Is your 2013 US Air Guitar National Champion going to let you down? Of course not. So, when Lt. Facemelter signed up to host the San Diego Qualifier this year, everyone knew it was going to rock. Last year, they had Plinko to choose people's second-round songs. This year... well. We will get to that.
First out of the gate, though: as you may be aware, Lt. Facemelter's Zubaz pants are kind of iconic. And thanks to the glories of social media, he wangled a partnership with them, leading to some free pants to give away! Who would not want to sign up with THAT enticement?
Another fun fact is that apparently San Diego is as relaxed about their laws regarding what you can and can't do in bars as Kansas City is. KC is totally down with open flames; San Diego is cool with underage kids rocking out onstage. Last year, the young but somehow still terrifying Tyranicus took second place. This year, he was back to try for the title. And he was accompanied by the equally fresh-faced Air-o-dynamic. Seriously I think these guys just hit puberty like, last week. Air-o-Dynamic's mom competed as well, by the way - she burst onto the national scene last year as King Slayer, and this year upped the stakes by competing against her own kid.
Tons of new faces stormed the stage, in fact. There was both a pirate (PBArggggh) and a mermaid (AIRiel Ripchord). Like Boston, they had a Santa (Jolly St. Licks). And there were also veteran air guitarists like acoustic chair-guitarist Andres SegoviAIR. And there was something that blew everyone's mind: a note-for-note copycat rendition of Lt. Facemelter's 2013 routine by one of the Real Househusbands of Air Guitar, Mr. Kara Picante, aka Lt. Facemolester. This walked the line between incredible homage and creepy might-want-to-wear-your-skin. Highlight of the entire night.
Andres SegoviAIR shows that intricate, acoustic chair guitar can rock too
The second round welcomed King Slayer, Andres SegoviAIR, AIRiel Ripchord, Sweetness, and, tied for first place, Tyranicus and the Jolly Green Shredding Machine. And this time, rather than Plinko, they rolled a giant Die of Doom to decide their song! Well, a little more complicated than that, actually, they could do the song the previous person did, or roll for a new song, which they had to play without hearing it first. Challenging! And one of the options you could land on was "TV Theme Song," which meant Tyranicus had to do the Power Rangers theme song, which is hilarious because that was on tv when I was like 11, and I'm 90% sure he was not born yet. I'm sorry, excuse me, I just realized I'm more than 11 years older than someone who is old enough to compete. I'm going to go have a good cry and be back in a minute.
Ok, I think I can carry on long enough to tell you your 2014 San Diego top 3, who are going on to the Western Semifinals in LA: Andres SegoviAIR, Jolly Green Shredding Machine, and, victorious atop a heap of skulls of the vanquished (I assume), Tyranicus, Lord of the End Times!