COMPETITION SAYING: "It is kind of like tapping your feet when you listen to music. That is what music does. It is all based on a heart beat. It goes into you, and then come out of you. It is a wonderful cycle. For me - my hands just go. Since I cannot play an instrument, and I do not know what I am going to do with this (shows the real guitar he got as a prize). I always wanted to play the guitar and that was the only way I can do it." /PAN DOWN TO INSCRIBED GUITAR (3 SHOTS) 2.59 12. WIDE OF COMPETITORS PLAYING AIR GUITARS ON STAGE AND FIREWORKS GOING OFF 3.10 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 13th September 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: OULU, FINLAND
- Country: Finland
- Reuters ID: LVADZ8UPVTPP0FL80YS4SK3X9YN9
- Story Text: Can't play the guitar? Neither could those
taking part in the Air Guitar championship in Finland.
Wielding their invisible instruments, the national
champions of the art of air guitar came from places as far
apart as Norway and New Zealand to take part in the World
Air Guitar Championship on Friday (August 29).
The art of playing the air guitar goes back to the
1970s when breathtaking electric guitar solos by bands such
as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin inspired teenagers
throughout the world grab their tennis rackets and mime
their idols, swinging and prancing around their bedrooms.
The first air guitar championship was held in Oulu in
1996. Soon national championships sprang up around the
world. Nine national champions have come to Finland this
year.
The main agenda of the World Championships is to
promote world peace. According to the philosophy of air
guitar all wars would cease and bad things disappear if
everybody in the world only played air guitar.
"I see the future, I see the new civilisation founded
upon the air guitar. Right now we are suffering a period of
flux, a lot of things are changing. There is a lot of
strange people running things. This guy George Bush, what
is he about," said last year's champion Zac Monro, an air
guitar guru whose dream now is to open an Air Guitar
Academy someplace.
Monro believes the invisible instrument is the best
weapon for banishing the evil in the world. "There is
nothing more powerful than indefinable abstraction," Monro
tells the squealing audience.
This year the new virtual rock star was born as the
jury awarded the first prize to David Jung, 31-year-old
actor, radio performer and temporary worker from New York
who performed "Play With Me" by Extreme. The tune, artist
said, worked well with his classical technique and Asian
fury.
The winner of the competition walks away with a real
electric guitar.
In the end of every competition all people in the world
are invited to play air guitar simultaneously.
During summer Finland hosts a string of bizarre
contests, many of which are called "world championships".
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