Paul Tao
06/30/06, 09:37 AM
The 2006 National Air Guitar Champion (http://www.usairguitar.com/Resources/hotlixx.jpeg) has been crowned.
Before a sold-out Bowery Ballroom audience on June 22, San Francisco Regional Champion Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier became the 4th US Air Guitar National Champion. With near-perfect scores in the compulsory round, he defeated a formidable array of talent from across the country, including US Air Guitar's first Collegiate and Online champions and defending National Champion Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang.
In the first "open" round, Hot Lixx began seated, playing Carlos Montoya while wearing an enormous sombrero. But soon his music turned into Metallica and he rose, wowing the crowd with technical accuracy and undeniable airness. In the final, compulsory round, Hot Lixx stunned the crowd by jumping off the stage, sprinting up to the judges in the balcony, sitting on the edge of the railing, leaning precariously over the screaming fans on the main floor, and looking death right in the eye...all the while playing Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ with impeccable grace and daring the judges to give him less than a perfect score.
The night was not without controversy, however, as local favorite and NYC Regional Champion Andrew "William Ocean" Litz also delivered a near perfect compulsory round. Ocean featured his signature airborne flip, in which he lands on an empty can of 16oz. Sparks Malt Liquor, crushing it with his posterior, and then rising up with the crushed can triumphantly snuggled into his back pocket (don’t ask us how he did it...but he did). Ocean then jumped into the raging audience, crowd surfing and playing on the shoulders of his adoring fans. A truly unbelievable performance that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Before a sold-out Bowery Ballroom audience on June 22, San Francisco Regional Champion Craig "Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier became the 4th US Air Guitar National Champion. With near-perfect scores in the compulsory round, he defeated a formidable array of talent from across the country, including US Air Guitar's first Collegiate and Online champions and defending National Champion Fatima "Rockness Monster" Hoang.
In the first "open" round, Hot Lixx began seated, playing Carlos Montoya while wearing an enormous sombrero. But soon his music turned into Metallica and he rose, wowing the crowd with technical accuracy and undeniable airness. In the final, compulsory round, Hot Lixx stunned the crowd by jumping off the stage, sprinting up to the judges in the balcony, sitting on the edge of the railing, leaning precariously over the screaming fans on the main floor, and looking death right in the eye...all the while playing Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ with impeccable grace and daring the judges to give him less than a perfect score.
The night was not without controversy, however, as local favorite and NYC Regional Champion Andrew "William Ocean" Litz also delivered a near perfect compulsory round. Ocean featured his signature airborne flip, in which he lands on an empty can of 16oz. Sparks Malt Liquor, crushing it with his posterior, and then rising up with the crushed can triumphantly snuggled into his back pocket (don’t ask us how he did it...but he did). Ocean then jumped into the raging audience, crowd surfing and playing on the shoulders of his adoring fans. A truly unbelievable performance that sent the crowd into a frenzy.