The trailer for Air Guitar Nation, or as it is known in Japan: "Air Guitar: Episode Zero"
エアギター エピソード ゼロ 【予告編】
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Showing posts with label air guitar nation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label air guitar nation. Show all posts
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Air Guitar Nation Review on Ebert and Roeper
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Air Guitar Nation DVD Release!
AIR GUITAR NATION comes out on DVD August 28. Order your copy today or click here to put it in your Netflix queue.
"Genius...On a scale from 1-7 I give it an 11!" --David Ansen, NEWSWEEK
"Hilarious! Spawning a cult following." --VARIETY
"This film totally rocks!" --SALON.COM
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER: SXSW, Traverse City
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Boulder, Whistler (Canada), and Adelaide (Australia)
OFFICIAL SELECTION: TriBeCa, Britdoc, Edinburgh, Silverdocs, Full Frame, Athens...
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Air Guitar Nation Theme Song Now on iTunes!
Indivisible, the Air Guitar Nation theme song as performed by yours truly, is now available for download on iTunes.
For only $.99 you can rock out in the quiet world of your own iPod. Practice your shredding. Impress your friends. Torture your parents. Rock on...
iTunes Link HERE
For only $.99 you can rock out in the quiet world of your own iPod. Practice your shredding. Impress your friends. Torture your parents. Rock on...
iTunes Link HERE
Sunday, April 15, 2007
The Bjorn Identity
In news from the far right...Bjorn appeared on Fox News' morning kids program Fox & Friends (at least, it sounds like a kids program) yesterday only to be stifled immediately upon the mention of air guitar leading to world peace. The interview was supposed to last another minute, but notice how they nervously cut directly to the performance.
"Be careful, he might just suggest we try to end the Iraq war using air guitars!!"
Bjorn Turoque also went on the NBC game show IDENTITY and earned some schmuck $250,000.
Who said air guitar could not be lucrative?
"Be careful, he might just suggest we try to end the Iraq war using air guitars!!"
Bjorn Turoque also went on the NBC game show IDENTITY and earned some schmuck $250,000.
Who said air guitar could not be lucrative?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Air Guitar Nation Coming to Austin, Ft. Collins
"Air + Guitar = Genius! On a scale of zero to seven, we give it an eleven."
--David Ansen, Newsweek
Air Guitar Nation, the Citizen Kane of air guitar documentaries is coming to Austin, TX and Ft. Collins, CO this weekend.
This is a CRUCIAL weekend for the film - please get everyone you know to see it THIS WEEKEND or it will sadly disappear from theaters entirely.
Tons of critics and fans have raved about the movie...go find out why.
“****” -- TimeOut NY
"The movie's wild performances and droll humor are tough to resist. So are its obsessive yet self-mocking heroes: the Los Angeles-based actor David Jung, who performs as C-Diddy, who has a kung phooey stage persona and wears a Hello Kitty pouch like a warrior's breastplate; and the New York writer-musician Dan Crane, a k a Björn Turöque, whose parched wit and jackhammer performance style suggest Bill Murray trapped in the body of Sid Vicious. Mr. Crane also wrote and sang the closing credits theme, a garage band anthem that lodges in the brain like a fishhook."
--New York Times
"The documentary won an audience award at the South by Southwest music festival, among other film-festival accolades. But its hard-rockin' soundtrack and the energetic machinations of several dozen wannabe Eddie Van Halens provide a better reason to see "Air Guitar Nation": Judas Priest's "You Got Another Thing Comin'," Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and Mot–rhead's "Ace of Spades" all get, um, aired out in the film." -- LA Times
“It seriously rocks.” -- Salon.com
“Raucously entertaining...” --Paper
“Slick, hilarious, and at times even suspenseful...nary a dull lick in the entire 80 minutes.” -- Village Voice
"Hilarious. Equal measures of patriotism, showmanship and irony." -- Variety
"A feel-good underdog story..." --New York Magazine
"One of the most fun films you'll ever see. It's like Rocky with air guitars." -- Ain't it Cool News
"As one might expect, Air Guitar Nation is often hilarious...Perhaps even more remarkable is how readily the viewer is sucked into this surreal world." --High Times
"Air Guitar Nation is textured, well-crafted - and hilarious." --St. Louis Riverfront Times
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have out first Oscar contender of the year." -- FirstShowing.net
Advance tix available here
More info and the trailer on the official site and on Myspace
--David Ansen, Newsweek
Air Guitar Nation, the Citizen Kane of air guitar documentaries is coming to Austin, TX and Ft. Collins, CO this weekend.
This is a CRUCIAL weekend for the film - please get everyone you know to see it THIS WEEKEND or it will sadly disappear from theaters entirely.
Tons of critics and fans have raved about the movie...go find out why.
“****” -- TimeOut NY
"The movie's wild performances and droll humor are tough to resist. So are its obsessive yet self-mocking heroes: the Los Angeles-based actor David Jung, who performs as C-Diddy, who has a kung phooey stage persona and wears a Hello Kitty pouch like a warrior's breastplate; and the New York writer-musician Dan Crane, a k a Björn Turöque, whose parched wit and jackhammer performance style suggest Bill Murray trapped in the body of Sid Vicious. Mr. Crane also wrote and sang the closing credits theme, a garage band anthem that lodges in the brain like a fishhook."
--New York Times
"The documentary won an audience award at the South by Southwest music festival, among other film-festival accolades. But its hard-rockin' soundtrack and the energetic machinations of several dozen wannabe Eddie Van Halens provide a better reason to see "Air Guitar Nation": Judas Priest's "You Got Another Thing Comin'," Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and Mot–rhead's "Ace of Spades" all get, um, aired out in the film." -- LA Times
“It seriously rocks.” -- Salon.com
“Raucously entertaining...” --Paper
“Slick, hilarious, and at times even suspenseful...nary a dull lick in the entire 80 minutes.” -- Village Voice
"Hilarious. Equal measures of patriotism, showmanship and irony." -- Variety
"A feel-good underdog story..." --New York Magazine
"One of the most fun films you'll ever see. It's like Rocky with air guitars." -- Ain't it Cool News
"As one might expect, Air Guitar Nation is often hilarious...Perhaps even more remarkable is how readily the viewer is sucked into this surreal world." --High Times
"Air Guitar Nation is textured, well-crafted - and hilarious." --St. Louis Riverfront Times
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have out first Oscar contender of the year." -- FirstShowing.net
Advance tix available here
More info and the trailer on the official site and on Myspace
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
More Air Guitar Nation Dates/Cities Announced
More cities will have the opportunity to be enriched, and enrocked, by AIR GUITAR NATION—the film the Village Voice called, "slick, hilarious, and at times even suspenseful."
This Friday, 3/30 we move to the Village East theater on 2nd ave and 12th street in NYC.
We also open this friday in Los Angeles at the NuArt, and in Vancouver at the Empire Granville 7.
Advance tix available HERE
This next weekend is crucial for us, so please come, please tell your friends!
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1) Spread the word! Email friends, post on your blog/myspace/etc.
2) Please feel free to help out our ratings/reviews on Metacritic.com and Moviefone.com
Also - also 5/11 is the new date for both San Francisco and Madison Sundance
Cinemas.
For more cities and information, see AIRGUITARNATION.COM
This Friday, 3/30 we move to the Village East theater on 2nd ave and 12th street in NYC.
We also open this friday in Los Angeles at the NuArt, and in Vancouver at the Empire Granville 7.
Advance tix available HERE
This next weekend is crucial for us, so please come, please tell your friends!
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1) Spread the word! Email friends, post on your blog/myspace/etc.
2) Please feel free to help out our ratings/reviews on Metacritic.com and Moviefone.com
NEW CITIES ADDED!
4/6 Pasadena, CA One Colorado Theater
4/6 Buffalo, NY Market Arcade Theater
4/6 Wilmington, DE Theater N at Nemours
4/13 Santa Fe, NM The Screen
4/18 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Cinema Paradiso
4/19 Lake Worth. FL Duncan Theater
4/20 Hudson, NY Time and Space
4/20 Salem, OR Salem Film Festival
4/20 Pittsburgh, PA Harris Theater
4/28 Scranton, PA Endless Mountains
5/11 St. Louis, MO Webster University Film Theater
Also - also 5/11 is the new date for both San Francisco and Madison Sundance
Cinemas.
For more cities and information, see AIRGUITARNATION.COM
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Auditioning for America's Got Talent
A few weeks ago I was contacted by the producers of America’s Got Talent and asked to audition. My talent? Air guitar. I am a professional—one who’s competed in numerous air guitar competitions throughout the world and written a book on the subject. Justifying my obsession to friends, relatives, and late-night talk show hosts is an ongoing struggle; but when they called and offered me an appointment, how could I say no?
I enter the Javitz Convention Center holding a plastic grocery bag containing my alter ego. My Superman cape.
“America’s Got Talent auditions?” I ask a security guard. Without answering, he wraps a wristband on me and points me towards a table inside a cavernous hall. There, I am given a number to stick to my chest: 0903.
“Name?” asks a girl behind a folding table.
“Björn Türoque.” I answer with brio. “Or…it could be under Dan Crane.”
“Talent?”
“Air guitar,” I say. She squints, looking as if she’s misheard me.
“So, you have your guitar with you?” she asks, inspecting me to find I am not holding a guitar.
“I have my air guitar with me. I play along to a CD.” I hold up my CD.
“Wait over there and we’ll call you,” she says brusquely.
I tell the girl I first need to change into my outfit. She points me towards the bathrooms at the far end of the vast convention space. Nearby, a trio of frozen-smiled preteen girls belts Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” a capella in front of a guy holding a large video camera.
I enter a men’s room stall, lock the door, and begin exhuming components from the plastic bag: star-spangled wristbands and headband, guitar-shaped necklace, custom-made spandex unitard, jockstrap and cup, leather boots. I remove the backing from the numbered sticker and place it on my lower abdomen. I am now Björn Türoque, Professional Air Guitarist. Upon exiting, I do a Fonzie-style check in the mirror. I look perfectly ridiculous.
Walking out of the bathroom I make eye contact with a janitor holding a mop.
“Lookin’ good man,” he says, raising one eyebrow. “Knock ‘em dead.”
I am told to wait in a chair outside “Room B” along the perimeter of the hall. A short middle-aged balding man wearing too-short khaki pants and a tucked oxford shirt twitters nervously next to me.
“What’s your talent?” I ask.
“Cawmedy,” he replies, in a squeaky high-pitched whine. “I’m a comedian.”
“What sort of jokes?”
“Oh, political stuff,” he offers. “You know, tawpical humah.”
Unprompted, he launches into a two-minute bit about Kissinger. It’s about as funny as the My Lai Massacre.
“That’s funny,” I tell him. He tells me his name is Gawy.
“I’m sorry?”
“Like Gawy Coopah,” he explains.
“Björn Türoque,” I say, shaking his hand, “perennial second-place air guitarist.” Gawy looks nonplussed. They call his number. I wish him luck.
Then a short old woman with Oreo cookie-thick glasses set in front of oddly disproportionate eyes (one wide and protruding, the other barely a slit) exits the room clutching a small notebook.
“How’d it go?” I foolishly inquire.
“Oh, it was good?” she answers. Her face is covered in strange little bumps. Her voice is reedy. Her teeth are half-rotted and covered in a pasty yellow film. I won’t even mention her outfit.
“What’s your talent?” I ask hesitantly.
“I write poetry?” she says, her emphasis rising at the end of each phrase, transposing simple statements into drawn-out questions. “This one was about, you remember that time? When we had the heat wave? And it was so hot? And you couldn’t even breeeeathe?”
She begins reading me her poem. It makes me long for Gawy’s tawpical humah.
I ask her why she wants to be on America’s Got Talent.
“I want to be famous, you know? When I’m famous, I won’t have to go to counseling every week?..”
In my four years on the international air guitar circuit, it’s the finest justification I’ve ever heard for seeking fame—and I wonder: If I make it on the show, could I finally quit therapy?
Then I look down at my silver sparkly spandex unitard held together with safety pins. Underneath, I am donning a jockstrap and cup to give myself added bulge. I am about to play an invisible guitar to “Ice Cream Man” by Van Halen. I spent hours yesterday practicing. I even injured myself, twice: once hitting myself in the nose doing an air drum solo, and the second time whacking my hand hard against my ceiling lamp in the midst of a high-velocity windmill.
I’m so never quitting therapy.
The door to Room B opens and Gawy exits, smiling awkwardly. I wave.
“0903? We’re ready for you.”
There’s a tiny boom box on a table. I hand over my CD and introduce Björn to the three-member casting jury. They hit play and I can only think: Flashdance. I strum the air and writhe around, doing my thing. At the end of the song, I collapse on the floor and die. It’s not my best air guitar performance by any means, but considering it’s before noon on a weekday and I am excruciatingly sober, it could’ve been worse. Afterwards they ask, “How long have you been playing air guitar?” Answer: “Competitively? Four years, though I am now retired.”
“But if you’ve retired, why are you here?” they counter.
You asked me to audition?
I think about Gawy and the Disturbing Poet Lady. I knew that if any of us made it on the show we wouldn’t win. At best, we’d be served up as comic relief between the real acts. Maybe that’s okay. Maybe we’re each like Dumbo, Disney’s mythical flying elephant: that which invokes ridicule (enormous floppy ears, speech impediment, skin disease, invisible guitar) is, in the end, what makes us special—what defines our talent.
“I want people to take air guitar seriously,” I finally answer. “I want to show America that air guitar is not merely a talent, it’s an art form.” They smile politely and thank me for auditioning. I pack up my air guitar and make my exit.
I’m still waiting for word from the producers, but I suspect my chances are pretty good.
I enter the Javitz Convention Center holding a plastic grocery bag containing my alter ego. My Superman cape.
“America’s Got Talent auditions?” I ask a security guard. Without answering, he wraps a wristband on me and points me towards a table inside a cavernous hall. There, I am given a number to stick to my chest: 0903.
“Name?” asks a girl behind a folding table.
“Björn Türoque.” I answer with brio. “Or…it could be under Dan Crane.”
“Talent?”
“Air guitar,” I say. She squints, looking as if she’s misheard me.
“So, you have your guitar with you?” she asks, inspecting me to find I am not holding a guitar.
“I have my air guitar with me. I play along to a CD.” I hold up my CD.
“Wait over there and we’ll call you,” she says brusquely.
I tell the girl I first need to change into my outfit. She points me towards the bathrooms at the far end of the vast convention space. Nearby, a trio of frozen-smiled preteen girls belts Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” a capella in front of a guy holding a large video camera.
I enter a men’s room stall, lock the door, and begin exhuming components from the plastic bag: star-spangled wristbands and headband, guitar-shaped necklace, custom-made spandex unitard, jockstrap and cup, leather boots. I remove the backing from the numbered sticker and place it on my lower abdomen. I am now Björn Türoque, Professional Air Guitarist. Upon exiting, I do a Fonzie-style check in the mirror. I look perfectly ridiculous.
Walking out of the bathroom I make eye contact with a janitor holding a mop.
“Lookin’ good man,” he says, raising one eyebrow. “Knock ‘em dead.”
I am told to wait in a chair outside “Room B” along the perimeter of the hall. A short middle-aged balding man wearing too-short khaki pants and a tucked oxford shirt twitters nervously next to me.
“What’s your talent?” I ask.
“Cawmedy,” he replies, in a squeaky high-pitched whine. “I’m a comedian.”
“What sort of jokes?”
“Oh, political stuff,” he offers. “You know, tawpical humah.”
Unprompted, he launches into a two-minute bit about Kissinger. It’s about as funny as the My Lai Massacre.
“That’s funny,” I tell him. He tells me his name is Gawy.
“I’m sorry?”
“Like Gawy Coopah,” he explains.
“Björn Türoque,” I say, shaking his hand, “perennial second-place air guitarist.” Gawy looks nonplussed. They call his number. I wish him luck.
Then a short old woman with Oreo cookie-thick glasses set in front of oddly disproportionate eyes (one wide and protruding, the other barely a slit) exits the room clutching a small notebook.
“How’d it go?” I foolishly inquire.
“Oh, it was good?” she answers. Her face is covered in strange little bumps. Her voice is reedy. Her teeth are half-rotted and covered in a pasty yellow film. I won’t even mention her outfit.
“What’s your talent?” I ask hesitantly.
“I write poetry?” she says, her emphasis rising at the end of each phrase, transposing simple statements into drawn-out questions. “This one was about, you remember that time? When we had the heat wave? And it was so hot? And you couldn’t even breeeeathe?”
She begins reading me her poem. It makes me long for Gawy’s tawpical humah.
I ask her why she wants to be on America’s Got Talent.
“I want to be famous, you know? When I’m famous, I won’t have to go to counseling every week?..”
In my four years on the international air guitar circuit, it’s the finest justification I’ve ever heard for seeking fame—and I wonder: If I make it on the show, could I finally quit therapy?
Then I look down at my silver sparkly spandex unitard held together with safety pins. Underneath, I am donning a jockstrap and cup to give myself added bulge. I am about to play an invisible guitar to “Ice Cream Man” by Van Halen. I spent hours yesterday practicing. I even injured myself, twice: once hitting myself in the nose doing an air drum solo, and the second time whacking my hand hard against my ceiling lamp in the midst of a high-velocity windmill.
I’m so never quitting therapy.
The door to Room B opens and Gawy exits, smiling awkwardly. I wave.
“0903? We’re ready for you.”
There’s a tiny boom box on a table. I hand over my CD and introduce Björn to the three-member casting jury. They hit play and I can only think: Flashdance. I strum the air and writhe around, doing my thing. At the end of the song, I collapse on the floor and die. It’s not my best air guitar performance by any means, but considering it’s before noon on a weekday and I am excruciatingly sober, it could’ve been worse. Afterwards they ask, “How long have you been playing air guitar?” Answer: “Competitively? Four years, though I am now retired.”
“But if you’ve retired, why are you here?” they counter.
You asked me to audition?
I think about Gawy and the Disturbing Poet Lady. I knew that if any of us made it on the show we wouldn’t win. At best, we’d be served up as comic relief between the real acts. Maybe that’s okay. Maybe we’re each like Dumbo, Disney’s mythical flying elephant: that which invokes ridicule (enormous floppy ears, speech impediment, skin disease, invisible guitar) is, in the end, what makes us special—what defines our talent.
“I want people to take air guitar seriously,” I finally answer. “I want to show America that air guitar is not merely a talent, it’s an art form.” They smile politely and thank me for auditioning. I pack up my air guitar and make my exit.
I’m still waiting for word from the producers, but I suspect my chances are pretty good.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Air Guitar Nation Video / Interview on the Documentary Channel
Just saw this video - it's got lots of footage from the film, and some brilliant insights offered by some of the film's stars.
Enjoy...
Enjoy...
Friday, March 02, 2007
The battle for world air guitar supremacy
Friends, colleagues, countrymen,
Theatrical release of AIR GUITAR NATION is upon us -- it's opening in NYC on 3/23 at the Angelika Theater and then rolling out nationwide after that (see below).
AIR GUITAR NATION tells the story of the rise of competitive air guitar in the United States -- but it's also got something very important to say in this time of global uncertainty. Check this clip out, and you'll understand:
Please carpetbomb your contacts with this message of hope.
For more on the movie, visit www.airguitarnation.com
Winner:
Audience Award, SXSW Film Fest
Audience Award, Traverse City Film Fest
Best Documentary, Boulder International Film Fest
Best Documentary, Whistler Film Festival (Canada)
Best Documentary, Adelaide Film Festival (Australia)
Official Selection:
TriBeCa, Edinburgh, Athens, Full Frame, Silverdocs, AFI, Woodstock, True/False Film Fests
Early Reviews:
"Racously entertaining" -- Paper
"As one might expect, Air Guitar Nation is often hilarious. Yet remarkably, AGN, once you get over the “Is this really happening?” hurdle, manages to maintain a gripping narrative in spite of its subject matter. Perhaps even more remarkable is how readily the viewer is sucked into this surreal world." --High Times
"Air Guitar Nation is textured, well-crafted — and hilarious."--St. Louis Riverfront Times
Future Screenings (more to come):
3/23 NY, NY Angelika Film Center
3/30 LA, CA NuArt Theater
4/1 Orlando, FL Floroda Film Festival
4/6 Honolulu, HI Honolulu Academy of Art
4/12 Ashland, OR Ashland Film Festival
4/12 Madison, WI Wisconsin Film Festival
4/13 Austin, TX Regal Arbor THeater
4/20 Cambridge, MA Brattle Theater
4/20 San Luis Obispo, CA Palm Theater
4/28 Portland, ME Space Gallery
5/2 Portland, ME Movies on Exchange St.
5/4 or 5/11 Madison, WI Sundance Theater
5/4 San Francisco, CA Sundance Kabuki Theater
5/4 Jacksonville, FL San Marco Theater
5/4 Nashville, TN Belcourt Theater
5/11 Atlanta, GA Plaza Theater
5/18 Seattle, WA Northwest Film
Theatrical release of AIR GUITAR NATION is upon us -- it's opening in NYC on 3/23 at the Angelika Theater and then rolling out nationwide after that (see below).
AIR GUITAR NATION tells the story of the rise of competitive air guitar in the United States -- but it's also got something very important to say in this time of global uncertainty. Check this clip out, and you'll understand:
Please carpetbomb your contacts with this message of hope.
For more on the movie, visit www.airguitarnation.com
Winner:
Audience Award, SXSW Film Fest
Audience Award, Traverse City Film Fest
Best Documentary, Boulder International Film Fest
Best Documentary, Whistler Film Festival (Canada)
Best Documentary, Adelaide Film Festival (Australia)
Official Selection:
TriBeCa, Edinburgh, Athens, Full Frame, Silverdocs, AFI, Woodstock, True/False Film Fests
Early Reviews:
"Racously entertaining" -- Paper
"As one might expect, Air Guitar Nation is often hilarious. Yet remarkably, AGN, once you get over the “Is this really happening?” hurdle, manages to maintain a gripping narrative in spite of its subject matter. Perhaps even more remarkable is how readily the viewer is sucked into this surreal world." --High Times
"Air Guitar Nation is textured, well-crafted — and hilarious."--St. Louis Riverfront Times
Future Screenings (more to come):
3/23 NY, NY Angelika Film Center
3/30 LA, CA NuArt Theater
4/1 Orlando, FL Floroda Film Festival
4/6 Honolulu, HI Honolulu Academy of Art
4/12 Ashland, OR Ashland Film Festival
4/12 Madison, WI Wisconsin Film Festival
4/13 Austin, TX Regal Arbor THeater
4/20 Cambridge, MA Brattle Theater
4/20 San Luis Obispo, CA Palm Theater
4/28 Portland, ME Space Gallery
5/2 Portland, ME Movies on Exchange St.
5/4 or 5/11 Madison, WI Sundance Theater
5/4 San Francisco, CA Sundance Kabuki Theater
5/4 Jacksonville, FL San Marco Theater
5/4 Nashville, TN Belcourt Theater
5/11 Atlanta, GA Plaza Theater
5/18 Seattle, WA Northwest Film
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Air Guitar Nation Trailer is Up
Check it out:
The movie premieres in NYC on March 23 at the Angelika. Please come opening weekend. It then opens March 30 in LA at the NuArt.
The movie premieres in NYC on March 23 at the Angelika. Please come opening weekend. It then opens March 30 in LA at the NuArt.
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