1. Hot Lixx Hulahan - 9,000 points

2. William Ocean - 8,000 points

3. C-Diddy and Rockness Monster - 6,000 points

4. Sonyk Rok and Big Rig - 5,000 points

5. Chuck Mung and Dreamcatcher - 4,000 points

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Monday
Jul262010

Romeo DanceCheetah Crowned the 2010 US Champion

DateMonday, July 26, 2010 at 5:32PM

THE NEW KING OF THE JUNGLE
ROMEO DANCECHEETAH EDGES OUT DREAMCATCHER TO WIN 2010 US AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIPS


ABOVE: Romeo DanceCheetah, 2010 US Air Guitar Champion (Photo Credit: Zach McNees)

"2010 brought us our first new US champion since 2006. In the past two years, we've won one world championship and, last year, our two champions tied for 2nd behind France. Though the USA wasn't able to bring back a world title in soccer, in Romeo DanceCheetah we think we have a contender who can go a long way towards making that right." - Kriston Rucker, Co-Commissioner of US Air Guitar

This past Thursday July 22 at New York City’s Irving Plaza, the Unites States' most elite professional Air Guitarists competed for the National Belt and also the opportunity to represent the stars and stripes later next month in The Air Guitar World Championships in Finland.

In an airtight competition, New York’s own WILLIAM OCEAN defended his 2009 US Championship Title against the country’s best and brightest. Ocean, who last year finished second on the world stage, advanced to the compulsory round of the US finals but was eventually fanned by two over-achievers of Air: Denver’s veteran DREAMCATCHER and Milwaukee’s rookie ROMEO DANCECHEETAH.

DreamCatcher, a bearded burnout in tie dye and woven poncho, delivered an unprecedented performance by shredding to a mellow 'Witchy Woman' by The Eagles in Round 1. His talent and experience shined through, earning him the highest first round score. But the smooth moves of Romeo DanceCheetah were not far behind, as he delivered a new take on Daft Punk’s 'Robot Rock'.

It was a tight competition, with first round ties for fourth and fifth sending a total of eight performers into the second round, including the defending US champion William Ocean and Washington DC's THE SHRED, who The Washington Post recently featured in their Sunday Newspaper.

SCORES AFTER ROUND 1

1. DreamCatcher (Denver, CO) - 17.8
2. Romeo DanceCheetah (Milwaukee, WI) - 17.7
3. Lieutenant Facemelter (San Diego, CA) - 17.4
4. (Tied): William Ocean (2009 Defending Champ) - 17.3
4. (Tied): Thundergland (Boulder, CO) 17.3
5. (Tied): Airistotle 17.1 (Darkhorse) – 17.1
5. (Tied): Mean Melin 17.1 (Las Vegas, NV) – 17.1
5. (Tied): The Shred 17.1 (Washington DC) – 17.1

In Round 1, US Air Guitar veteran Judge JASON JONES from The Daily Show was joined by first-time Judges KENT JONES from The Rachel Maddow Show and MYQ KAPLAN from Last Comic Standing. But for Round 2, veteran judges HOT LIXX HULAHAN (2006 US Champ, 2008 US & World Champ) and SONYK-ROCK (2004 US & World Champ) joined Jones on the jury. With the compulsory song being Gun’s N Roses 'Paradise City', Round 2 quickly separated the two front-runners from the rest of the pack.

After Round 2, the judges ruled a tie between Romeo DanceCheetah and DreamCatcher, sending them into a third-round 'Air Off'. But like all things immortal, in the end there can be only one. And Thursday night that one was Romeo DanceCheetah.

FINAL SCORES (IN ORDER OF RANKING):

1. Romeo Dancecheetah (Milwaukee, WI) - 35.1**
2. DreamCatcher (Boulder, CO) - 35.1**
3. William Ocean (2009 Defending Champ) 34.6
3. Airistotle (Darkhorse) 34.6
4. Lieutenant Facemelter (San Diego, CA) 34.0
5. Thundergland (Boulder, CO) 33.9
6. The Shred (Washington DC) 33.6
7. Mean Melin (Las Vegas, NV) 33.5

8. Shreddy Mercury (Darkhorse) 17.0
9. Windhammer (Boston, MA) 16.9
10. Cold Steel Renegade (San Francisco, CA) 16.8
10. Aireola (Minneapolis, MN) 16.8
11. The High Drator (Philadelphia, PA) 16.7
12. Mathromancer (Darkhorse) 16.6
12. Bride Of Rock (Los Angeles, CA) 16.6
13. Nordic Thunder (Chicago, IL) 16.5
14. Ricky Stinkfingers (New York, NY) 16.1
15. Ted Theodore Powers (Dallas, TX) 16.1
16. Brock Mcrock (Austin, TX) 15.3
17. Chuck Mung (Portland) 15.1

**3rd Round Air-Off Scores:
1. Romeo Dancecheetah 17.7
2. Dreamcatcher 17.1

Romeo DanceCheetah is now headed to represent America in The Word Air Guitar Championships in Oulu, Finland on August 27, 2010, where he will face the best that Planet Earth has to offer. Among the best will be France’s GUNTHER LOVE, who narrowly beat the United States in last year’s championships. But Team USA is excited to be sending new blood to Finland: Romeo DanceCheetah is the first champion in 5 years whose stage name is neither Hot Lixx Hulahan nor William Ocean. The world stage awaits what Mr. DanceCheetah shall bring, and his stage name provides some clues: cheetahs are ferocious and quick – much like his finger picking and hip thrusting – but this rare breed is also able to entrance its prey with dance moves. Combine that with the seductive power of a true Romeo and you’ve got a level of sexy that’s capable of making even a Frenchman blush.

Also reporting from Finland will be BJÖRN TÜROQUE, the host of the US Air Guitar Competitions, who also holds the distinction of being the only American to ever host the Air Guitar World Championships. Türoque, who is the star of the hit documentary Air Guitar Nation and the author of the book To Air is Human, has once again been extended an invitation to host Finland, this time for an unprecedented third consecutive year.


PHOTOS FROM US AIR GUITAR NATIONAL FINALS


Romeo DanceCheetah warming up in his lair (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Romeo DanceCheetah basks in greatness (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Romeo DanceCheetah's victory lap (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


DreamCatcher feeling it (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


DreamCatcher gets agro and crushes two cans of beer in his hands (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


2009 Defending US Champ William Ocean air guitars upside down from the rafters (Photo Credit: Zach McNees)


2008 US & World Champ Hot Lixx Hulahan warms of the Audience with a performance (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Bjorn Turoque addresses the crowd at Irving Plaza (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


(Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Washington DC’s The Shred (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Las Vegas' Mean Melin (Photo Credit: Zach McNees)


Dark Horse winner Airistotle (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Los Angeles' Bride Of Rock (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Minneapolis' Aireola (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Portland's Chuck Mung, whose Air Band was recently featured on America's Got Talent (Photo Credit: Zach McNees)


Philadelphia's The High Drator (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


(Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


Dallas' Ted Theodore Powers (Photo Credit: Zach McNees)


2005 US Champ Rockness Monster Delivers an Air Guitar Half-Time Performance inspired by The Flaming Lips (Photo Credit: Zach McNees)


US Finalists assess their competition from backstage (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)


The fans revel (Photo Credit: Gabi Porter)

| | | Comment1 Comment

Reader Comments (1)

looks like a cool competition, go Romeo Dance!!!, here is a funny joke I saw comparing air guitar to guitar hero, http://ponderingstuff.com/2010/04/18/air-guitar-vs-guitar-hero

August 7, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterTravis

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