Above is Round One of my air guitar routine at the KC Regional back in June. Below is a video shot by Justin Kendall of The Pitch and edited by Ryan Magnuson that covers Round Two and everything after.

Tags: 2009, Air Guitar, competition, kansas city, mean melin, regional, us, video, winner, wins

This is really, really cool.

In anticipation of competing in the U.S. Air Guitar Championship in Washington, D.C. Friday night, The Pitch’s Justin Kendall has written an awesome  coverstory on my past movie/TV/rock exploits and air guitar future.

Click here to read the entire thing (5 pages!) or click here to see a video I made in 1990 that proves I’ve been air guitaring for a long, long time. (It’s really funny and I have some pretty great late 80s/early 90s metal/grunge hair.)

Justin interviewed me several times and came out to watch me practice my routine at my house. He got it seriously right. Then I did a photo shoot with staff photographer Emily Henson that was really fun. The shot of me air guitaring in the produce section while a grocery store employee loads cantaloupe is one of my faves.

Here’s an excerpt from the article and I’ve embedded the video from 1990 below because I have no shame:

From Eric “Mean” Melin is a real musician — but it’s air guitar that might make him a star:

There’s a giant hole in the crotch of Mean Melin’s pants.

Seconds ago, he hoisted an imaginary guitar over and behind his head, strumming the invisible strings to Motorhead’s frantic metal anthem “Ace of Spades.” Then he dropped to his knees — and this became a bust-out performance.

He’s the last one onstage at the Kansas City regional air guitar finals June 9 at the Record Bar. He’s tonight’s favorite, although he faces stiff competition from Hammerin’ Cock And Thunderin’ Ballz, Longbottom Leaf, Banana Man, Dirk Tickler and Satanica.

And he’s already banged up. He bruised his foot practicing and could barely walk last night, but now adrenaline, tape and a few beers have numbed the pain. He keeps playing despite the rip in his pants. His head bangs, whipping sweat from his floppy dark hair. His fingers slide up and down the neck of his air guitar. He windmills and hammers on the imaginary chords. His fist pumps.

He spots a beer cup sitting on the edge of the stage and punts it into the crowd, then executes a flying elbow drop to end his set.

The crowd erupts. Longbottom Leaf jumps onstage and bows to him. Another fan dives onstage just to touch his red Chuck Taylors.

A goofy smile crosses Mean Melin’s face.

Air Guitar World Champion Hot Lixx Hulahan — the host of tonight’s battle — gazes down at Melin’s crotch.

“A testimony to his rock,” Hulahan says, getting an eyeful of Melin’s manhood. “Is that a fucking moose knuckle?”

This is exactly why Hulahan and air-guitar hall-of-famer Björn Türoque hopped on a bus for a 25-city tour of air-guitar competitions. They’ve been looking for new talent just like Mean Melin.

Now it’s time for the judging.

“I was going to give you less than what I was going to give you, but then you kicked that fucking cup,” says judge Charlie Burt, who DJs around town.

“Yeah, he did!” a woman screams.

Burt raises a satanic score of 666.

“I think it was the behind-the-head that convinced me,” says judge Lacey Storer, a former reporter for the St. Joseph News. “You are ready to play with the big boys.” She raises a perfect 6.0.

“Goddamn right!” a woman yells.

Impressing the last judge, Türoque, isn’t going to be easy. Türoque knows air and he knows “Ace of Spades.” That much is clear from the opening moments of the 2006 documentary Air Guitar Nation, which shows the genesis of competitive air guitar in the United States and follows Türoque’s heated rivalry with C-Diddy to become the first American to compete in the World Championships.

“I don’t know, dude,” Türoque says. “You guys thought that was all right?”

“Fuck, yes!” someone yells.

Türoque raises a 6.0.

“Mean Melin. Mean Melin. Mean Melin,” the crowd chants.

They’re cheering for a guy who just pretended to play guitar — and rocked their fucking faces off.

Mean Melin throws up the devil horns. He’s going to the U.S. Air Guitar Championships in Washington, D.C., on August 7. Read more>>

Tags: 2009, air, championships, funny, guitar, kansas city, mean melin, photo, regional, rock, stills, video

Because of my regional win in Kansas City last month, I will be heading to Washington, DC on Aug. 7  to compete in the 2009 US Air Guitar Championship. The USAG organization traveled the country to find the best air guitarists around, and below is the list of all the regional winners who will compete in DC.

I had an incredible time in KC, and I’ve been assured by all involved that DC will blow my mind. I’ve been preparing diligently, and with some help from my pals at Commercial Artisan and  Blue Collar Press, I actually have a T-shirt design too! (see below.)

I booked my flight for the show yesterday and almost immediately after confirmation of my trip, I was invited to show my skillz off at a last-chance dark horse qualifying event in Brooklyn, NY on Aug. 5. (Info about that event is posted below!) Damn. One day before I arrive in DC. Oh well. Hopefully there will be other air guitarists hanging out the night before in DC. Let me know!

Anyway, I compiled this list for air guitar enthusiasts worldwide (and also so I could see who I was up against–duh) of the 2009 tournament thus far. I’m pumped to meet everybody and see all the other air guitarists in the flesh rather than just in YouTube videos. Please correct me if I’ve made a mistake somewhere in compiling this:

May 27 || Paradise || Boston, MA || WINNER: McNallica
May 28 || Bowery Ballroom || New York, NY || WINNER: William Ocean
May 29 || 9:30 Club || Washington, DC || WINNERS: The Shred, Sanjar The Destroyer
May 30 || The Khyber || Philadelphia, PA || WINNER: Fender Splender
May 31 || Orange Peel || Asheville, NC || WINNER: Electric Testicle
June 1 || The Earl || Atlanta, GA || WINNER: The Fro
June 2 || Exit In || Nashville, TN || WINNER: Stryker
June 3 || House of Blues || Cleveland, OH || WINNER: Derek Not-So-Smalls
June 5 || Varsity Theatre || Minneapolis, MN || WINNER: Airisol
June 6 || Metro || Chicago, IL || WINNER: Romeo Dance Cheetah
June 8 || Sokol Underground || Omaha, NE || WINNER: PharmAIRcist
June 9 || Record Bar || Kansas City, MO || WINNER: Mean Melin
June 11 || The Loft || Dallas, TX || WINNER: MOD
June 12 || The Parish || Austin, TX || WINNER: Airin Maiden
June 13 || Studio at Warehouse Live || Houston, TX || WINNER: Mojo Gogo
June 16 || Bluebird Theatre || Denver, CO || WINNER: Big Rig
June 17 || Aggie Theatre || Fort Collins, CO || WINNER: Duke Thrashington
June 19 || Troubadour || Los Angeles, CA || WINNER: Hardcore Henry
June 20 || The Casbah || San Diego, CA || WINNER: Otto B. Spreadeagle
June 23 || Dante’s || Portland, OR || WINNER: Chuck Mung
June 24 || El Corazon || Seattle, WA || WINNER: Dirk Courage
June 26 || The Independent || San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate Regional || WINNER: Awesome
June 27 || The Independent || San Francisco, CA – Bay Bridge Regional || WINNER: Cold Steel Renegade

Just announced:
August 5 || Sugarland || Brooklyn, NY – Fung Wah Dark Horse Invitational || WINNER: ?

US AIR GUITAR NATIONAL FINALS
Presented By Boone’s Farm
August 7, 2009
9:30 Club
815 V St NW
Washington, DC

Tags: 2009, 2009 US Air Guitar winners, Air Guitar, dark horse competition, fung, mean melin, us, us air guitar, wah

So I may have broken something in my foot and I definitely split my pants doing a sweet knee slide during “Ace of Spades,” but it’s all worth it because Tuesday night I won the title of Kansas City regional champ in the US Air Guitar Championships. I’ll be rocking out with 25 other regional winners in Washington, D.C. at the 9:30 Club on Aug. 7, 2009. We will all be vying for the top spot and a trip to Finland to compete in the 2009 World Air Guitar Championships.

I’m going to make this short since it’s already been covered elsewhere, but I have to give a huge thank you to all of my friends for coming out and supporting me. (A special thanks to air roadies Peter “Stiff” Dickens and Longbottom Leif.) I knew the night would be fun, but had no idea how infectious that energy would be. Also, a huge shout-out to all the other contestants (many of them from KC’s fertile local band scene and two other second-round finalists from my own band!)

Also, mad props to everybody in the US Air Guitar organization. It was truly exciting to meet and play air guitar with Bjorn Turoque (one of the stars of “Air Guitar Nation,” the movie that got me into this), Hot Lixx Hulahan (current World Air Guitar Champion), and Nashville regional champ Stryker, even if I was drunk out of my mind and it was to “Freebird.” Why not, right?

I’ve heard that DC will be crazy (check out the regionals last week!), and as soon as my foot heals, I’ll be back on my feet working on a new and improved song. I am so looking forward to sharing the stage with a bunch of other rock n’ roll maniacs who’ve probably been doing this since they were 14 just like me. To get up and do it onstage and have people scream for you is just insane. For me, it encompasses everything I feel about being a fan of rock n’ roll into one spasmodic 60-second moment of bliss.

Oh, and, P.S. If you anyone who can help me with a better stage look, let me know. I wore a sleeveless Nigel Tufnel green skeleton shirt to the KC event and another guy was already wearing the same shirt. Ugh. (And it even went with my sweet yellow pants–remember the scene where Nigel comes back to ask the Tap if they’d like to tour Japan because “Sex Farm” is a hit over there now?) Anyway, the pants are history and I need some fashion help anyway.

Here are links to coverage of the night:

US Air Guitar Blog

Pitch article: “Mean Melin wins the U.S. Air Guitar Championships’ Kansas City Regional”

Pitch slideshow: The U.S. Air Guitar Championships’ 2009 Kansas City Regional

Town Without Pity: No guitar, No problem, if you have the nerve to let it rip on air ax

(for photo credits, slide cursor over photo.)

Tags: 2009, Air Guitar, championship, june 9, kansas city, mean melin, record bar, regional, US Air Guitar Championships

Ever been inspired to do something from watching a movie? When I saw the 2006 documentary “Air Guitar Nation,” I knew that I had to enter the US competition if it ever came to Kansas City. It’s finally time to take what I’ve been doing in my bedroom since junior high school and put it onstage. Well, tomorrow’s the night. I’m competing in the US Air Guitar Regional for Kansas City at the Record Bar in Westport at 9:30/10pm, and I would love your support. For a glimpse inside one of America’s coolest new sports, check out the trailer for the movie above. For a look at my air guitar alter ego, Mean Melin, come to the Record Bar tomorrow night! Remember, “To err is human, to air guitar, divine.”

Tags: 2009, air, championship, guitar, june 9, mean melin, nation, record bar, us