http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/2008/08/vegetarian-us-champ-wins-air-guitar.html

Vegetarian U.S Champ Wins Air Guitar World Championships

Craig “Hot Lixx Hulahan” Billmeier and I have a lot in common. Hot Lixx Hulahan” Billmeier and I have a lot in common. We’ve both played air guitar on top of a dugout at a professional baseball game. We’ve both had to play Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” in the compulsory round of an air guitar competition. And we’re both vegetarians who love Israeli falafel.

Tonight, Hot Lixx did something that I’ll probably never do: He won the Air Guitar World Championships. Hot Lixx, who became the first two-time U.S. champion earlier this month, is the first American to win the world crown since 2004. As the Los Angeles Times‘ music blog put it, “Forget the Olympic medal count, America just won the only title that matters Friday at the Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland.” Congratulations to Hot Lixx for making Uncle Sam proud!

Earlier this week, Hot Lixx commented on heebnvegan to say that he’s vegetarian. Yesterday, while on a plane en route to Finland, Hot Lixx responded to my interview questions about vegetarianism (and his experiences touring Israel with his punk band, Your Mother). Here he is in his own words.

For how long have you been vegetarian? Why are you vegetarian?

Been vegetarian since 1996. Always toured with bands who were veg/vegan but being young myself, I resisted the ideology out of a sheer teenaged need to do anything opposite of those around me. Eventually one day I swapped out cow’s milk for soy milk in my breakfast cereal to see if I would become less tired mid-morning. It worked and from there it was just a slow modification on my eating style. Realized I could swap out meats for hearty alternatives, started to take note of vegetables I enjoyed, etc… Deep down all the reasons people go vegetarian affected me, so when I was finally strong enough to change my lifestyle I had a wealth of justifications – health, politics, cruelty, environmentalism…they are all valid reasons for living a veggie lifestyle.

Air guitar is about world peace. Is vegetarianism consistent with that?

Of course the concept of vegetarianism angles itself towards making the world a better place on so many levels. There are many paths to enlightenment, these are but two of those paths.

Do you credit vegetarianism for your success as the United States’ first two-time air guitar champion?

No. I credit vegetarianism for the great influx of amazing mock-meat restaurants in the Bay Area. I credit winning to stupid and unsafe acts of ridicularity.

Later this week, you’ll be going to Oulu, Finland, to compete in the Air Guitar World Championships for the second time. Have you found that the Oulu area is vegetarian-friendly?

I’m actually on the plane to Finland right now! Finnish people eat a lot of fish, it’s everywhere and in everything. However, they are also a progressive country and are aware and compassionate towards vegetarians. In Helsinki there is a very strong veggie community (mostly the punx, of course) and Oulu is a college town so they have veggie options at a lot of the restaurants.

I’d love to hear about your experience touring Israel with your band.

As far as touring goes, I had a band called All You Can Eat and we put out a split record with the band Useless ID from Haifa. We would always go see any foreign band that came through San Francisco in order to meet them and talk about international underground music. Usually we would try and parlay these experiences/connections into a tour and so AYCE planned to go to Israel after meeting up with UID. AYCE couldn’t make it so I swapped the tour with my ‘other’ band Your Mother. We went over there in July 1997 and planned on staying for 10 days. We had such a good time we stayed for a month. There was so much history there that it took us a long time just to vaguely understand all the conflicts. Thankfully we were with people who were impartial to the whole mess and explained (in what I believe to be) very neutral terms. It was eye-opening to be sure. And very enriching. And the food was AWESOME. Best falafels ever.

Filed under: Press No Comments »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7578909.stm

The first video from Oulu that shows Craig’s patented “underwear pull” move.

Filed under: News, Press No Comments »

ONE US ‘musician’ is walking on air today after he was named the winner of the World Air Guitar Championship in Finland.

Craig Billmeier – known as Hot Lixx Hulahan – beat 19 other contenders from around the world to snatch the title last night in the Finnish city of Oulu.

He was praised for his “impeccable timing and an overall solid performance that took the audience by storm.”

Air we go … contender performs

Mr Billmeier beat two-year reigning air guitar champ Ochi ‘Dainoji’ Yosuke from Japan to the top spot with his skill on the imaginary instrument.

Contestants have to perform a song of their choice for a minute before ‘playing’ a tune of the judges’ choice in a second round.

The shocked champion, who was set to celebrate, said: “Honestly I did not anticipate to become a champion, I feel a little broadsided about the whole thing. Ask me tomorrow morning, no make it tomorrow night actually.”

The competition has been running for thirteen years and this year attracted entrants from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Africa.

Air guitar – where rock fans simulate playing a real guitar – caught on in the seventies and has now become a cult pastime.

Hot air … Craig Billmeier rocks out

Filed under: Press No Comments »

A US air guitarist nicknamed Hot Lixx Hulahan has won the World Air Guitar Championship in Finland.

The elite of the world’s air guitarists descend on the northern Finnish city of Oulu with their invisible instruments to battle it out last night.

20 air guitar players from all corners of the world enthusiastically demonstrated their command of their invisible instruments in front of a large crowd.

Asked for his view on the competition, a Slovenian spectator replied: ‘It’s awesome.’

The competition is now in its 13th year. Battling it out were the national champions from 16 countries as well as some others who were selected from the ‘Dark Horse’ qualifying round staged at a local rock club the night before.

The man to beat was reigning champion Ochi ‘Dainoji’ Yosuke from Japan.

Great performances were seen from ‘musicians’ from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the US and South Africa as well as many from Europe.

The best of the lot was Craig ‘Hot Lixx Hulahan’ Billmeier (below), who walked away with the title.

He expressed surprise at the victory, and hinted a long night of celebration was ahead: ‘Honestly I did not anticipate to become a champion, I feel a little like broadsided about the whole thing. Ask me tomorrow morning, no make it tomorrow night actually.’

Air guitar playing became popular in the 1970s when breathtaking electric guitar solos inspired teenagers throughout the world grab their tennis rackets, or whatever else that would do the trick, and mime their idols.

But in 1996, air guitar playing moved out of the privacy of the bedrooms and the first air guitar championship was held in Oulu in 1996.

Soon national championships sprang up around the world and now there is an international network of qualifying competitions.

Once in Oulu, the winner from each country performs a chosen song for one minute. In the second round of the final they then have to improvise to a song chosen by the judges.

According to the judges, musical talent is not necessary nor is the ability to play an actual guitar. The winner is chosen for his or her ability to move around the stage playing the air guitar as realistically as possible.

For the thirteenth time, jury was headed by Finnish ‘godfather’ of the air guitar, Juha Torvinen.

Other jury members were 2005 world champion Michael ‘The Destroyer’ Heffels from the Netherlands, Amanda Griffiths, who did her PhD on the air guitar culture, as well as event organisers.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0823/airguitar.html

Filed under: Press No Comments »

It’s a tad embarrassing if you’re not under-19 or haven’t downed a few crates of beer. But air guitar is as natural a human phenomenon as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, so don’t feel shy. I certainly don’t. And more clearly, neither do the nutters who congregate each year for the Cuervo Black US Air Guitar Championship. Now technically, this isn’t the Olympics of air guitar. That Biggest Ticket Arena comes every year in Oulu in Finland (and starts next week from August 20 to 22).

Stiff competition
But the US Air Guitar Championship in San Francisco is heavyduty flailing about, whose winner represents one of the strongest teams in international air guitarship: the United States.

This year’s winner, Craig Billmeir, who prefers to be known in understated circles as Hot Lixx Hulahan, beat stiff-fingered competition from the likes of Shreddy Mercury and Rockness Monster.

Like in any other top-notch contest, each competitor was judged in three categories: one, technical merit; two, stage presence; three, er, general ‘airness’ — which is the invisible guitar equivalent of, I guess, what Abhinav Bindra in his own sport calls ‘arty’, ‘feel’ and ‘guts’.

In Round One, the proto-rock star conducts a one-minute shlockhausen of a song of their choice. In Round Two, the judges choose a number that all those who make it to that level have to pretend-twang to.

But unlike mime artistes, our air guitarists do not really value silence. On the contrary. And if you thought it’s only sliding fingers down an invisible guitar fret and sticking  your tongue out, you’re being unimaginative.

Reaching for the top
‘His Airness’ Hulahan had to sync his chops with Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy train, not your regular Smoke on the water or Stairway to heaven riff — all while jumping into the crowd and landing on an inflatable baby whale that was bobbing up and down among the heads.

This is the second time that Hulahan has shred the air to the top at the US Air Guitar Champs.

The last time, in 2006, he got the crown by breaking into a flamenco riff that suddenly morphed into Metallica’s The shortest straw.

Considering the man once actually played guitar in a Guns ’n’ Roses tribute band, it must be hard playing an axe without an axe. Instead of headbanging and picking air in front of your stomach in your local pub, why don’t you, gentle air guitarhead, take up the challenge?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=097b9d3b-35f5-420c-baf2-c7c7a4614ae8&&Headline=Air%2Bguitar%2c%2Bcome%2Btomorrow&strParent=strParentID

Filed under: Press No Comments »