Limbs Thrash Through Air in this Sport

Limbs Thrash Through Air in this Sport
Photo courtesy Seth Porges
Limbs Thrash Through Air in this Sport
Photo courtesy Seth Porges

Limbs Thrash Through Air in this Sport

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Rather than a natural force tamed into a means of transport, here, air is the absence of something solid, the ether through which limbs thrash. And when I say something solid, I mean of course, a guitar. Those thrashing limbs? Well, they are in the service of the art, or sport, of air guitar. Air guitar has been around at least as long as Elvis, but in 2003, it became a bit more official with the founding of the US Air Guitar Championships. In 2005, WBEZ’s Steve Edwards spoke with a competitor as he prepared for Chicago Regional Championship. Spaceman Rock is the alter ego of former Chicagoan Seth Porges. He set the scene for Steve as he recalled his previous year of competition.

For the record, Seth says he pretty much bombed in that contest, and in several subsequent ones. He considers himself retired from air guitar. He’s now a technology editor for Popular Mechanics magazine in New York.