STRUMBLEDORE
Professional Air Guitarist
Every year, hundreds from across the country compete for a shot at the US Air Guitar Championship. In 2023, I adopted the stage name of Strumbledore and the rest is history.
Current Rankings:
#1 Air Guitarist in Texas
Top 10 Air Guitarist in the United States
QUESTIONS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU HAD
How does this work?
To qualify for the US air guitar Championship, you need to win one of the 15-20 regionals across the country.
Each guitarist will choose one song to play along to for 60 seconds. you’ll be judged by a panel of past winners, comedians, or whoever the organizers deem worthy of officiating an air guitar competition. The top 5 will then perform a randomly selected song.
After the regional, the U.s.a.g. flies the winner out to whichever city is hosting the championship that year. If you win the us championship, then you’ll hop on a flight to oulu, finland for the world championship.
What qualifies as a “good air guitar performance”?
There are three criteria that the judges are looking for:
Technical merit is not about knowing the notes you’re playing, but at least making it look like the sound is coming from you.
Stage presence is your ability to turn an act into a performance, demanding the attention of your audience.
Airness is all about the undefinable; how you bend the laws of Nature and air guitar in a truly transcendent performance.
How seriously do people take this?
Most contestants have years, if not decades of experience in the circuit. In my inaugural season, i was one of 4 rookies to qualify for the championship and out of those, i was the only one who had never heard of the u.s.a.g. before i competed. The winner of that season was a 5-time US Champion, 2-time world champion, and had over 10 years of experience as well.
I usually begin choreographing my act two months before a performance, practicing weekly starting the month of the act and then daily for the last two weeks before it.
Do you have a rival?
I have nothing but respect for anyone willing to get on stage and pretend to play guitar.
That being said, at the austin regional, there was an air guitarist by the name of Mike nasty who did not seem to care for me. After introducing himself as my “worst fucking nightmare,” MR. Nasty found himself several points behind me heading into the second round.
From then on, we did not exchange a single word outside of him muttering “fucking bullshit” after he was named third place and stormed out of the bar before they even declared me the champion.
Will I ever reconcile with mr. Nasty? Only time will tell. But he better remember that austin belongs to strumbledore.
What’s next for Strumbledore?
I’ll be debuting my new act on june 1st at the austin air guitar championship. Outside of U.S.A.G. events, I’ve branched out into live shows – performing at the glow show last may.
If you’re interested in having strumbledore perform at your comedy show, birthday, wedding, funeral, or whatever else, please feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to work something out.